VFD cables have had to adjust over the years to meet the changing needs of the motors they run. New changes in the Electrical Installation Code will facilitate more updates in the coming years. Contributed by Neal Allen, Vice President of Engineering, HELUKABEL USA The variable frequency drive (VFD) cable business has become an extremely […]
Basics
Where are Active Optical Cables used?
AOCs are typically used in production line applications, where high-resolution images are used for quality control, or to extend the control and video signals of a machine or computer that may be 50-200 ft away. For example, by using AOCs, clean room manufacturing can now be controlled several hundreds of feet away in a main […]
What are Active Optical Cables?
The proliferation of bandwidth-hungry applications such as 4K/8K/10K video, as well as augmented and virtual reality, are all fueling the need for reliable, faster data transmission between sources and displays. At lengths of 5 m and beyond, copper cables are simply no longer able to keep up with this insatiable bandwidth demand at the speeds […]
What type of cable management should you use in your motion control systems?
Where there is a myriad of cables and wiring, cable management becomes an issue. A simple, low-cost form of cable management uses twist-tie bundlers that groups wires and cables together. However, such bundling can pose weight problems that cause sagging and put undue strain on cables. For stationary applications, cable trays safely and cleanly route […]
Why should you certify LAN cabling installation?
LAN cable certifiers are the go-to method of testing twisted pair cabling. But why do installers need to certify cabling? And what is the difference between a certifier and other types of LAN testers? In this post, Dan Barrera, Global Product Manager from IDEAL Networks offers some insight. “Put simply, the first two elements of […]
Shielding and filtering are not independent of one another
By Keith Armstrong, C.Eng(UK), FIEE/IET, Senior MIEEE, ACGI, EurIng(Gp1) on behalf of EMC Standards Filtering and shielding have to be designed together, as a system. They simply cannot provide their shielding or filtering independently of each other. I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked to fix an EMC problem, only […]
How do canted coil springs provide EMI/RFI shielding?
Canted coil springs shield sensitive electronics from the harmful effects of EMI/RFI. Featuring independent coils that serve as multiple contact points for optimal conductivity and/or grounding, these springs ensure consistent, reliable connection with mating surfaces, even under shock and vibration. These springs feature precisely engineered coil angles. Canted coil springs are ideal for use in […]
What are flat cables?
Flat cables allow for compact designs of electrical conductors and tubing, encasing power, signal, video, data and even pneumatic tubing in one flat profile. By eliminating the multiple layers of fillers, shielding and jacketing used in round cables, they offer reduced space and weight and extremely long lives. Because of their smooth, compact design, flat […]
What are cord grips?
Cord grips are used to pass a cord or cable into an enclosure, through a bulkhead or into a control device like a switch. They are used in industrial and commercial settings to control arc of bend or prevent a cable from being pulled out of a system. They also prevent cable damage and failure. […]
Fiber optic cabling solutions for sensing applications
Understanding the key factors that go into selecting fiber optic cabling for sensing will ensure the most reliable and easy-to-maintain system that reduces your maintenance operations. By Jean Baptiste Gay, Project Manager, Fischer Connectors Fiber optic cabling is mostly known for being the ideal solution to carry large amounts of data over long distances. However, […]