At the recent Hannover Fair, igus unveiled a system for splitting the outer jacket of control cables to reveal their inner cores quickly and easily, without needing special tools. It claims that the CFRIP system can halve the time needed to strip cables – especially those with gusset-filled extruded jackets – without damaging the cores.

The system (shown above) is based on a tough fibre-based tear-strip which is integrated into the cable during manufacture. Pulling the strip, splits the outer jacket to reveal the inner cables.

Initially, igus is offering the system, at no extra cost, for its chainflex CF5 family of PVC control cables (where the tear-strip is in the outer jacket), and for its chainflex CF6 shielded cables (where the tear-strip is in the inner jacket). The continuous flex cables are available with no cutting charges or copper surcharges. Igus is looking at incorporating the system into other types of cable.

“This simple method of stripping cable jackets is a neat solution for today’s electrical engineers,” says igus UK director, Justin Leonard, “making it much faster to take off cable jackets and allowing them to get the job done more quickly than before."