Igus Guidelok Offers Safe Vertical Movement

Guidelok SL is designed for vertical cable carrier applications operating on storage-and-retrieval units in high-bay warehouses, as well as elevators and material-handling equipment. Compact and easy to install, even when being retrofitted into an existing system, it allows safe energy and data supply in warehouses, deep-freeze storage units, crane systems or power stations. Vertical cable carrier applications are reaching higher heights and faster speeds and accelerations than ever before. In such applications, it is possible for a cable carrier supplying power and data to swing out of its normal area of operation. If it then collides with a metal beam or pallets, cable carrier and cable damage can occur. Normally a hanging cable carrier is guided vertically in an enclosed trough system. With Guidelok SL, these types of trough systems can be eliminated and costs reduced by about 80 percent as a result. The cable carrier is also easier to maintain, because it is not in a continuous trough. Guidelok SL locks the cable carrier into position using a unique design.

The cable carrier travels freely and safely between small sections of easy-to-install steel trough. These units feature two large control buttons which are pushed back, as the radius of the cable carrier passes between them, and then move back into position where they hold the hanging length in place. This not only provides operational safety, but also reduces noise due to the smooth, controlled motion. Several manufacturers of storage-and-retrieval units for high-bay warehouses have already successfully implemented Guidelok SL.