Cutting-edge plastic Echain protects cables in cleanrooms
Advanced polymer manufacturer igus has developed a new cleanroom energy chain with an innovative guide system that allows for abrasion-resistant travels over distances of up to 30 metres.
It is ideal for applications in microelectronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical or battery production wherever it is essential that surroundings to be free of particles while maintaining high production rates. With increasing automation and constantly growing systems, the routes for material transport are also becoming longer. A key challenge here is to ensure energy and data cables are able to move freely while minimising wear and tear.
According to igus managing director, Ian Hewat, standard energy chains usually require complex extraction systems for microparticles while the new igus C6 energy chain in combination with the new e-spin upper run guide wheel offers a solution that allows compact and durable energy supply in cleanrooms even for long travels.
“Cleanrooms have strict requirements for cleanliness and the exclusion of particles which makes manual transport within the cleanroom unfeasible. This has led to the development of cleanroom-compatible energy chains that are durable and cost-effective alternatives to costly hoist and manual system,” says Ian.
He explains that igus solved the dilemma by developing a special guide system called e-spin for the C6 cleanroom energy chain. It consists of guide wheels that, like all igus energy chains, are made of tribologically optimised high-performance plastic which is optimised for friction and wear. The wheels are located between the upper and lower run of the energy chain. As a result, the chain parts roll on top of each other instead of gliding in order to prevent particle emissions.
This allows it to be used without the need for an extraction unit and allows design engineers to reduce the complexity of energy supply in transport systems and save costs in the process. Laboratory tests showed that the high-performance plastics achieve the highest cleanroom Class ISO 1 at a speed of 0.5m/s.
This is ideal for all sorts of applications where designers can collaborate with igus’s technical team to specify the correct systems for their applications.
