Continuous plastics flex cables for cleanroom applications

Igus now offers for the near sterile cleanroom environment an entire cable management system of ISO approved continuous plastics flex cables and cable carriers.

Igus* Inc., the industry-leading developer of Energy Chain Systems*, Chainflex* continuous-flex cables and iglide* plastics bearings, announces newly achieved certifications in cleanroom environments for both its Chainflex cables and Energy Chain* cable carriers. These products meet ISO cleanroom standard 14644-1 set forth by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the world's largest developer and publisher of international standards. The ISO standard, which replaces Federal Standard 209E, is based on air cleanliness in cleanrooms and similarly controlled environments as it relates to the level airborne particles.

Igus now offers both control and servo cables for near-sterile environments, as well as ISO-approved plastics cable carriers within the families of System E3, System E4/100, System E6 and E-Z Chain. Each product endured a particulate test, in which the cables and Energy Chains were analyzed at four separate points along the length of the cable and carrier, each traveling at an average speed of one to two meters-per-second. The test measured airflow using optic sensors in order to detect and count any particles released into the air.

Results show that Chainflex plastics control cables CF9 and CF34, servo cable CF27 and Energy Chain Series E3-15 and E6-29 meet Class 1 requirements, the top-tier certification recognized by ISO . These plastics cables and carriers release >10 particles per-cubic-meter, measuring 0.1 µm (micrometers) in diameter and >2 particles per cubic meter at 0.2µm in diameter. Another control cable, Chainflex CF5, meets Class 2 requirements, while Series E14 and Series 280 Energy Chains, from the System E14/Z14 and E4/100 families, fall within Class 2 and Class 4, respectively.

“Igus is extremely pleased with its new cleanroom certifications for both its Chainflex cables and Energy Chains,” said Joe Ciringione, Energy Chain business unit manager. “These approvals extend a wide array of options to our customers with cleanroom applications. While Energy Chains have met cleanroom requirements for close to a decade, with the new certification of our cables, igus is now in a position to offer a complete and dependable cable management system for this delicate environment.”

Cleanroom-approved Chainflex cables and Energy Chains provide customers with off-the-shelf plastics cable management solutions that require no modifications, leading to faster, easier installations. They are ideal for applications in the electronics and pharmaceutical industries, medicine technology and food processing.

All igus Energy Chains are comprised of high-performance plastics that are maintenance-free and resistant to a wide range of chemicals. They are the perfect partners for Chainflex continuous-flex cables and are designed to prevent cables from corkscrewing, tangling and breaking, ensuring the longest possible lifespan in almost any application.

In addition to CF5, CF9, CF34 and CF27, cleanroom applications also can use a wide array of other Chainflex cables available from igus, as they possess the same outer jacket plastics material and construction as the ISO-approved cables.

* Igus, Energy Chain Systems, Energy Chain, Chainflex and iglide are registered trademarks of Igus Inc., East Providence, R.I., USA, developers and manufacturers of industry-leading plastics cable carriers, continuous-flex cables, plastics bearings and linear guide systems.

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