The chemical resistance of cables

Why is a cable's chemical resistance so important in energy chains?  

There are three different applications for industrial cables: locking, flexible and in an energy chain. Especially in industries such as automotive manufacturing, car washes or the food industry, chemicals are used that affect the cables' durability. Therefore, choosing the correct material for the outer jacket of our igus chainflex cables is decisive. They have been specially developed for use in energy chains and have a long service life even under high loads.

For energy chain applications with chemicals, it is important to consider not only the strain caused by the chemicals, but also the high mechanical stress in the energy chain. If the materials used are not chemical-resistant, the outer jacket can become brittle, discolour, disintegrate or show other forms of damage. If the high mechanical stress in the energy chain is added to this, jacket breakage and machine downtime can occur.

For an initial selection, our catalogue includes a comprehensive resistance table indicating the resistance of our five jacket materials to most industrial chemicals and their resistance at room temperature. To find the correct material, the chemical table can be used as a first reference point, but we recommend carrying out an individual test in the application as the table does not cover all chemicals, concentrations and compositions.