Super Connections

With his eyes and ears always open, Friedrich Lütze was instrumental in the invention of the highly flexible LÜTZE SUPERFLEX^® cable in the 1960s. Today, the range consists of several cable groups for all drag chain applications  What is the key to the lasting success of SUPERFLEX^®? How did this medium-sized Swabian company become the industry’s global driver?

LÜTZE is one of the first companies that launched cables for drag trains in the 1960s. If we travel back to 1958, we can see the company founder Friedrich Lütze in a VW beetle working as a 'backpack ’salesman’. His product offering of electrical cables and components was very well received by the industrial and construction sectors. He was told about cables on gravel conveyor buckets, used on motorway building sites, that wore out very quickly, and that their rubber-coated control lines needed to be replaced every week. True to his motto 'Listen carefully as to how and with what we can help the customer', Friedrich Lütze developed cables that could withstand repetitive movements for a much longer period. The customer loved it; especially because these cables would last the entire lifetime of the construction site, despite poor weather conditions and the tough environment. Encouraged by this, the original LÜTZE design was modified and adapted for further applications.

LÜTZE SUPERFLEX® became a trademark in 1967 and with that name, indicated the innovative cable was highly resistant, even when used in flexible applications. Work continued in Weinstadt as the team learnt from numerous prototypes and extensive testing. Parameters, such as the bending radius, travel path, speed and acceleration determine the individual requirements, as do the temperature, damp and possible chemical impact. Finding a perfect balance of strength and rigidity is essential when trying to achieve optimum cable properties with respect to reverse bending stress. In the middle of the 1990s, ultrafine wires were still the general standard, until tests performed by LÜTZE discovered that thicker, single wires offered more expansion reserves in constantly moving applications. In a systematic process, the team was able to discover the secrets of the cable and insulating materials, including the fleece, shielding and jackets.

Thanks to the emergence of new materials and material combinations, it is now possible to create much more powerful cable constructions; and these insights are transferred into new developments.
Here some key words:

• Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) considerably improve the sliding properties.
• Smaller cable diameters, with simultaneously higher resistance, can be implemented to reverse bending cycle loads.
• Improved electrical characteristics of many materials allow higher transmission frequencies.

In addition, electrical energy, signals or data can be easily transferred under high mechanical loads. This means that parameters, such as the dielectric strength, touch-protection and EMC also need to be consistent. LÜTZE has worked closely with material experts, drag chain manufacturers and users for decades; and its top priority has always been the customer requirements. Because of this, an enormous wealth of experience of material know-how and knowledge about construction and production has been accumulated. It is also true that carefully optimised production steps also determine the performance quality. To aid this process , LÜTZE operates its own cable factory in the USA.

Technical perfection is just as important as the commercial qualities. Although marketable prices are important, fail-safety is paramount, because machine and production downtime are always hugely expensive. LÜTZE cables stand out for the following achievement: an endurance test was stopped by the user after more than 11 million movement cycles.

Today, LÜTZE supplies five high-flexing cable models:

• Electronic cables
• Actuator-sensor cables
• Control cables
• Bus and network cables
• Motor, servo and feedback cables

This covers around 95 percent of all potential applications, for instance machine tools, handling equipment, robots, machine and plant construction, and also transport and conveyor technology, i.e. anywhere energy and signals are transferred to permanently moving systems and machine parts. LÜTZE cables are compatible with metal and plastic drag chains of all reputed manufacturers. Lütze also supplies assembled cables for suitable servo-drive systems as well as customer-specific solutions through to entire cable harnesses.

The cables from the LÜTZE SUPERFLEX® PLUS series are available in very high-quality materials such as 'High Glide' TPE insulation and a durable PUR jacket. This makes them the right choice for modern, fast machine tools. Recently, the SUPERFLEX® HIPERFACE-DSL® completed the successful hybrid cable series for servo motors.
 

Over the past 50 years, thousands of drag chain installations have been implemented with LÜTZE SUPERFLEX®. Here are two applications for example:

• A six meter high King Kong, weighing 12 tonnes is used in a Melbourne musical . The internal automation package uses 3,000 meters of highly flexible LÜTZE cables .
• The cables of the crane-controlled derailing systems at the Pittsburgh International Airport needed to be replaced every season due to the tough ambient conditions. The LÜTZE cables that were installed are still functioning after seven years.

The industry is eager to see how LÜTZE will continue to promote innovation in the cable sector over the next 50 years.