A variety of cables is used in industrial settings for networking, power transmission, and communication. Coaxial, data, and instrumentation cables are some of the most common designs you will find. These low-voltage cables are usually rated for 2,000 V or less to distribute power, but medium-voltage designs reaching up to 35,000 V can be used […]
Basics
Top 8 wire and cable stories of the year
Cable types abound, available with different types of conductors for different purposes. Is fiber optic the best route or will copper conductors suit your task? Is your application requiring data, networking or power transmission? How will EMI effect my application? All these questions make cable selection tricky. So it’s no surprise that our most viewed […]
Why is filler material used in Ethernet cables?
In some industrial Ethernet cable constructions, you may find filler material. Fillers are used to give a cable a more rounded and smooth construction and to give the inside of the cable a cleaner appearance. Additionally, it strengthens a cable, so that when a cable is moved or flexed, you can control the conductors moving […]
What type of foil shielding is used on data cables?
Foil shielding is critical in reducing EMI and other crosstalk in any cable design. In twisted data cables, two types of tin foil may be used inside —aluminum foil or copper foil. Three methods are commonly used in a cable’s foil construction — longitudinal, diagonal and wrapped. Longitudinal — The easiest and cheapest foil method […]
What are triaxial cables?
Triaxial, or triax cable for short, is used in similar applications to coaxial cables. Because they are designed with three conductors versus two in coax and feature an extra layer of shielding and insulation, they are generally more costly. This extra shielding provides ground and is more resistant to EMI than coax designs because it […]
What are cable glands?
Cable glands are devices that are critical when terminating cables in hazardous or harsh environments, where ingress protection, sealing and grounding is necessary to safely pass a cable, wire or tube through an enclosure. They provide strain relief and are also designed to contain electrical sparks or flames that may occur in hazardous environments. Additionally, […]
What is wire ampacity?
When selecting a cable, one must know its wire ampacity rating. This rating has been determined by the NEC (National Electrical Code), which lists ampacity ratings for real-life installation examples. Most cable manufacturers provide ampacity tables on their websites. Other organizations that supply ampacity tables include IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), which offers […]
How are high-speed copper wires terminated today?
In our last blog post, we discussed traditional methods of terminating high-speed copper wires. In today’s discussion, we’ll highlight how these processes have modernized in recent years, starting with hot bar solder reflowing. Hot Bar solder reflowing evolved for use through an upper and lower wide opposite bar machine that did simultaneous reflowing of twin-axial wire […]
What is the traditional process for high-speed copper wire termination?
Many electronic generations ago, during the 1970s, high-speed I/O copper connector popular types included coaxial BNC, pin-and-socket D-subminiature, and even a bit later the IDC Delta-ribbon varieties. Many cable assemblies were hand terminated by highly skilled manufacturing assemblers and technicians. In those days, accurate hand tools helped to generate a reasonable yield and rework level. […]
What are the temperature limitations of plastic cable carriers?
Many types of plastic are used in cable management systems, but the most common standard plastic that most people use is glass-filled nylon or nylon six. This material is best suited to applications that range in temperatures from –40° to 240°F on the high end. However, this operating temperature range can be increased by using […]