Reliable e-loop® cable guidance for top drives

Weather resistance with easy maintenance, assembly, and disassembly

Getting oil out of the ground requires deep drilling rigs with top drive systems. They often involve extreme conditions: wind and weather, dirt, and harsh handling of systems and equipment affect machine components. For cable guidance, manufacturers and operators have so far relied on service loops, which often entail a number of problems. Cables can move in the service loops, which have no defined bend radius. In extremely windy conditions, the freely hanging service loop can get caught in the mast or lighting system and be torn off. Another problem is that the entire hose package must be replaced if one hose is defective. To reliably guide cables, even those with large cross sections and great weight, in hanging applications, igus has developed the e-loop.

The e-loop combines the advantages of a plastic energy chain with those of a high-strength pull rope. The pull forces are transmitted to the mounting brackets and the structure by the pull rope inside the energy chain. The e-loop is used not only in the oil and gas industry, but also in the offshore industry, shore power supply, construction machinery and wind turbines.

Safely guide cables in one system
Weather-resistant and dirt-resistant
Protection against impact thanks to robust PU outer body
Cables can be added or replaced, even during operation
Double screw locking on all elements for high operational reliability

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How the e-loop is constructed

1) The inner body consists of four injection-moulded parts. Two of these form the crossbar in the chain link and are screwed together (to prevent loss). The screw connection clamps them onto the pull cable.

2) Outer protectors made of impact-absorbing PU ensure that the energy chain and cables are protected in the event of hard impacts.

The individual chain links are clamped onto the high-strength pull cable. The cable itself is a plastic fibre cable and has a permissible tensile load of 50kN.
The mounting brackets of the e-loop are strong steel mounting brackets. The plastic fibre cable is integrated into them, which absorbs the entire tensile strength of the e-loop.

e-loop product selection

Dynamic, crossbars every link | For almost any application

Part No.	Inner width Bi [mm]	Outer width Ba [mm]	Bend radius [mm]	Cable diameter [mm]	Fill weight [kN]
ELP.220.01.D	150	220	380	38	4
ELP.300.01.D	230	300	500	75	7
ELP.430.01.D	360	430	680	108	11
ELP.TD.300	230	300	500	75	50

Static with crossbars every 2nd link | For purely static cable guidance

Part No.	Inner width Bi [mm]	Outer width Ba [mm]	Bend radius [mm]	Cable diameter [mm]	Fill weight [kN]
ELP.220.01.S	150	220	175	38	4
ELP.300.01.S	230	300	210	75	7

The most fascinating projects with e-loop

Top drive - Pertamina Drilling Services Indonesia

The top drive from Indonesian company Pertamina Drilling Services Indonesia is a little bigger than a hand drill. It applies clockwise torque to the drill string on an oil rig to drill a hole in the seabed. Downtime is a no-go here. In 2022 and 2023, for example, losses of 733 million US dollars were incurred due to damage to the service loop, which meant that the top drive could not be operated. The designers therefore modernised the cable system. chainflex cables (including CFSPECIAL.572.4000.01) and energy chains from the e-loop series (ELP.300.26248) are now in use. The plant is now running more reliably. According to Pertamina Drilling Services Indonesia, the technicians also have more confidence in the new system, which is easier to install and check. Whereas cable installation used to take up to twelve hours, the work is now completed in half the time.

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Consistency despite snowstorms - top drive

An e-loop energy chain solution from igus now guarantees that the top drive, which lowers the drill string into the ground and pulls it back out again, is supplied with power and signals safely and reliably even after severe storms.

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Bucket wheel excavator

The e-loop is used in the bucket wheel excavator manufactured by Holcim (Germany) GmbH. The modular system made of high-performance plastic offers a defined bend radius at all times and withstands vibrations and impacts. Instead of the planned eight hours of assembly time, the work with the e-loop was completed in just four hours.

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Top drive system

The modular energy chain system e-loop is used in a drilling rig in the oil and gas industry. Using the igus e-loop has improved the downtime rate of the drilling rig and significantly reduced costs. Moreover, the cables in the mast can no longer become tangled.

In-house test laboratory for the e-loop

Load test of the e-loop
Continuous test of a fully assembled e-loop with cable filling for 500t top drive. The test is being conducted outdoors with all environmental influences and simulated wind and vibrations.

Result: The test has now run for 170,000 double strokes - equivalent to 4.5 years of continuous operation. All weather conditions have had no effect on the function of the e-loop. The e-loop is not affected by lateral impacts, shocks or vibrations.

Break test of the e-loop
Test setup: The e-loop is dropped from a height of 10 metres onto a vault and hits it with full force.

Result: The e-loop withstood the impact without problems, showing that its design is shatter-proof and resistant to shocks.

White paper

e-loop in vertical drilling rigs

A newly developed alternative to service loops on vertical drilling rigs is characterised by a significantly longer service life under extremely unfavourable environmental conditions.

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White paper

e-loop in adverse conditions

e-loop is used in adverse conditions, e.g. in bucket wheel excavators, ship unloaders and in the construction of offshore wind turbines.

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Assembly of two chain links of the e-loop

e-loop in the factory

FAQ – Frequently asked questions about e-loop

A service loop is used to guide cables and hoses in hanging applications, e.g. as an energy supply on the top drive. For this purpose, the cables are often moulded together in a hose package.
To ensure that cables with large cross sections and heavy weights can be safely guided in hanging applications, igus has developed the e-loop as an alternative to the service loop. The energy supply system is a round, three-dimensional modular system that can move cables with a defined bend radius without strain. The cables can be used individually and replaced during maintenance. The chain links can also be replaced at any time.

The new energy supply from igus is built around a high-tensile plastic rope that absorbs the tensile forces of the cables. The rope consists of a synthetic plastic fibre, making it break-proof, weather-resistant, flexible and corrosion-free.

Unhook, lay down, unscrew, exchange cable(s), screw shut, remount. Maintenance is complete thanks to the simple modular design of the energy chain. In case of an emergency, a replacement chain should always be available to prevent downtime.

igus delivers the e-loop the way you want it: either completely assembled or harnessed, on a drum or pallet. There is a defined thread at the end of the e-loop for additional mounting. Our installation team is happy to take care of the assembly.

The individual chain links are all secured with screw connections so that no components can fall off.