Robust and corrosion-free cable guide for spray robots in greenhouses

Profile

• What was needed: e-chains of type E2/000, supplied as a ready-made pre-assembled readychain® system
• Requirements: an uneven ground, long travels, too much weight of the media as well as constant contact with water required a robust and safe guide; the customer also demanded a guarantee for at least 1.5 million cycles
• Industry: agriculture
• Success for the customer: laboratory data assures the customer of an availability of the e-chains for at least 2 million cycles; all media are guided perfectly in the application for a long time at high speeds and accelerations as well as under challenging ambient conditions.

At its headquarters in Molondin, the company operates a pilot greenhouse - about 10 to 15 times the yield of outdoor cultivation, 90 per cent less water and no pesticides.

Problem

If vegetables are not grown in the soil but in rock wool or coconut fibres, they are called "hors-sol vegetables". They are then supplied with a precisely dosed amount of nutrient solution. This brings advantages such as freedom from weather, climate and soil. Founded in 2011, the start-up CombaGroup focuses on the use of a globally unique aeroponic system, a form of hors-sol method in which the seeds do not grow in the ground but in the air.
In Switzerland, the company operates a pilot greenhouse of 600 square metres for this purpose, which has a yield about 10 to 15 times higher than outdoor cultivation. The Aeroponic's mobility is unique: it uses a spraying robot that sprays the necessary amount of water and nutrients directly onto the roots. In addition, the robot keeps moving the roots so that the lettuce heads have enough space to grow.
However, as the technology progressed, the demands on the energy supply system of the spraying robot also increased in terms of stability, weight and media feed-through. The floor in a greenhouse is uneven, and the chain with the media is also in the water all the time. With cables that are sometimes over 50 metres long, weight also plays a decisive role. The customer wanted a pre-assembled chain including all media feed-throughs and a guarantee of 1.5 million cycles.

Solution

Our energy chains are used today in order for the robots to supply the plants with nutrients and water. So the first order for an e-chain of 24 metres was received by telephone. Energy chains are like the umbilical cord of the modern machine. They ensure the supply of energy, data and signals while in constant motion.  After technical advice from us and several telephone calls, the customer received an E2/000 type energy chain with a trough made of steel - pre-harnessed as a readychain® system.
In the pilot greenhouse, we guaranteed the customer 2 million cycles and a 36-month guarantee on all chainflex cables. This assurance is based on the detailed data we receive via our own test laboratory. In a total of 58 test stations, over 2 billion test strokes are carried out with e-chains and chainflex cables every year. This is the only way to ensure that the energy chains.used function perfectly in the application over a long period of time despite many cycles, high speeds and accelerations as well as challenging ambient conditions.
In the meantime, the first greenhouse for commercial cultivation has already been opened in France. Our energy chains are also used here. In concrete terms, three spraying robots with travel distances of once 54 metres and twice 25 metres are used here.

Seven types of lettuce are currently being produced, and others are in the test phase.

The energy chains including all media feed-throughs are permanently in contact with water.

The new greenhouse in France: 54 metres of travel in an aluminium trough for the fully harnessed energy chains with chainflex cables.