Cable monitoring with smart plastics CF.Q

Richard Habering | 11. February 2021

What is smart plastics CF.Q?

Cable monitoring, with the help of the isense CF.Q module, is used for the early detection of the change in electrical specifications of chainflex® cables due to the mechanical loads during operation in an igus® e-chain system®.

How does CF.Q work?

The i.Sense CF.Q cable monitoring system measures the electrical resistance of a dedicated conductor loop during operation. If the system detects a permanent change in the electrical specifications, the system recommends that the customer replace the cable as soon as possible by switching a potential-free contact (OUT1). However, this still slight warning in acoustic or optical form is only the first warning of the system. Because if the core ruptures completely, the next step is to shut down the system.
At the beginning of the installation, the reference resistance and the threshold resistance are determined in a 60-minute calibration procedure during commissioning.
The internal algorithms evaluate exceedances of the threshold resistance in the time context for triggering the potential free contact (OUT1)
In addition to the potential free contact, the status is shown by a red/yellow LED on the front panel of the CF.Q module and serves as an indicator for assessing the state of the cable.

The 2 options to use CF.Q

The options are about deciding which cable is used to measure the changes.

Option 1:
Here, unused resources within the cables already installed are used. It can happen that some cables have cores that are not connected. A series circuit can be created from these cores within a cable and CF.Q can be connected there. Another positive aspect of this option is that it makes use of previously unused resources and also increases the safety of the plant.

Option 2:
With the second option of use, instead of using unused cores within the cables, simply take a completely new cable and connect the CF.Q module there.

In both cases, the cores actually used are not monitored, so that the information of the potential free contact (OUT1) is only to be evaluated as an indicator for a recommended replacement.
igus does not assume any guarantee for the correctness of the information or the consequential costs derived from it.

What are the benefits of smart plastics CF.Q?

• Avoid unplanned system downtime due to cable failures when using chainflex® cables outside the chainflex® guarantee conditions!
• Detect mechanical stress of chainflex® cables under extreme operating conditions at an early stage.
• Plan maintenance work cost-effectively in advance

Application potentials of CF.Q

Theoretically, cable monitoring with the CF.Q system can be used on every chainflex® cable installed in an energy chain. In the end, one only has to decide between one of the two options described above. In order to go beyond the theoretical aspects of this technology, here is auser report.This shows the CF.Q in a bread wrapping machine from GHD Hartmann.