PREASSEMBLED CABLE CARRIER SYSTEMS
eliminate costly assembly time and increase production throughput

Price Industries, a full-service metal fabricator, uses igus ReadyChain to save time and money on their high-speed cranes for the wet process industry. ReadyChain is a complete, preassembled cable carrier system. It integrates igus' Energy Chains® with its continuous-flex Chainflex® cables and adds various connectors, brackets, strain relief and other accessories.

ReadyChain enables organizations to: increase production throughput; reduce manufacturing costs; decrease costly assembly time; improve delivery lead times to customers; reduce inventory and procurement costs; use manufacturing floor space more efficiently and improve speed to market.

"By using igus ReadyChain instead of doing the harnessing ourselves, we eliminated scraps and material drops which are costly and can lead to production delays," said Sam Boeshart, controls engineering manager for Price Industries. "We no longer have to devote manpower and engineering expertise to something that isn't our specialty. We know when igus builds our systems  they will be properly built and to our specifications."

ReadyChain is an ideal solution for many applications, including storage technology, textile machinery, robotics, tube-bending machines, construction equipment, assembly lines and gantry cranes such as those developed by Price. Price's automated cranes are used in a variety of industries to move process materials to and from storage, loading and unloading areas, and through product finishing process lines. The  ReadyChain systems used by Price vary in size, but are generally comprised of a System E4 Energy Chain, which houses electrical cables and conductors and enables their cranes to travel horizontally to distances in excess of 360 feet. Price chose System E4 Energy Chains based on their noise reduction and long life.

"We also save freight costs by shipping straight to the customer for just-in-time installation," continued Boeshart. Floor space is valuable, and on larger jobs building cable carrier systems frequently caused logistic and material flow problems. All of that is alleviated by ReadyChain."

Every igus ReadyChain can be used as part of a ReadyChain system, so any application, large or small, can benefit from a ReadyChain solution. Energy Chains are all-plastic cable carriers that house, protect and extend the service life of cables and hoses attached to automated machinery, primarily in mobile applications. Installing an Energy Chain will prevent cables from cockscrewing, breaking and tangling.

igus, inc.

Canadian Industrial Equipment News June 2004

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