Continuous-flex cables guaranteed to last 36 months or 10 million cycles

It’s extremely important for an engineer to know how long a continuous-flex cable is expected to last inside their application. That’s why igus® runs billions of test cycles every year inside its 41,000-square-foot test lab, the largest lab of its kind in the industry. igus uses the data to engineer cables that can dramatically increase the service life and productivity of dynamic applications and to provide engineers with an estimated number of cycles before the cable is even installed inside their machines.

Extensively tested under real-world conditions

igus engineers run 2 billion different bend tests to ensure chainflex® cables designed for specific types of movements have the strength and durability to maintain their structure over millions of linear, tick-tock, torsional or multi-axis cycles. Engineers also perform about 250 million test strokes for batch testing and use a climate chamber to test the long-term effects of extreme temperatures, chemicals and more.

Cable design features

The following design features enable chainflex cables to outperform other cables that tend to fail prematurely:

  1. A high-quality, high-tensile strength center element for strain relief
  2. A medium-to-fine conductor strand diameter to prevent the strand from kinking while being subjected to a high number of cycles
  3. The highest quality high-pressure extruded PVC or TPE materials that support the individual strands of the conductor and prevent the cable’s insulation from adhering to one another
  4. Individual conductors bundled into groups, which are cabled together in a single layer surrounding the cable core, that enable pulling and compressive forces in the bending motion to balance and cancel out torsional forces
  5. A pressure-extruded inner jacket that ensures the insulated conductors are guided efficiently
  6. A high-quality braided shield that provides electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection for the cable
  7. A cost-effective outer jacket material that is resistant to UV radiation, abrasion, oils and chemicals
  8. CFRIP technology that allows users to open the cables’ jackets like a zipper, saving you time and eliminating the need for additional tools

Chainflex service life calculator

igus stores billions of test results in an online database that engineers can use to calculate the service life of any chainflex cable. It’s easy to use: simply enter your requirements, such as travel distance and working temperature, and see your results instantly. Certain cables perform better and last longer in certain applications, but all chainflex cables are guaranteed to last 36 months or 10 million cycles.