Industries
Cable Assemblies for Industrial Automation & Robotics
A cable on a moving axis is not a cable in a cabinet. It is a component with a fatigue life, and the number of cycles it survives is decided by conductor stranding, jacket material, strain-relief geometry and bend radius — in that order.
What this application demands
These are the constraints that change the design. Everything else is a normal cable.
- Flex life
- Cyclic bending at a defined radius and load. This is a fatigue problem, not a flexibility problem, and it is the number one cause of field failure on moving axes.
- EMC and shielding
- Braid coverage, drain-wire termination and 360° connector bonding. A shield that is pigtailed at one end is an antenna at high frequency.
- Oil and coolant resistance
- PUR and TPE jackets for drag chain; PVC will craze and stiffen in the presence of cutting fluid.
- Connector retention under vibration
- Screw-lock and bayonet coupling, plus an overmold with enough engagement length to stop the connector working loose.
- Bend radius control
- Minimum bend radius is a property of the whole assembly, not just the cable. A well-made cable installed at 3×D will fail early regardless of its rating.
Typical builds
- Drag-chain rated cables for continuous motion
- Servo motor power and encoder cables
- M8 / M12 sensor and actuator cordsets
- PROFINET, PROFIBUS and industrial Ethernet assemblies
- Robot dress packs and axis cabling
- Control cabinet harnesses with ferruled and labelled conductors
How we validate flex life
Flex and drag-chain testing is only meaningful when the test is defined. We report the load, the bend radius and the angle, because 10,000 cycles at R=10D with 200 g is not the same test as 10,000 cycles at R=6D with 1 kg.
| Test | Condition we state | Typical limit |
|---|---|---|
| Drag-chain flex | Load, bend radius and angle stated with the result | 1–10 million cycles (±90°, 200 g–1 kg, R=6–10D) |
| General flex | Bend test to a defined radius and load | 5,000–10,000 cycles |
| Conductor continuity | Monitored during flex testing | No discontinuity, <1–5 Ω |
We will not quote a flex-life figure without a motion profile. If you do not have one, send cycles per day, travel distance and the tightest radius in the installation.
What we ask before quoting
Answer these with the drawing and the quotation will be meaningful on the first pass.
- Motion profile: cycles per day, travel distance, tightest bend radius
- Environment: oil, coolant, temperature range, outdoor exposure
- Shielding and grounding requirement
- Mating connector part numbers
- Target flex life, and how failure will be judged
Send the specification and the mating connectors
We will confirm what the cable has to survive, flag anything that will cost you money without adding function, and quote against your drawing.
