Robust and durable cable guidance for continuous use in milking robots

The mechanical engineering company GEA Farm Technologies GmbH is one of the largest manufacturers of milking technology. In this application you can see the milking robot "MIone". GEA produces the fully automatic milking system in series. Depending on the configuration, it can consist of one to five milking boxes so that the cows can be milked 24 hours a day. In future, the company wants to sell 200 to 300 machines per year. An important component of these systems are the cable guides, which have to withstand the harsh conditions in the field on a wide variety of farms. More specifically, the requirements are extreme temperatures (the system has to withstand hot summers in South America or icy winters in Russia, for example) and temperature fluctuations. Furthermore, the energy chain can come into contact with a wide variety of alkaline and basic cleaning agents as well as various disinfectants, e.g. based on iodine In general, the air in cowsheds also contains ammonia in varying concentrations, depending on the ventilation.

As they were looking for a robust and durable energy supply solution, those responsible at GEA decided in favour of the energy chains from the E2/000 family. These e-chains are designed for the medium load range. They offer a large usable space for the guidance of many cables, run quietly, are strong and have a long service life.
The E2/000 chain of type 2600.05.100.0 with travels of 1.5 to 7m is used on the X-axis and the chain of type 2400.07.075.0 with a travel of 1.96m on the Y-axis. The simple cable assignment of the chains ensures a quick installation in the application, saving not only time but also costs. Cables from the chainflex cable range are put to work here. Together with the e-chains, they increase machine service life and guarantee faster availability.