Texas: Robust Energy Chain System for oversized outdoor screen

The maintenance-free plastic Energy Chain System and its cables are exposed to harsh environmental elements: extreme heat, sun, rain and snow with an operating schedule of the LCD screens for up to 18 hours per day, 360 days per year.

“The igus® team rose to the occasion to help us find a perfect solution,” said Lawrence Allen, senior engineer of Barco. The cables of a competitor had failed and the cables were not rated for temperatures dipping below 5 °C, which then began to corkscrew and compromise the performance of the system. Lawrence Allen continues, “That could have been a potential disaster for our customer.”

Energy Chain E4/4:
High filling weights and long travels
Eight corrosion-resistant “E4/4” Energy Chain Systems from igus®, one for each LCD display have been installed for one year now. The “E4/4” Energy Chain Systems of the series 4040 are used worldwide in long travels and also where high and unsupported filling loads need to be laterally guided. A form fitted back stop and a second solid bolt provides optimal interlinking of the chain links and lateral stability. Pressure forces and torsion regidity of the energy chain are generally increased and also the resistance against wet and rough environmental conditions.

The chain links which consist of four parts can be opened from both sides and is available in four inner heights (32 to 80 mm) with an outer width of up to (600 mm). Due to the large modular kit of the E4 system, the “E4/4” series can be configured for numerous applications and cable fillings. In addition, there are variable interior divisions, extension frames for large hoses, elements for variable connections to the machine, a aluminum trough system for long and very long travels.

“Chainflex“ fibre-optic cable
For high data rates also at 40 °C
To guarantee high data rates for perfect pictures even after many million of cycles, CFLG.6G “Chainflex“ fibre-optic cables are used in the system at Dallas. Such fibre-optic cable with 6 to 12 fibres of the types; 50/125µm, 62µm and 5/125µm have been especially developed for use in energy chains. They even run at temperatures of 40 °C. These cables have been successfully tested in the igus® deep-freeze laboratory on over 20m of length in an energy chain. They are running successfully in thousands of crane applications worldwide. Also the single core motor cable CF300, typical for high performance cranes, is used for the power supply of the large-screen system at the American Airlines Centre. The jacket materials of both “Chainflex” cables are made of TPE to fulfill the high demands regarding temperature and low abrasion at million of cycles.