Wear-resistant 3D cable guidance in stretch-bending machine in the tightest of spaces

• What was needed: Energy tubes and tribotape liner from igus
• Requirements: Tight installation space, cable guide must allow 3-dimensional movement with rotational movement component
• Industry: Machine tool construction, metalworking
• Success for the customer: Energy tubes from igus flexibly follow the movements in the system; the tribotape liner prevents friction between the box and energy tube to a minimum and increases the service life

The system is a newly developed horizontal CNC inclined-bed lathe, which has a main spindle, a counter spindle and two turrets. In metalworking, it is primarily used for machining small and medium-sized turned parts in medium and high quantities. A special feature of the system is the consistent common-parts strategy for all structural components, both within the machine and across all sizes and types. The machine is also designed to be particularly easy to install and maintain so as to minimise planned and unplanned downtimes.
In a defined space, various media and cables have to be guided from a support on the machine bed to a tool turret. A special feature is that this is a three-dimensional media guidance system with a rotational movement component. The available space is so small that the media must be force-guided to avoid collisions with other components. Furthermore, an additional cable guidance system is intended to ensure the direct supply of a tool turret that requires a particularly large amount of media.

Schiess Tech GmbH decided to use  3D energy tubes from igus as a solution for the special requirements profile of the system. These appeared to be suitable for allowing the gravity-loaded two-dimensional movement on the inclined bed level.
Due to the limited installation space, forced guidance of the energy tubes was necessary. This now takes place via a guide box with several inlet geometries, which is only slightly wider than the energy tube itself. However, the narrow design of the box led to the problem of increased abrasion and wear between the energy tube and guide box during movement. A stick-slip effect, i.e. jerky sliding between the two bodies, which is also associated with increased wear, could not be ruled out either.
The project planners therefore decided to use the igus tribotape liner to line the inside of the box. It reduces friction to a minimum and prevents the stick-slip effect, which has increased the service life.