Several requirements have to be met in order to guarantee the high availability of machine tools. This includes protecting vital cables and hoses against chips, coolants and lubricants. With the IP54-compliant cable carriers from the TKA series, Tsubaki Kabelschlepp offer a high level of protection as well as varied options for convenient cable routing.
Cable carriers are used everywhere in mechanical engineering to supply moving system components. Tsubaki Kabelschlepp provide a wide range of products for this purpose. Machine tools have several additional requirements: Whether milling, turning or grinding - these processes produce great quantities of different, possibly hot chips and metal particles which can easily damage system components through their large volume alone. In combination with oils, coolants or lubricants, chips also produce highly aggressive residue which can readily damage the hoses and electrical cables. To prevent this, cable carriers have to be particularly tight and wear-resistant.
Tight with protection rating IP54
The new TKA series from Tsubaki Kabelschlepp offers protection in line with IP54 - it is the only cable carrier with this high protection rating. The cable carrier protects against damaging chips and particles and against spray water on travel lengths of up to 6000 mm. It prevents the ingress of coolants and lubricants, supporting the safe operation of the systems and increasing their availability. With the enclosed stroke system and bolt/borehole connection, even large quantities of atomized oil and flying particles no longer pose a problem during cleaning of the work area.
The optimized design of the chain links and a triple stroke system allow the TKA to have extensive unsupported lengths. The cable routing is highly torsion-resistant while also providing high side stability which is a crucial advantage in tight spaces. Among other things, this high stability allows space-saving arrangements, such as 90° laying on its side with very little sag within the machine.
The integrated sliding surfaces also make the cable carrier suitable for great travel lengths on large machining centers. Integrated noise damping ensures that the cable carrier operates with very low noise and low vibration at all times.
The TKA is available in different materials which - depending on the application - can be highly heat-resistant up to 850 °C or conductive. All items are made of particularly wear-resistant plastic reinforced with glass fiber. The surface of the TKA is designed to prevent deposits from forming as much as possible. There are no recesses or cavities where large quantities of chips might collect. Additionally, the interior has no projecting edges and was designed to be very gentle on the cables. The protective function also includes the connection: Universal plastic or steel end connectors can be attached from the top, from the bottom or from the front. Suitable cover sheets complete the range. Strain reliefs are additionally available for mounting between the end connectors without separate screw connections. Fixing the cables to these with cable ties is secure, cost-efficient and gentle on the material. If required, C-rails can additionally be attached to the end connectors (also without separate screw connections). These metal profiles can hold LineFix clamps for fixing cables or block clamps for fixing hoses.
Variable internal partitioning across the entire cross section
The fully enclosed design provides easy access to the interior of the cable carriers at any position. The chain links are equipped with covers which can be fully removed on one side. Depending on the model, these can be opened with a one-click closure inside or outside. Additional locking bolts are not required. The form-locking covers interlock seamlessly and provide tight closure with the sidebands.
The rectangular cross section of all TKA cable carriers provides a good ratio of inner to outer width, allowing efficient use of the interior space. The available inner height across the entire cross section allows very efficient filling even with many different cable and hose diameters. This clear separation of the cables is necessary and an asset for the customer, particularly for horizontal assembly or in case of lateral acceleration. The user can choose between several types of dividers: As a standard, the dividers or the complete divider system with additional height separators can be moved across the entire cross section (version A). For applications with lateral acceleration and horizontally mounted models, we also offer dividers which can be fixed in a 2 mm grid. The locking cams are fixed in the locking grids in the covers (version B). Partitions facilitate alignment of the dividers on the cover.
Almost 100% more unsupported length compared to similar products
The closed cable carrier of the TKA series from Tsubaki Kabelschlepp is designed as TKA30, -38, -45 and -55 (type = partitions [mm]). Different inner widths between 15 and 175 mm are available. The continuous inner heights are 20.5 mm, 26 mm, 36 mm and 45 mm.
Depending on application and type, the TKA allows an unsupported length of up to 3000 mm while travel lengths of up to 150 m are possible for gliding applications. Depending on the operating conditions, additional loads of up to 10 kg/m and travel speeds of up to 9 m/s are possible, with accelerations up to 45 m/s2. The cable carrier can be used with small bend radii from 55 mm to 300 mm and as an S-shaped arrangement.
