In these drag chains, the cables are bent in one direction.
Technical expertise
Benefit from the expertise of our experienced system engineers. You will find the right drag chain solution for your needs.
Drag chains were first developed in the 1950s and ensure the safe guidance of cables and media hoses in applications with continuous and dynamic movement. Drag chains reduce the strain on cables and hoses and the stress to which they are subjected, resulting in significantly longer service life and greater reliability. Thanks to modern materials and designs, drag chains are now capable of achieving true peak performance, enabling considerable improvements in productivity. Plastic and steel chains make a significant contribution to automation in many industrial sectors.
What type of drag chain do you need?
The cables to be guided and protected should always be at the centre of your cable design – not the chain itself. Therefore, first determine the basic parameters of your application, then define the required cables before selecting the appropriate chain.
Do you already know which requirements your chain should meet?
We have the right drag chain for a wide range of applications. Which drag chain type is right for you?
Do you need a compatible complete drag chain system?
Take a look at our assembly solutions!
Versatile application possibilities of drag chains
In cramped vending machines, products are carried precisely to the dispensing compartment every time – thanks to the power supplied through a drag chain.
Drag chains and cables for highly dynamic applications play a central role in the cabling of roller coasters or freefall towers.
If you like going to the theatre, take a closer look at the stage technology. Here, drag chains move the trusses (lattice girders), which are usually suspended in the ceiling area.
Here, drag chains ensure the safe movement and correct positioning of the cleaning brushes.
As you can see, we often encounter many drag chains in everyday life without consciously recognising them.
Drag chain systems have become indispensable helpers, particularly in industrial areas and applications.
Typical applications:
- Machine tools
- Machining centres (e.g. cutting centres, cutting and milling machines)
- Factory and building automation
- Industrial plants (portal systems)
- Industrial robots
(Intra-)logistics
Typical uses:
- Vending machines
- Packaging and filling systems
- Automated storage systems ("high-bay warehouse")
- Material flow and piece goods handling, bulk goods systems
- Industrial robots
Production line for insulating glass at Bystronic glass
Building and industrial technology
Typical uses:
- Lifts, lifting platforms
- Car washes
- Swivelling devices
- Gates
- Parking facilities
- Passenger boarding bridges
Other common application areas
- Cranes and hoists, gantry cranes
- Lifting and conveying vehicles
- Steelworks, smelting technology
- Mining, drilling technology
- Offshore industry (drilling rigs, LNG terminals)
- Agricultural technology (environmental technology e.g. sewage treatment plants)
- Medical technology (e.g. computer tomographs)
Energy chains for long travel distances
A look inside the LAPP test center
Fun facts from our test centre
Before an drag chain cable is declared fit for sale, it undergoes a rigorous testing process. Whether heat, cold, chemical stress, mechanical stress or high speed: the subsequent area of application is simulated down to the last detail. The cables running inside an drag chain must also withstand a lot of strain.
- In a test performed inside a drag chain, a single cable travelled a distance of 150 km every day.
- By the time the tests for a drag chain cable have been completed, it will have travelled around the earth approximately 1.5 times.
- Depending on the type, a cable is tested for one to two years in a drag chain.
- In total, the distance that our drag chain cables cover every day in the test laboratory is equivalent to travelling around the world.
- In our most dynamic test facility, our cables and wires experience an acceleration similar to that of pilots in jets, namely up to 9 g. This corresponds to nine times the gravitational acceleration on earth.
Drag chains are therefore indispensable components for applications with fast, repetitive motion sequences that take place in demanding environmental conditions.
As a global partner, LAPP offers you a comprehensive range of connectivity solutions:
- Drag chains
- Drag chain-compatible cables and wires
- Fully assembled drag chain systems
We treat product and service as one
Order a product, and done? In many contexts, this is no longer enough.
Before a functioning drag chain system can be set up, a detailed needs analysis and a great deal of product and project expertise are required. Let us help you with this!
These are your advantages when you opt for an ÖLFLEX® CONNECT CHAIN, i.e. drag chain systems made by LAPP:
Lower capital and operating expenses
A leaner supplier base and no in-house production facilities reduce your costs.
Everything from a single source
Instead of a large number of suppliers LAPP offers you all solutions on the topic of drag chains as a competent system supplier.
Less stock required
We supply drag chains and complete assemblies instead of individual items. Therefore, you keep your stock low.
Do you want to find out more?
Each drag chain is customised for your application: The combination of components is tailored to your specific needs, because the individual requirements of a single drag chain system make it unique.
Expand your knowledge of application parameters, individual components and drag chain cables: