Month: December 2014

Small bracket – great effect
New suction tubing brackets significantly
extend added value offered by
Murrplastik cable drag chains

This latest development means cable drag chain systems from Murrplastik Systemtechnik GmbH can now do more than just connect a power, hydrau-lic oil, air, water, gas or steam supply to mobile equipment.

Cable drag chain systems made by Murrplastik Systemtechnik,
Oppenweiler (nr. Stuttgart) are a smart solution: they supply mobile equipment with both power and data. Without an “umbilical cord” of this kind – which routes and protects the embedded, flexible cables or pneumatic/hydraulic hoses and ensures that the smallest possible bending radius can be maintained – the equipment’s supply lines would be rendered unusable in no time at all.

Thanks to the innovative skills of engineers at Murrplastik, the impressive utility of the Swabian-produced cable drag chains can now be improved still further. The basic idea couldn’t be simpler: instead of using the chain only on the equipment’s supply side, enhance the system so that it can also be used for waste ducting. Often, such enhancements use tubing made from many kinds of materials, for the suction removal of airborne particulates or welding gas at the workplace. In woodworking, too, waste – chippings and sawdust – very often needs removal by suction. Thanks to the existing modular system, it is now very simple to ensure the safe routing of this kind of suction tubing by using the new Murrplastik brackets attached to the PowerLine range of cable drag chains.

The brackets for suction tubing are either mounted on the frame bridges or (for closed chains) on the plastic or aluminium covers. With open chains, the brackets snap onto the frame bridges. If the chains are equipped with closed covers, then the brackets are bolted onto the covers. Tubing can be attached to the inside or outside bend of the chain. No modifications are made to the chains themselves. Accordingly, the standard shelving systems continue to be usable within the chain: these maintain the proper position of the various services, ensuring lines can move freely but not become twisted. If an application already has cable drag chains installed, then it is also very simple to retrofit the brackets to the system. If a piece of tubing needs replacing, the bracket can be removed and re-attached without difficulty and without needing to open up the chain. Since many different diameters of tubing are available, brackets can of course be supplied in several sizes.

Standard guide channel systems (VAW) from Murrplastik can be used to route the chains. We can supply matching adapters for this scenario, ensuring that the chain and brackets have sufficient clearance.

Intelligent and with plenty of stamina.
New pictor2 high-end inkjet printer for industrial labelling.

With a larger print area, a huge capacity of up to 600,000 characters per cartridge and an integrated WLAN and Ethernet interface, the new pictor2 inkjet label printer by Murrplastik sets the standard for colour-based inkjet printing systems. The technical highlight: The pictor2 is the first industrial printer capable of independently measuring the print area, providing you 100% assurance of repeatability and reliability.
Figure 1: The pictor2 high-end inkjet printer, an evolution of the previous pictor model, is the first ever industrial printer capable of independently measuring the print area.

The labelling specialists Murrplastik Systemtechnik, Oppenweiler will be presenting the pictor2 high-end inkjet printer, an evolution of the previous pictor model, at the SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2012 trade exhibition. Razor-sharp and photorealistic quality with 720 dpi and fast printing are features that the pictor2 inherits from its predecessor. Murrplastik’s engineers have developed a new ink specifically for the pictor2. The robust typeface is ideal for use in tough industrial environments. An important additional benefit is the greatly improved range of the ink, with an increase in capacity of up to 50%.
Figure 2: Six polycarbonate labelling mats are fixed on the base plate of the pictor2 and labelled simultaneously within 90 seconds.

The pictor2 is really easy to operate. Six polycarbonate labelling mats are fixed on the base plate and labelled simultaneously within 90 seconds. Different sign types can also be “mixed” on a single base plate. That means that your company can manufacture its entire daily requirement of labelling plates in just a few minutes with virtually no effort. The ACS labelling software can be used to read in design data through CAD interfaces.

Figure 3: Easy to operate controls.
The pictor2 control panel.

With its attractive design and a weight of just 20 kg, the pictor2 is the ideal desktop printer. All in all, the pictor2 is the most economical labelling system for companies with medium to high labelling volumes.

Who wants to live forever?
With Murrplastiks new sliding blocks, cable drag chains gain as much as a fivefold extension to their useful life.
The new sliding blocks from Oppenweiler-based Murrplastik Systemtechnik reduce surface wear suffered by cable drag chains installed with horizontal freedom of movement to effectively zero. The sliding blocks are fitted onto the side links in the cable drag chains inside bend. As a result, the chain side links ñ i.e. the chain upper and lower run ñ no longer rub against one another: all wear is borne by the sliding blocks. The cable drag chains thus suffer much less wear: the brunt of it is borne by the sliding blocks, just as intended. The result is impressive: cable drag chains gain as much as a fivefold extension to their useful life. Instead of replacing the entire cable drag chain, as is usually the case, system owners now need only swap out the sliding blocks. Installing the sliding blocks takes just a few moments and does not require the removal of the cable drag chain from the guide channel. The sliding blocks are optionally available for the Murrplastik PowerLine and HeavyLine cable drag chains.
Author: Michael Kobus is Cable Drag Chain System Product Manager at Murrplastik Systemtechnik

Picture 1: Chain side links ñ i.e. the chain upper and lower run ñ no longer rub against one
another: all wear is borne by the sliding blocks.

Load stresses increasing for cable drag chains.
In recent years, mechanical specifications have become much more stringent for cable drag chains installed with horizontal freedom of movement. Problems with increasingly longer travel distances as required by plant and machinery engineers are compounded by a sharp rise in extra weight from control, data and supply cabling and, last but not least, the rising tempo at which modern plant is operated. Particularly where travel distances exceed three meters, applicable mechanical stresses then start to rise exponentially. The consequences:
ï Cable drag chains wear out faster
ï More frequent end-to-end replacement of cable drag chains
ï Downtimes increase as a result of repairs and/or maintenance windows
ï In short: profitability takes a hit.

Picture 2: The sliding blocks are fitted onto the side links in the cable drag chains inside bend.

The sliding block.
Reduced chain wear ensures greater profitability.
To solve the problem, Murrplastik Systemtechnik devised a simple but ingenious solution: the sliding block. Instead of the usual frame bridge interlocks, the sliding blocks are fitted onto the side links in the cable drag chains inside bend. The fully tool-less installation takes a matter of moments to lock the blocks into place. For removal, technicians merely require a screwdriver to disengage the sliding block.
The sliding blocks are 4 mm thick for PowerLine cable drag chains and 6 mm thick for HeavyLine cable drag chains. Murrplastik recommends replacing blocks once they wear down to a thickness of 1.5 mm. As a result, only the comparatively inexpensive sliding blocks will now need to be replaced, instead of the entire cable drag chain. Practical tests show that cable drag chains can gain as much as a fivefold extension to their useful life. Accordingly, the sliding blocks pay for themselves after only a short period of use. As a result, maintenance cycles for Murrplastik cable drag chains do not need to be planned so close together.

Picture 3: Sliding block installation is fully tool-less
, taking just a few moments to lock the blocks in place on the chain.

Its all down to modern materials science.
Murrplastiks engineers developed the sliding blocks using a novel synthetic material specially optimised for low-friction applications while also making full use of the materials science ìcookbook. One key aspect here was finding the right balance for the material formulation ñ hard enough to guard against wear while staying soft enough for a good low-friction profile. The design of the new sliding blocks reflects a technically optimum compromise.
The new sliding blocks in glass-making.
Glass manufacturing is one of the most demanding fields of application for Murrplastiks new sliding blocks. Handling machinery is used to move glass panels around and supply them to processing plant. A core issue for all moving parts in the manufacturing system is the high concentration of glass dust in the environment. As a result, cable drag chains do not merely experience ìnatural wear but also suffer from a ìsandpaper effect between their upper and lower runs. Here, Murrplastiks sliding blocks are a real blessing. Practical experience shows sliding blocks can more than double the useful life of cable drag chains in such conditions.
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