28.03.2024 - Kablo Tel Dünyası - Cable - Production - Material - Machinery Technology Magazine
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Frank Hörtnagl, Product Manager for ÖLFLEX SERVO at LAPP; A true servo cable all-rounder

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Frank Hörtnagl, Product Manager for ÖLFLEX SERVO at LAPP; A true servo cable all-rounder
Reklam

The North American market is complicated
– particularly when it comes to standards.
In order to avoid any unpleasant
surprises, machine manufacturers should
rely on components that are approved
or listed there – such as the ÖLFLEX
SERVO FD 7TCE from LAPP.
The ÖLFLEX SERVO FD 7TCE meets all
important standards in both Europe and
the USA. It is suitable for both static installation
and mobile use in cable chains
with moderate to high travel paths and
acceleration.
It is not uncommon for technicians from
a German machine manufacturer to be in
a production hall in the USA and want to
cable a new machine and put it into operation.
Then the county sheriff comes
along and says: “No”. After a long discussion,
it becomes clear that the cables
used are approved in Europe but don’t
have the approval or the listing that matters
to the local sheriff. There is then a
frantic search for suitable cables that are
actually approved; they may not be as
good technically, but the main thing is
that the sheriff is happy as they have
wide discretion to give you a nasty surprise.
You can avoid these types of situations if
you use cables that meet all US standards
and are top quality technically right
from the outset. It is hard to achieve this
balancing act. The ÖLFLEX SERVO FD
7TCE has achieved this in a number of
ways – a new cable from the Core Line
Performance class from LAPP. It meets
all important standards in both Europe
and the USA and is suitable for both static
installation and mobile use in cable
chains with moderate to high travel paths
and acceleration; it is also flame and oil
resistant – making it a true all-rounder
amongst cables.
UL & CSA – the measure of all things
Particularly the first issue – meeting various
application standards – causes headaches
for machine manufacturers that
export to the USA and Canada if cables
are not listed according to UL or CSA
(Underwriters Laboratory / Canadian
Standards Association). One alternative
are AWM-style (appliance wiring material)
cables according to UL 758 – a standard
that allows greater freedom. However,
these cables cannot be installed at the
customer’s premises on US soil or routed
on cable trays, for example; this may
have to be carried out at the machine
manufacturer’s site in Europe, for instance
– which is not an option for larger
systems.
Those who are familiar with the maze of
standards are able to find a solution for
any challenge. However, that is time consuming
because the matter is complex.
Take the example of cable insulation:
many high-quality cables in Europe are
wrapped with notch and oil-resistant polyurethane
and, in technical terms, this
would also fulfil US demands. If only
standardisation didn’t throw a spanner in
the works. In particular, it doesn’t consider
PUR at all suitable for use for UL or
CSA-listed cables. For cable manufacturers
such as LAPP, this means that developers
have to find a way round this in
terms of material technology. Thanks to a
special mixture of a thermoplastic elastomer,
the ÖLFLEX SERVO FD 7TCE fulfils
common guidelines and standards for listed
cable products.
Chancing your luck when it comes to the
material
The developers from LAPP also had to
think of something new when it came to
the insulation of cores. Listed cables for
routing on cable trays or use in industrial
machinery in the USA often have insulation
made from PVC which is covered with
a thin layer of nylon in order to increased
oil resistance. PVC is self-extinguishing in
the event of fire, but forms caustic vapours
due to its high chlorine content and
also forms corrosive hydrochloric acid in
combination with extinguishing water. In
addition, PVC is not exactly one of the
materials with the best insulation characteristics.
The poorer electrical characteristics
mean that these types of cables
cannot bridge excessively large distances
without any losses. This means that in
larger systems in the USA, it is sometimes
necessary to reconnect PVC-nyloninsulated
cables that come from the
cable tray to a lower-capacity AWM cable
with corresponding core insulation as
they continue on to the drive, for example
via an energy chain – although it is actually
not approved for on-site cabling.
In the case of cables with insulation
made from polypropylene (PP), as is common
in Europe, routing from the control
cabinet to the drive is simpler. PP has significantly
improved electrical characteristics
and therefore allows the bridging of
larger distances due to its low capacity
values. However, US standardisation also
throws a spanner in the works here –
according to North American regulations,
PP is not necessarily intended as a listed core material for routing in open cable ducts. Similarly, it also
often sets limits when it comes to standards with respect to the
use of polypropylene for the MTW listing (machine tool wire)
required for the cabling of industrial machines. LAPP USA therefore
uses a special material made from XLPE that provides insulation
for ÖLFLEX SERVO 7TCE, which can be routed in a fixed
manner. In the new version suitable for drag chains with extrafine
conductors, the ÖLFLEX SERVO FD 7TCE, the insulation consists
of cross-linked ethylene propylene (EPR) for increased flexibility.
Both plastics are listed according to US regulations and
allow cable lengths that are up to 40 per cent higher than those
of US cables with conventional PVC-nylon insulation. This means
that the choice of core material is by no means a poor compromise,
but rather, as we are used to from cables for the European
market, guarantees top electrical characteristics for the North
American market, despite the prevailing complex standard
requirements there. There is also change in the air at companies
in the USA when it comes to the issue of sheath material: a
large American car manufacturer and customer of LAPP in the
USA is not using PVC-wrapped cables in its factories, but instead
prefers the TPE special mixture used by LAPP as an outer sheath
material.
The sheriff decides
“It’s not just the US standards that are complicated, but also
their application,” states Frank Hörtnagl, Product Manager for
ÖLFLEX SERVO at LAPP. It is the responsibility of the respective
states to transpose new standards into applicable law. This applies,
for example, to the relevant technical standards for the cabling
of industrial machinery in the USA, the 2012 and 2015 editions
of the NFPA 79 (National Fire Protection Association). They
closely interact with the National Electric Code (NEC); the most
important set of rules for exporting machine and plant construction
firms.
The states have a certain amount of freedom in how they implement
them, for example when it comes to timing. It may therefore
be the case that some states rely on older versions of the
NEC that, in turn, refer to older NFPA editions. Moreover, each
state can declare further specific requirements and guidelines
to be mandatory. For example, in San Francisco in California
there are significantly higher fire protection requirements in
place than in other cities even within the state of California due
to devastating fires after the 1906 earthquake.
Developed with US expertise
The ÖLFLEX SERVO FD 7TCE gives users the security they need.
They were developed at LAPP in New Jersey and are also produced
there. The experts there have many years of experience with
US standards; some of them have even worked for UL authorities.
The cable isn’t cheap, because production is more complex,
in particular due to the cross-linking of the core plastic.
Nevertheless, these types of universal cables from LAPP’s range
are enjoying increasing popularity because, all in all, they don’t
just save the user money because routing is simpler and they
only need to have one type in stock rather than various types of
cables, but they also save time and hassle when it comes to
standards, as their broad variety of recognised UL & CSA listings
cover a wide range of uses. This allows the customer to use cables
without any problems or having to worry about the long arm
of the law – in this case, the above-mentioned sheriff.

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