CABLES & CABLE ACCESSORIES
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Cutting-edge plastic Echain protects cables in cleanrooms A dvanced polymer manufacturer igus has developed a new cleanroom energy chain with an innovative guide system that enables abrasion-resistant travel over distances of up to 30 metres. It is ideal for applications in microelectronics, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, or battery production, wherever it is essential that the surroundings are free of particles while maintaining high production rates. With increasing automation and constantly growing systems, the routes for material transport are also becoming longer. A key challenge here is ensuring that energy and data cables can move freely while minimising wear and tear. According to igus managing director, Ian Hewat, standard energy chains usually require complex extraction systems for microparticles, while the new igus C6 energy chain, in combination with the new e-spin upper run guide wheel, offers a solution that enables compact, durable energy supply in cleanrooms, even for long runs. “Cleanrooms have strict requirements for cleanliness and the exclusion of particles, which makes manual transport within the cleanroom unfeasible. This has led to the development of cleanroom-compatible energy chains that are durable and cost-effective alternatives to costly hoists and manual systems,” says Ian. He explains that igus solved the dilemma by developing a special guide system called e-spin for the C6 cleanroom energy chain. It consists of guide wheels that, like all igus energy chains, are made of tribologically optimised high-performance plastic, which is optimised for friction and wear. The wheels are located between the upper and lower run of the energy chain. As a result, the chain parts roll on top of each other rather than glide to prevent particle emissions. This enables use without an extraction unit and allows design engineers to reduce the complexity of energy supply in transport systems and save costs in the process. Laboratory tests showed that the high- performance plastics achieved the highest cleanroom Class ISO 1 at a speed of 0.5 m/s. This is ideal for a wide range of applications,
South African city declars war on cable thieves Alderman JP Smith has revealed that the City of Cape Town arrested 88 suspected copper cable
thieves and recovered more than a kilometre of stolen cabling over 10 months. The operations took place from July 2025 to April 2026. Smith said authorities also recovered more than 800 kg of stolen metal. “That’s the result of about 5,979 patrols in hotspot areas, 1,257 scrapyard compliance inspections, and responses to more than 423 public complaints,” he told Cape Talk. In addition to the arrests, authorities issued 3,095 fines and closed 42 large scrap-metal- dealing operations and 94 smaller ‘bucket’ shops. Smith explained that these dealers were failing to document the sources of the materials they purchased. “Very often, those registers are not being kept. The reason for these closures was non- compliance with the legislation,” he
all substations,” Padayachee said. “This technology allows for faster electronic indication of where theft occurs, enabling us to respond and deploy people to deal with the problem.” Padayachee stressed that addressing the copper market in South Africa, including cutting off the scrap market, would arrest the problem. “South Africa tried that two years ago when the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition placed a temporary prohibition on the export of copper, which worked reasonably well,” Padayachee said.
said. “They were found guilty of some offence, or they didn’t bother to register as a secondhand goods dealer or a metal recycler, which is required in terms of the Second-Hand Goods Act.” Smith explained that the theft of metals was a global crisis driven by the continued rise in metal prices. “It becomes a commodity that people are willing to steal or commit a crime to risk obtaining,” he said, adding that nearly all non-ferrous metals were being targeted. These are metals that do not contain iron.
Smith said the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) had been among the major victims of the crime. “Whatever is not bolted down or locked
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down,” he said. “Every bit of metal rail, pipe, bars, around structures to protect them from vandalism, and of course, electrical substation components.” Smith added that perpetrators were often hard-up and desperate individuals who were sometimes involved in gangs. However, he added that higher-ups benefited from the criminal activities. “The people further up the food chain are the ones who become rich out of this, and they are the ones who own the scrapyards or bucket shops,” he said. Copper theft chaos in Johannesburg Former Eskom executive manager and City Power engineering operations director, Vally Padayachee, previously warned that cable thieves were becoming more sophisticated and extreme in their methods. He explained that these thieves were venturing into tunnels beneath the City of Johannesburg’s roads, which housed many of City Power’s cables, to steal them at great personal risk. “You don’t want to be in a tunnel when stealing a cable. Whether it’s live or dead, it’s a massive risk because you are grinding, and those sparks can start a fire,” Padayachee said. He explained that there had been an ongoing debate about how to address copper cable theft during his time at the Johannesburg power utility, which spanned 2001 to 2009. He said the primary challenge was deciding whether to allocate resources to increased security or to invest in technology to prevent theft. The toss-up was between allocating guards to substations across the country and employing technology that notifies the energy distributor of vandalised infrastructure. “What we tried to do, and we’re still doing it, is to implement more technology because you can’t practically deploy the manpower needed at
www.igus.co.za
Ian Hewat.
SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS
JULY 2026
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