Flexibele en hybride kabels voor machines: wat kies je?

Voor bewegende machinedelen gebruik je hoogflexibele kabels die gemaakt zijn voor continue beweging. Een hybride kabel combineert voeding en signaal in één afgeschermde mantel, wat kabels en ruimte in de kabelrups scheelt. Losse kabels kies je als de rijweg langer is of als je meer bewegingscycli nodig hebt dan de hybride kabel aankan.

Wat is een hybride kabel?

Een kabel die aders voor voeding en voor signalen combineert in één mantel. Daardoor heb je minder kabels in de kabelrups nodig en wordt de opbouw eenvoudiger.

Welke hybride kabels leveren jullie?

De TRAXLINE-systeemkabels SYSTEM S 700 C en SYSTEM M 700 C, met een PUR-mantel, afgeschermd of dubbel afgeschermd, voor tot 5 miljoen bewegingscycli en rijwegen tot 50 meter.

Kan ik gewone installatiekabel in een bewegende machine gebruiken?

Nee. Installatiekabel is niet gemaakt om continu te buigen en breekt in een kabelrups vroeg of laat. Gebruik een kabel met een opgegeven aantal bewegingscycli en buigradius voor bewegend gebruik.

Welke kabel kies ik bij olie of koelmiddel?

Een kabel met een PUR-mantel. Bij TRAXLINE is dat de 700-klasse. Voor de zwaarste toepassingen is er de 1000-klasse met TPE.

Leveren jullie flexibele kabels op lengte?

Ja, per meter op lengte, en desgewenst compleet in de kabelrups geassembleerd in Ruurlo.

Flexible and hybrid cables for machines: what to choose?

Short answer

For moving machine parts you use highly flexible cables made for continuous movement. A hybrid cable combines power and signal in one shielded jacket, which saves cables and space in the cable carrier. Choose separate cables if the travel is longer or if you need more movement cycles than the hybrid cable can handle.

Flexible and hybrid cables for machines: what to choose?

A machine cable that lies still lasts for years. A cable that moves with a machine part has a very different life: it bends with every stroke, sometimes millions of times. Ordinary installation cable is not made for that and breaks sooner or later. For moving machines you therefore need flexible cables, and in some cases a hybrid cable that combines power and signal.

In this article you read which types of flexible cables exist, when a hybrid cable is useful and how to choose the right cable by movement, travel and environment. The examples come from the TRAXLINE range of Tsubaki Kabelschlepp.

What makes a cable suitable for a moving machine?

A cable for continuous movement is built differently from a fixed cable:

Fine-stranded conductors: many thin wires bend better than a few thick ones
Short lay length: the cores are tightly stranded, so they do not wander in the bend
Wear-resistant jacket: that can withstand rubbing in the carrier and oil or coolant
Specified movement cycles and bending radius: the manufacturer states how many movements and which radius the cable can handle

A cable that merely feels supple is not suitable for that reason alone. How to recognise a truly flexible cable is explained in flexible cable.

What types of flexible cables are there?

In a machine, several types of cables usually go into the cable carrier together:

Control cables: control current and signals to sensors, valves and switches
Power cables: power for motors and drives, multi-core or single-core
Data cables: measuring and feedback signals, such as from encoders, with twisted pairs and shielding
Bus and network cables: PROFIBUS, PROFINET, CAN bus, USB, Ethernet and coax
Fibre optic cables: optical data, insensitive to electromagnetic interference
Hybrid system cables: power and signal in one jacket

The full overview with all variants is under flexible cables.

What is a hybrid cable?

A hybrid cable combines cores for power and cores for signals in one jacket. Instead of a separate motor cable and a separate signal cable to a drive, there is one cable.

In the TRAXLINE range these are the system cables:

Cable	Sheath	Shielding	Motion cycles up to	Travel length up to
SYSTEM S 700 C	PUR	Shielded	5 million	50 m
SYSTEM M 700 C	PUR	Double shielded	5 million	50 m

See the data per cable under SYSTEM S 700 C and SYSTEM M 700 C.

ProductFlexible cables (TRAXLINE)TRAXLINE flexible cables from Tsubaki Kabelschlepp for cable carriers: control, power, data, bus, coax and fibre optic cables. Up to 10 million cycles.View the product

When do you choose a hybrid cable?

A hybrid cable is useful when space and simplicity matter most:

Fewer cables in the carrier: one cable instead of two or more, so a narrower or lighter carrier
Simpler layout: fewer cables to arrange, secure and connect
Compact machines: where the installation space for the cable carrier is limited
Servo drives: where power and feedback go to the same point

Separate cables are the better choice if:

the travel is longer than the hybrid cable can handle
you need more movement cycles
you want to be able to replace the cables independently
power and signal go to different points

If in doubt, compare both options with your travel and the number of movements per day. That usually decides it.

Which class suits your machine?

With TRAXLINE cables the class is in the name: 200, 400, 700 or 1000. The higher the number, the more demanding the application. For the control cables the manufacturer gives these figures:

Class	Sheath	Motion cycles up to	Travel length up to
CONTROL 200	PVC	2 million	25 m
CONTROL 400	PVC	4 million	100 m
CONTROL 700	PUR	7 million	500 m
CONTROL 1000	TPE	10 million	1000 m

A short axis in a clean machine asks for something different from a gantry with a long travel that moves all day. Choose the class by the travel and the number of movements you expect over the service life. More about the classes in which cables in a cable carrier.

Choosing jacket and shielding

Two choices determine whether a cable lasts long in your environment:

(01)Jacket: PVC for dry, clean environments; PUR as soon as there is oil, coolant, heavy wear or cold; TPE for the most demanding applications. See PUR or PVC cable.
(02)Shielding: motor and servo cables on a frequency converter and encoder cables are shielded. With TRAXLINE, C stands for shielded and CD usually for double shielded. See shielded cable in the cable carrier.

Bending radius and space in the carrier

Even a highly flexible cable has a limit. The site calculates the bending radius of the carrier at a minimum of 7.5 times the diameter of the thickest cable, and generously at 10 times for many movements. If the data sheet gives a larger value, that applies. A hybrid cable is often thicker than the separate cables it replaces, so recalculate the radius. How is explained in determining the bending radius.

Calculate it yourselfCalculate the bending radiusMinimum bending radius from your thickest cableCalculate it

How to choose in four steps

(01)List your connections: power, signals, data and hoses, with the points they go to.
(02)Determine the movement: travel, speed and the number of movements per day.
(03)Choose per connection: separate cables or a hybrid cable, and the class that suits your travel.
(04)Choose jacket and shielding by the environment and the signals.

In the Cable finder you search for a cable by cores, cross-section and travel. Want the cables in the right carrier straight away? Use the Cable carrier configurator: in the Cable package step you choose a cable from the range directly. If you wish, we supply the carrier complete, cut to length and filled with your cables. Rather have a proposal straight away? Request a quote.

Calculate it yourselfCable finderThe right flexible cable for your cable carrierOpen the cable finder

Frequently asked questions

What is a hybrid cable?

A cable that combines cores for power and for signals in one jacket. As a result you need fewer cables in the cable carrier and the layout becomes simpler.

Which hybrid cables do you supply?

The TRAXLINE system cables SYSTEM S 700 C and SYSTEM M 700 C, with a PUR jacket, shielded or double shielded, for up to 5 million movement cycles and travel lengths up to 50 metres.

Can I use ordinary installation cable in a moving machine?

No. Installation cable is not made to bend continuously and breaks sooner or later in a cable carrier. Use a cable with a specified number of movement cycles and bending radius for moving use.