igus (East Providence, R.I.) has been touting its 19,000 square foot laboratory, where the company tests the durability of its Chainflex continuous-flex cables, to the tune of around two billion test cycles, on more than 50 test machines, every year. The company says that its customers depend on long lifespans for moving parts in fundamental equipment, but that many others speculate about the service life of their parts or don’t perform tests that are consistent with real-life usage. At the igus test laboratory, cables are subjected to different types of mechanical stresses and monitored electrically, and after the fact, test results are analyzed to improve further products. The testing includes standard linear-axis tests involving various lengths of travel at different speeds, along with a test chamber than subjects cables to temperature ranges from -40 to 140°F. A robotic flex testing cell also tests the maximum lifetime of the CFROBOT series torsion-resistant robot cables.
Learn more about igus and its cabling options at www.igus.com.