Prevent cable breaks with energy chains in a rotary crane in aluminium extraction

Magnetic fields, dirt, high cable loads. This crane with PTM trolley, which is used in the extraction of aluminium, has to work reliably in all adverse conditions. However, this was not always the case due to frequent cable failures. A festooning system used as a cable guide led to an increased number of cable breaks, resulting in high maintenance costs and time-consuming work. The special feature: as the crane rotates around its own axis on a platform, the cables are exposed to both tangential and torsional forces. The engineers responsible were therefore looking for a new solution for the crane's power supply that would follow the rotational movement flexibly and reliably. As is so often the case with indoor cranes, the aim was to find a system that saved as much space and weight as possible. It also needed to be cleanroom-compatible, quick and easy to install and require little maintenance.

For rotating applications, we recommend our reverse bend radius energy chains, which run in a special rotation module. This is also the case for the PTM crane: an E4.1 energy chain in reverse bend radius design, i.e. with a reverse bend radius, is used today in aluminium production. As the plastic energy chain not only saves installation space in the rotary module, but also weight, there was no alternative for the customer. And because the Reverse Bend Radius rotary energy supply system is customised but supplied as a modular system, it can be installed quickly and easily.
Since using the system, the customer has reported that production has been trouble-free and uninterrupted.
In addition to the energy supply, the customer also purchased several chainflex® cables, which we developed especially for moving applications in our energy chain. Specifically, CF9 control cable and CF34 and CF300 motor cable are now running in the rotary module.