18G1 18-Core 1mm² Drag Chain Cable

Cable failure in a moving cable carrier stops your entire production line. Not gradually, not with a warning light. One broken conductor inside a bend radius, and a CNC machine goes dark. The cost is measured in minutes of downtime, in scrapped workpieces, in overnight freight for a replacement that should have lasted three more years. This is the problem the 18G1 drag chain cable solves. Designed specifically for high-flex, continuous-motion applications, it delivers predictable service life in automated machinery—reducing unplanned maintenance and lowering your total installed cost per meter over the asset lifecycle.

Why This Cable Survives Where Standard Control Cable Fails

Industrial Ethernet and single-pair solutions get the headlines. But factory floors still run on multi-core copper. Eighteen cores, 1mm² each. Signal and low-voltage power bundled into one jacket, flexing millions of times inside a cable chain. Standard control cable isn’t built for that. Its cores shift under the jacket, insulation abrades from the inside, and copper work-hardens until it snaps.

The 18G1 addresses this at the material and mechanical engineering level. Every layer—conductor stranding, core insulation, jacket compound, and overall geometry—is specified for kinetic environments. Not for static tray work.

Fine-Wire Stranded Copper Conductor

Stranded bare copper, Class 5 flex rating per IEC 60228
Conductor fatigue is the primary failure mode in moving applications. Each of the 18 cores uses a high-count stranding of individually fine copper wires rather than a single solid conductor or coarse-stranded equivalent. The finer the individual strand diameter, the lower the bending stress at any given flex radius. This means the conductor withstands millions more bending cycles before a single strand work-hardens and fractures. For your maintenance schedule, that translates directly into extended replacement intervals and fewer unplanned interventions on a busy production cell.

Mechanically Optimized Core Layout with Tensile Center

Precision-lay geometry with central fill element
Cores inside a moving cable migrate. They rub against each other, compress the insulation asymmetrically, and transfer torsional force unevenly through the cross-section. The 18G1 arranges the 18 cores in a precisely controlled lay pattern around a central element designed to absorb tensile loads. Each core maintains its geometric position relative to the bend axis. The result is uniform force distribution across every millimeter of the cable during acceleration and deceleration cycles. No single core takes a disproportionate share of the load. No premature hot-spot failure from internal abrasion.

High-Elastomer Modified Outer Jacket

Oil-resistant, abrasion-resistant PVC compound
The jacket material on this cable is formulated with high-molecular-weight polymers that resist the micro-tearing generated by constant contact with carrier separators and neighboring cables. It also resists the mineral oils and water-soluble coolants common in metal-cutting and injection-molding environments. A jacket that swells or embrittles from chemical exposure changes the cable’s outer diameter—and that changes the bend characteristics the chain was designed for. This compound stays dimensionally stable.

Individually Numbered Cores with Dual Color Coding

Black cores with white numbering plus earth identification
Identifying 18 conductors during termination wastes time and invites wiring errors. A miswired connector can send a servo motor the wrong way on first power-up. Each core is numbered legibly and repeatedly along its length, with the protective earth clearly identified in green/yellow. Panel builders terminate faster. Field technicians troubleshoot with less confusion.

Technical Specifications

For parameters not listed, please request the full engineering datasheet. Custom jacket colors, core counts, and hybrid constructions (power + signal pairs) are available on a project basis.

Where This Cable Operates Daily

The 18G1 isn’t a specialty product for one niche. It’s a workhorse across automated manufacturing and logistics environments where multi-conductor signal and low-voltage power must move reliably.

• Machine Tool Building
  Inside the drag chains of CNC lathes, milling centers, and grinding machines, where coolant spray, hot chips, and constant three-axis motion demand oil resistance and predictable flex life.

• Industrial Robots & Linear Handling
  On robot seventh-axis slides and pick-and-place gantries, the cable must handle high acceleration and deceleration without internal core migration or jacket fatigue at the bend point.

• Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems (AS/RS)
  In warehousing stacks and shuttle systems, long travel distances and millions of annual cycles require a cable whose wear characteristics are well-documented and repeatable.

• Packaging & Filling Lines
  Constant back-and-forth motion on cartoners, palletizers, and bottle fillers. Downtime here cascades across the entire upstream process.

• Automotive Production Cells
  Body-in-white welding lines and powertrain assembly stations where the cable is exposed to weld spatter risk and repetitive short-stroke flexing at high cycle rates.

Compliance & Quality Assurance

• ✅ IEC 60228 — Conductor construction and resistance, Class 5 flexible
• ✅ IEC 60332-1 — Flame retardance for single cables
• ✅ EN 50525-2-51 — Harmonized standard for non-sheathed cables for internal wiring
• ✅ RoHS (2011/65/EU with amendments) — Hazardous substance restriction compliance
• ✅ CE Marking — Applicable under the Low Voltage Directive
• ✅ UL / CSA — Available on request for specific configurations (UL AWM Style)
• ✅ ISO 9001:2015 — Manufacturing facility quality management system
• ⚠️ EN 60204-1 — Suitable for use in the electrical equipment of machines when installed correctly

Note: Specific certificates and test reports for each production batch are available to buyers during the qualification sampling process. We do not expect you to rely on a generic datasheet.

Questions Engineers Ask Before Ordering

Q: What bend radius do you actually guarantee—and how is that tested differently from static cable ratings?
The bend radius is not a single number pulled from a catalog table. For drag chain use, we specify a minimum of 10 times the cable’s outer diameter under dynamic flexing conditions. That figure is validated on long-stroke flex test rigs that simulate the exact bend geometry, acceleration profile, and stroke length of a real cable chain—not a simple two-pulley test designed for festoon cable. If your application pushes toward that minimum, we recommend providing your chain layout drawing during the quotation stage. We can then run a simulation or, for high-volume programs, a physical test on your chain profile before bulk shipment.

Q: Is this cable suitable for use in an outdoor gantry crane or port equipment with UV and moisture exposure?
The standard 18G1 with PVC jacket is rated for indoor industrial environments and covered outdoor applications where direct UV and standing water are not present. PVC compounds without UV stabilizers will degrade under prolonged sunlight. For outdoor or wash-down environments, we offer alternative jacket materials—polyurethane for abrasion and UV resistance, or specially formulated PVC for intermittent wet conditions. Specify the environmental exposure during inquiry, and we will recommend the correct compound. Do not assume indoor-rated cable transfers to outdoor use.

Q: What is the expected mechanical service life in number of bending cycles?
There is no single cycle-life figure that applies across all installations. Service life depends on four interrelated factors: bend radius (relative to cable diameter), travel speed, acceleration rate, and ambient temperature. A cable operating at 15× outer diameter with moderate acceleration will outlast the same cable at 10× diameter by a factor of three or more. For a properly specified installation in a clean, room-temperature environment with a bend radius at or above the recommended minimum, you can expect millions of cycles. We publish cycle-life curves based on specific test conditions. Request the fatigue test report for your operating parameters.

Get a Specification That Fits Your Chain, Not Just a Part Number

A datasheet gives you numbers. An engineering conversation gives you confidence that the cable will survive your specific motion profile, chemical environment, and duty cycle. If you are specifying cable for a new machine build or qualifying a second source for an existing line, send us your chain layout, stroke length, acceleration data, and environmental conditions. You’ll receive a written technical assessment with a recommended part number—or a customized construction if standard 18G1 isn’t the right fit.

Contact our application engineering team at [email/phone] or submit your requirements through the inquiry form on this page.