Horizontal guiding system designed for long travel applications

Metal chips can be a problem in long travel or gliding cable carrier applications. To combat this, igus® has developed Guidelok, a horizontal guiding system designed for cable carriers in the machine tool industry in long travel applications up to 164 feet (50 meters).

The system's open trough design allows debris and chips to fall straight through. The cable carrier is kept in place by a spring-loaded roller support, which is pushed back as the cable carrier passes through, before snapping out again after the carrier's radius has passed. The upper run then rests on the roller support.

With the system, the cable carrier can support itself over a longer distance, enabling users to choose a smaller version for the given length, saving overall costs, and reducing the required push-/pull driving force. Guidelok keeps the upper and lower runs of the cable carrier separate from one another, which helps to minimize friction and wear and increases service life.

A video of this modular system can be found here.