Show me your drag chain/cable chain/cable carrier setups

[borges1]

Hope this is the right spot for this...

I am working on adding cable chains to my bench top mill and this is my first experience using them. I'm kind of mystified by it for some reason. Show me how you did yours! a few collected examples would be really helpful. I have seen Unlogic's thread on his machine showing a few pictures - and it looks awesome. but none of those images really focus on how the cable carriers are setup. In particular i am interested in seeing how people dealt with the x/y table intersection point since my power feed power line must run in both chains somehow. Also how the drag chains are supported and/or contained - or not. i tried the search function at length (like always) but didnt get very far. I'd post a picture of mine, but its just a pile of drag chains and a mill.

 

[RJSakowski]

Both of my mills, an RF30 clone and a Tormach 770, use flexible conduit for power and signal wiring. I have had no problem with either. The RF30 clone has a DRO system that has been running without any problems for 20 years and the 770 has been running for 13 years, 10 years with its optical homing system but I am not a heavy user. I also have flexible conduit for the lathe DRO and that has been functioning for about eight years. When I installed the wiring for the optical homing and the DRO's I securely anchored at the terminal ends and at points on either side of flex areas. The flex conduit that I used isn't fluid tight so I enclosed the conduit that ran through areas subject to flood coolant in an oil resistant PVC jacket.

Running a cable chain creates a relatively small radius which causes more stress on the wires. Wiring running through it is usually a high flex cable designed to handle the stress of constant bending and unbending of the wire. As I recall, the high stress wire is simply a higher strand count and finer wire size.

 

[borges1]

Flexible conduit had not occurred to me, in some spots that might be better. But for the x/y i think its gotta be a drag chain to keep things tidy. Right now i'm in a rats nest of wires. The goal is to tidy them all up and keep them from snagging random objects constantly .

Im not too worried about the wires stressing. The cable chains i have don't make super tight turns, and the wires that will be run are alreay stranded and flexible sheathed. The DRO lines have spring style sleeves to prevent over bending and the coolant lines are super flexy and replaceable. Im not a heavy user so i bet once i get it set up the wires will outlive me. As it stands now there is a much greater risk of snagging loose wires and damaging them that way somehow.

 

[pontiac428]

I have some limited experience with drag chains, but when it comes to cable and hose management, here's a link for some ideas (I love these guys):

WireCare.com | Your Local Cable Management Superstore!

WireCare is your online wire & cable management superstore. We have what you need for connecting, harnessing, & beautifying all of your electrical projects. We carry the highest quality tools & accessories including Techflex, Deutsch, & Pressmaster.

www.wirecare.com

 

[ChazzC]

The scale cables on my Mini-Mill are just routed to the back of the column. I installed the scales so that the Y-Axis read head is fixed to the base and the X-Axis read head is fixed to the Y-Axis, so minimal movement there. The Z-Axis read head is mounted on thye mill head, so it moves, but only in a relatively small vertical loop.

I did install a small cable chain on my Mini-Lathe to get power to the TouchDRO Adapter (HSM Jan-Feb 2024):