Control cable selection criteria

July 2007 Enclosures, Cabling & Connectors

The Lapp Group has been designing cables for over 45 years. Since company founder, Oskar Lapp, started to manufacture multiconductor control cable, the group has been known as a leader in flexible cable technology. With the extensive knowledge gained by its engineers, along with ongoing testing and R&D, the company has developed criteria to aid the cable user in deciding which cable is best suited to an application. Cables from the group are used for the connection of control signals, data, fieldbus and all other low voltage connection types.

Areas where application criteria have been developed include: oil resistance, flame resistance levels, motion and mechanical properties. By considering these criteria the cable buyer has a more precise and definitive way of choosing the cable that is right for a specific application or environment.

Oil resistance

The type of industrial environment and other factors such as the duration of oil exposure and quantity of the liquid all contribute to the specific level of oil protection needed. Other parameters such as the surrounding ambient, temperature of the oil and the cable itself also play a role in determining the cable's ability to withstand this type of chemical exposure. In general, the greater the ability of the cable jacket to resist the possible devastating effects of oil, the longer it will perform uninterrupted in the application. Certain operations (grinding, machine tooling, painting, etc,) require the highest degree of oil resistance available while other applications (office buildings, residential dwellings, etc,) will only need a minimal amount of this type of protection.

Flame resistance

Cables are manufactured to comply with varying degrees of flame resistance requirements. Flammability ratings generally determine the end use application, which is dictated by local or national electrical codes.

Motion

When selecting a cable for applications where the cable is regularly moved or flexed, due consideration should be given to this aspect. When continuous flex cables are installed correctly in the application, a longer service life will result.

Mechanical resistance

Depending on the specific application, a cable may be exposed to external factors and various types of abuse. The explicit type of industrial manufacturing or processing environment will determine the actual degree of mechanical protection that a cable requires. CNC machine centres, mining, food and beverage plants, automotive assembly facilities, machine tools, data processing and automation applications all require a certain level of mechanical protection.

For full cable selection details and specific test results users should contact their cable supplier.

For more information contact Mark Dilchert, Lapp Cable, 0861 CABLES, [email protected], www.lappcable.co.za

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