I wasn’t really sure what to expect from MD&M West last week, but I can say one thing for certain: after pounding the carpet-covered concrete show floors for three days, I learned a great deal about new and innovative cable designs from manufacturers exhibiting there than even I expected.

Bacteria-killing cable
Perhaps one of the most standout new products I learned about was from Leoni, a German manufacturer of cables which I had only vaguely known about. The company, with North American headquarters in Kitchener, Ontario, was promoting its very innovative antimicrobial cables and systems for medical technology. By treating its cables with a special antimicrobial technology, Leoni has effectively eliminated microorganisms (bacteria and germs) from cables after a 12-hour period. The treated cables have been independently tested on a variety of different germs, including e-coli, various staph bacterium, and more. Although ideal for medical and food processing applications, any Leoni cable can be treated with the antimicrobial system. Stay tuned for a more in-depth look at how this cable treatment works.

Simple shielding and strain relief
Lapp Group’s new Skintop product lines encompass cable and connector technologies shielded, flexible cable designs. Its Skintop MS-M brush provides liquid-tight, metallic strain relief for EMC shielding applications. The easy to assemble cable gland with metric threads grounds shielded cables without the need for drain wires. The Florham Park, N.J.-based company also showed me its Skintop Cube multi-cable bushing system. With this design, cables are simply clicked into the frame and fixed in place, which protects against vibration and provides strain relief, with an IP64 rating.

Custom designs
My meeting with TE Connectivity’s Medical division was enlightening, as I learned more that the company focuses more on custom, complete assemblies vs. just component sales. The integrated solutions from TE are used heavily in surgical devices, with cable assemblies, connectors, tubing, and wire.

Keeping cables safe
While the big attraction at the igus booth was its 30 Years of iglide campaign, the East Providence, R.I., company did also offer a look at its E4-1, Energy Chain cable carriers, which is easy-to-open, with a double-lock design that allows the cable carrier to be opened and closed using a flathead screwdriver. Like other igus cable carriers, it offers low noise, ruggedness and modularity. The lids can be removed from both sides of the carrier and are hinged on the outer radius for fast cable installation.

These were just a selection of what was available to see on both the lower and upper levels at MD&M West. Other key cable manufacturers exhibiting at the event included Cicoil, which was demonstrating its patented Flexx-Sil flat cable designs; Northwire; Helukabel; AlphaWire; and StayOnline. Finally, I was happy to meet briefly and be introduced to the following new-to-me companies, including French cable manufacturer Axon Cable Inc.; Lutze Inc., out of Charlotte, N.C., which manufactures servo, control and other flexible cables; and murrplastik, a cable management company in my own backyard (Ohio, at least), which specializes in conduits; Carlisle Interconnect Technologies, which designs cables and assemblies specifically for the medical device market; and finally Bioconnect, a division of RF Industries, which also offers cables to the medical market, and offers insight with a new white paper on selecting them.

There may be those that question the value of trade shows but there is nothing better than getting out and meeting people to learn about new technologies. Had I not traveled to sunny Anaheim, Calif., I would not have been able to learn about all these new companies and technologies. Besides, when it comes to companies one deals with on a regular basis, there is nothing better than putting a face with a name or email address.