Drag chains

Cable chains were first developed in the 1950s and ensure the safe guidance of cables and media hoses in applications with continuous and dynamic movement. Thanks to modern materials and designs, cable chains are now capable of achieving true peak performance, enabling considerable improvements in productivity. Plastic and steel chains make a significant contribution to automation in many industrial sectors.

The cables to be guided and protected should always be at the centre of your cable design – not the chain itself. Therefore, first determine the basic parameters of your application, then define the required cables before selecting the appropriate chain.

We have the right cable chain for a wide range of applications. Which cable chain type is right for you?

• Drinks and snack vending machines: In the cramped vending machines, the goods are conveyed precisely to the output tray every time - thanks to the energy supply via an drag chain.
• Amusement part Rides: Cable chains and cables for highly dynamic applications play a central role in the cabling of roller coasters or freefall towers. 
• Stage technology: If you like going to the theatre, take a closer look at the stage technology. Here, drag chains move the trusses (lattice girders), which are usually suspended in the ceiling area.
• Car washes: Drag chains ensure the safe movement and correct positioning of the cleaning brushes.

As you can see, we often encounter energy chains in everyday life without consciously noticing them.

Cable chain systems have become indispensable helpers, particularly in industrial areas and applications.

Mechanical and plant engineering, automation industry, typical uses:

• Machine tools
• Machining centres (e.g. cutting centres, cutting and milling machines)
• Factory and building automation
• Industrial systems (portal systems)
• Industrial robots

Intralogistics, typical uses:

• Vending machines
• Packaging and filling systems
• Automated storage systems ("high-bay warehouse")
• Material flow and piece goods handling, bulk goods systems
• Industrial robots

Building and industrial technology, typical uses:

• Lifts, lifting platforms
• Car washes
• Swivelling devices
• Gates
• Parking facilities
• Passenger boarding bridges

Other common application areas

• Cranes and hoists, gantry cranes
• Lifting and conveying vehicles
• Steelworks, smelting technology
• Mining, drilling technology
• Offshore industry (drilling rigs, LNG terminals)
• Agricultural technology (environmental technology e.g. sewage treatment plants)
• Medical technology (e.g. computer tomographs)

Before an energy chain cable is declared ready for sale, it undergoes a demanding testing process. Whether heat, cold, chemical stress, mechanical stress or high speed: the subsequent area of application is simulated down to the last detail. The cables running inside a cable chain must also withstand a lot of strain.

1. In a test performed inside a cable chain, a single cable travelled a distance of 150 km every day.
2. By the time the tests for a cable chain cable have been completed, it will have travelled around the earth approximately 1.5 times.
3. Depending on the type, a cable is tested for one to two years in a cable chain.
4. In total, the distance that our cable chain cables cover every day in the test laboratory is equivalent to travelling around the world.
5. In our most dynamic test facility, our cables and wires experience an acceleration similar to that of pilots in jets, namely up to 9 g. This corresponds to nine times the gravitational acceleration on earth.

Cable chains are therefore indispensable components for applications with fast, repetitive motion sequences that take place in demanding environmental conditions. As a global partner, LAPP offers you a comprehensive range of connectivity solutions:

• Cable chains
• Cable chain-compatible cables and wires
• Fully assembled cable chain systems

Order a product, and done? In many contexts, this is no longer enough. Before a functioning cable chain system can be set up, a detailed needs analysis and a great deal of product and project expertise are required. Let us help you with this! These are your advantages when you opt for an ÖLFLEX® CONNECT CHAIN, i.e. cable chain systems made by LAPP: