Robust steel cable carriers from Kabelschlepp Metool have proven successful in equipment such as HDD machines for installing pipes over large distances without excavation. To allow suppliers of the drilling machines to be as flexible as possible, Kabelschlepp Metool delivers the cable carriers as customised standard solutions with short delivery times.

The cable carriers are attached to the side of the carriage masts of the drill rigs, where they guide and protect the hydraulic hoses. The steel cable carriers from Kabelschlepp Metool's S series are ideal for this application. The extremely robust and heat-resistant solutions made from tautology-metal were designed for high mechanical strains and rough production environments and are also ideal for horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machines. The steel cable carriers from KABELSCHLEPP Metool undergo individual fine-tuning to meet the special requirements of the application at hand.

"Installation space is limited in deep-drilling devices. The cable carrier, therefore, has to use a highly compact design to guide various large and heavy hoses," Luis Miguel Berjano, design engineer at Tsubaki Kabelschlepp, explained. The modifications are, therefore, primarily based on optimum use of the available space and a particularly sturdy cable carrier design in the interior as well – specifically in the area of the dividers, which are made of steel, just as the actual chain links.

The experts from Kabelschlepp Metool also design adapted end connectors and adjust the pretension of the cable carrier to enable an extensive unsupported length despite the high weight of the hoses.

This results in individual customised solutions that can be supplied within a short time. And Kabelschlepp Metool goes even further: To allow customers to always remain flexible in the development of drilling systems, the manufacturer offers its customised cable carriers as a modular system. The user defines several basic machines for which suitable basic cable carriers are then developed.