Plastic chains on the largest working ship in the world

The pipeline production system on board the world's largest pipe-laying vessel - the Pioneering Spirit - is largely automated. Part of the system is a grey, arch-shaped overhead crane from French manufacturer IMECA. The crane stacks the delivered steel pipes like logs on a lorry and positions them piece by piece in a waiting area before they enter the production process.
A major potential weak point can occur with the bridge crane's trolleys, which lift the steel pipes on hoist ropes and transport them along a horizontal axis - at a speed of up to 90 metres per minute. Power and data cables have to follow every movement of the trolley, a thousand times over. Traditional trailing cable systems, known as festooning, can reach their limits here. This is because the cables move like on a curtain rail and form loops. They run the risk of becoming tangled and are virtually defenceless against wind and weather. Conditions that increase the likelihood of cable breakage.

The responsible overhead crane manufacturer IMECA decided in favour of e-chain® from igus® for the crane's energy supply. These protect the energy and data cable in a robust plastic cage whose segments move in a similar way to the tracks of a tracked vehicle. If the trolley is on the left-hand edge of the boom, the energy chain lies in the guide trough. If the trolley travels to the right, the upper run of the chain rests on the lower run - the chain folds and the cables are fixed in chambers inside the e-chain®. This makes the energy supply safer, more space-saving and easier to maintain than a festooning system. The e-chain®, which is made of tribo-polymers, is also robust durable enough to withstand the harsh weather conditions at sea for years. As companies are increasingly looking for a "one-stop shop" system due to the significant time savings, the e-chain® was also fitted with 17 chainflex® cables by igus®, all of which were delivered from stock at short notice and on time.

"We are proud that our solutions are being used on the world's largest specialised ship," explains Theo Diehl from igus®. But that is no reason to rest on our laurels. "We will continue to invest in research and development to further improve the e-chain® in terms of durability, reliability and functionality." The chains can already be equipped with sensors that measure tensile and shear forces, acceleration and ambient temperature. If a fault occurs - for example due to a stone or other foreign object in the chain - the system switches off automatically and prevents the cable from breaking and expensive consequential damage. It is often these small, inconspicuous functions that decide the timetable for huge projects.