In the field of industrial robots, the cable is responsible for the stable transmission of power, signals and data, and the outer sheath is the first protective barrier of the cable. Careful observation will show that the vast majority of robot cables in the market will choose Pu as the outer sheath material instead of PVC, rubber and other materials commonly used for ordinary wires. Behind this is not random selection, but the characteristics of PU material, which perfectly meets the special working requirements of robot cable. The joints of the robot need to be bent and twisted frequently, and the arms need to be dragged back and forth. The working environment may also be full of oil, cutting fluid, and even face extreme conditions of high and low temperatures. PU materials can solve these pain points, which is the core reason why it has become the mainstream.
1.Build resistant, build resistant, suitable for high-frequency motion of robot
The joints of the robot may bend and twist tens of thousands of times every day. The sheath of ordinary cables (such as PVC) will harden and crack after several bends, and even the internal conductor will break, leading to the shutdown of the robot. However, PU materials are naturally characterized by "high flexibility" and "fatigue resistance", and can easily withstand this high-frequency dynamic test.
The PU sheath is made of modified elastomer, which is extremely flexible. Even if it is repeatedly bent and twisted, it will not appear brittle fracture and deformation. More importantly, its bending life can reach 5-20million times, which is far more than 1million-2million times of ordinary PVC cable. It fully meets the needs of long-term high-frequency motion of industrial robots - for example, the joints of 6-axis manipulator can work continuously for several years, and the Pu sheath can also be kept intact, so the cable performance will not be affected by bending loss. At the same time, the Pu sheath can also adapt to the 360 ° torsion of the robot joint, disperse the stress during torsion, and prevent the cable from being twisted and broken, which is impossible for many other materials.
2.Oil resistant and wear-resistant, suitable for harsh industrial environment
The vast majority of industrial robots work in the workshop, and will inevitably be exposed to cutting fluid, lubricating oil, hydraulic oil and other industrial oils. These oil stains are "fatal damage" to the ordinary cable sheath - for example, the PVC sheath will expand and crack when encountering oil stains, and will soon lose its protective function, resulting in internal core wire short circuit.
Pu material is inherently excellent in oil resistance. Even if it is immersed in industrial oil for a long time, it will not swell, crack and age. The tensile strength and protective performance of the sheath can remain stable.
In addition, during the movement of the robot cable, frequent friction will occur with the drag chain, robot body and equipment frame. The abrasion resistance of Pu sheath is more than 5 times that of PVC, which can effectively resist friction loss. For example, the cable of AGV mobile robot needs to be dragged and moved on the ground. Pu sheath can significantly reduce wear and tear, and its service life is 3-5 times longer than that of ordinary materials, greatly reducing the replacement cost and downtime loss of enterprises.
3.Adapt to the needs of multi scenario work
The working environment of industrial robots varies from high-temperature welding workshop to low-temperature cold storage and outdoor, which requires that the cable sheath can adapt to a wide range of temperature changes. Pu material has a very wide temperature resistance range, and can work stably between -40 ℃ and+105 ℃. It will not harden and crack under low temperature environment, and will not soften and adhere under high temperature environment.
For example, for the sorting robot in the cold storage, the environmental temperature is as low as -30 ℃, and the Pu sheath can still maintain good flexibility and will not break due to low temperature; The surrounding temperature of the welding robot is relatively high, and the Pu sheath can also resist high temperature, without aging and deformation, so as to ensure the normal transmission of power and signal by the cable. This wide temperature characteristic enables Pu sheathed cables to adapt to various extreme industrial scenarios, with strong versatility.
4.Environmental protection compliance, adapting to foreign trade export demand
For foreign trade enterprises, the environmental compliance of cable materials is very important. Many countries (especially European and American countries) have high requirements for environmental protection standards of industrial products, such as RoHS, FDA and other certification. Pu material itself is environmentally friendly and non-toxic, does not contain harmful substances, low smoke and halogen-free when burning, will not produce toxic gases, and fully conforms to international environmental protection standards, so there is no need to worry about being blocked by environmental protection problems when exporting.
The core demand of robot cable is "able to withstand high-frequency movement, withstand harsh environment and work stably for a long time", and PU material perfectly matches these requirements - high flexibility, bending resistance, oil resistance and wear resistance, high and low temperature resistance, environmental protection and compliance, which can not only ensure the stable operation of robot, but also reduce the long-term use cost of enterprises, and meet the compliance requirements of foreign trade and export.
This is why most of the industrial robots, AGV mobile robots, cold chain robots and medical robots choose Pu as the cable sheath
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