How much do you know about polyurethane cables?( TPU cable)
Polyurethane Cables refer to cables that use polyurethane materials as insulation or sheath. Their super wear resistance refers to the super wear resistance of the cable sheath and insulation layer.
The polyurethane material used in cables is generally called TPU, which is thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber. It is mainly divided into polyester type and polyether type, with hardness range (60HA-85HD), wear-resistant, oil-resistant, transparent and elastic. TPU not only has excellent high wear-resistant, high tension, high tension, strong and aging-resistant properties, but also is a mature environmentally friendly material.
Today, Lansheng Cable will take you through the 8 main features and application areas of polyurethane cable.
8 major features：
1.Wear resistance
When the cable is often subjected to mechanical action such as friction, scratching and grinding during use, it will cause its surface to gradually wear, so the wearability of the material selection is very important.
TPU plastic raw materials have excellent wear resistance and are more than five times wear-resistant than natural rubber sheathed cables. They are one of the first choice materials for wear-resistant products.
2.Tensile performance
The tensile strength of polyurethane cables is up to 38MPa, and the tensile strength of ordinary rubber sleeve cables (one of the most common cables on the market) is only 8-12MPa.
When the cable is used in an environment with forced traction, the rubber-shelled cable sheath has poor tensile effect, and the core is easily broken after being subjected to external tension. The excellent tensile resistance of polyurethane cable sheath and insulation play a good protective role on the wire core, making it lasting and durable.
3.Tear performance
Tear strength is the ability of the material to resist tear. Generally speaking, TPU has a high tear resistance, and the tear strength is very excellent compared with some commonly used rubber and plastic.
4.Twisting performance
Many plastic cables (such as RVV) are prone to fracture under repeated periodic stresses. Polyurethane cables can maintain excellent bending resistance under different environments, making them one of the best choices for repeated bending environments.
5.Hydrolysis resistance
Polyurethane cables have good water resistance under turbidity, and will not experience obvious hydrolysis within 1 to 2 years, especially the polyether series is better.
6.High temperature resistance and oxidation resistance
Generally, plastic raw materials are easily oxidized in an environment above 70℃ for a long time, and TPU has good antioxidant ability; generally, TPU temperature resistance can reach 120℃.
7.Oil resistance and drug resistance properties
TPU is a highly polar polymer material with very little affinity with non-polar mineral oils and is almost uncorrosive in fuel oils (such as kerosene, gasoline) and mechanical oils (such as hydraulic oil, engine oil, lubricating oil, etc.); among them, polyester series products are better in polyurethane cables.
8.Low temperature performance
Polyurethane cables have very good low temperature resistance and usually reach -50℃. They can replace various fields where general PVC and rubber sleeve cables cannot be used due to low temperature brittlement. They are particularly suitable for cables used in severe cold areas.
Application areas：
01 Marine application cable
The types of submarine cables can be simply divided from four aspects.
From a structural perspective, it is mainly divided into three-core submarine cables and single-core submarine cables. Medium and low-voltage lines use three-core submarine cables, and high-voltage lines use single-core submarine cables; from a functional perspective, half a century ago, submarine cables only had a simple power transmission function. Now submarine cables integrate two functions, effectively realizing the transmission of electricity and signals on the same cable line; from the perspective of insulation composition, they are divided into oil-filled insulated submarine cables and extruded plastic insulated submarine cables; from the perspective of load type, they are divided into DC submarine cables and AC submarine cables. The characteristics of DC submarine cables are small losses and easy to achieve long-distance transmission, but the application experience of DC submarine cables is not rich. The supporting construction costs of DC converter stations are high, and AC submarine cables are large, but the operation and maintenance technology is mature and the supporting construction costs are small. Therefore, submarine cable line designers usually have to make technical and economic trade-offs to maximize benefits.
02 Industrial robots and Robotic Cables
It is understood that more than half of the world's new industrial robots have been installed in China, and robots made in China also account for a considerable proportion. As components that match robots, the demand for robot cable development cannot be underestimated. The industrial robot industry is booming in China and is also attracting more and more interest from cable companies. As an important component of robots, Wire And Cable have shown explosive growth in market demand, and wire and cable companies will usher in a rare opportunity for development and transformation.
03 Port machinery and gantry crane reel cable
The gantry crane reel cable should be able to automatically wrap the cable, and the driving torque of the cable reel should not be less than the maximum wrapping torque required when wrapping the cable. During the cable release process, the traction force acting on the cable conductor should be as small as possible. For cables without a reinforced core, the maximum allowable tension force acting on the cross-section of the copper conductor is 20N/mm². For the required cable winding speed or the cable weight is heavy, a reinforced steel wire rope that can withstand the required traction force should be added as the core.
04 Mining engineering machinery cables
Mining engineering machinery wires and cables require better wear resistance, hydrolysis resistance, high temperature resistance and oxidation resistance, so the requirements for wire and cable materials are also relatively strict.