Glide pads for energy chains on long travels

Friction- and wear-optimised sliding elements and rol e-chains extend the service life of igus energy chain in gliding operation
A few years ago, igus developed glide shoes for gliding energy chain applications. These can significantly extend the service life of energy chain systems. This solution is recommended for travel speeds between 1m/s and 3m/s.

Wear protection for the energy chain
Especially for gliding applications in environments with abrasive media
Easy handling

Request glide pads for energy chains now

Product range

Available from stock/*Available from May 2021/ ***Available from autumn 2021

Part No. glide pad	For series	Part No. fixed end adapter
GSC.E4Q.58**	E4Q.58	GSC.FP.56/58.SLS**
GSC.E4.56*	E4.56	GSC.FP.56/58.SLS**
GSC.E4Q.44***	E4Q.44	GSC.FP.42/44.SLS**
GSC.E4.42*	E4.42	GSC.FP.42/44.SLS**
GSCE4Q.34***	E4Q.34	GSC.FP.32/34.SLS**
GSC28*	GSC28	GSC.FP.32/34.SLS**

Tech up

Friction- and wear-optimised sliding elements extend the service life of igus e-chains in gliding operation
For travel speeds from 1 to 3m/s
Ideal for environments containing abrasive media
Easy to retrofit
Crossbars remain accessible (with E4Q)
Complete package with fixed end transition

Cost down

Cost-effective
No rework required
Predictive maintenance - available with the i.Sense add-on module as an option

Proof

Test in the igus laboratory: 294,190 double strokes (10,003km), as of 9th April 2021. Further information

Sustainability

Have your energy chain recycled at the end of its life cycle with the igus chainge® recycling programme. Irrespective of the manufacturer

Gliding or rolling

Glide shoes for energy chains versus roller energy chains
igus glide shoes for energy chains are characterised as an economical alternative to rol e-chains for the lower speed range between approx. 1m/s and approx. 3m/s.

Standard applications are equipped with e-chain gliding without glide shoes or rollers. If such e-chains applications are equipped with glide shoes, the service life expectancy can be increased. Depending on the application, a doubling of the service life can be achieved with igus glide shoes. In comparison, a rol e-chain generally quadruples the service life expectancy. The rol e-chains are the right and first choice for highly dynamic systems with speeds of 3m/s and higher.

Glide shoes will not be able to provide the desired benefit in such systems, as even gliding shoes with the best material composition will reach their limits.

For systems that run highly dynamically and have to cope with high cable loads, there is no alternative to roller energy chains.

Tested

Friction down - Service life up
For over 50 years, igus has been developing plastic compounds for the manufacture of plain bearings and plastic energy chains. The aim of material development is to find materials that bring cost down and tech up. An important factor is the longevity of gliding plastic energy chains. From the very beginning, highly abrasion-resistant materials were used to manufacture the e-chains. Roller energy chains were introduced just over 20 years ago and are constantly being developed further.

igus constantly tests products in its in-house laboratory under real conditions, including the glide shoes. With 10 billion e-chains cycles per year in the e-chain and chainflex test laboratory, an enormous amount of knowledge about plastic energy chains has been built up over the years.

With the glide shoes for energy chains further developed by igus, friction and wear can be optimised at low to medium speeds and the service life of the energy chain system can be extended in horizontal gliding applications.