electrical cables: everything you need to know
TRANSCRIPT
Electrical Cables: Everything You Need to Know
Ascot Cable
An electric cable is used to transmit electrical power. It provides connection that allows power stations, wired computer networks, televisions and telephones to work. Electric Cables come in a variety of sizes, configuration and insulators and each one has its own specific purpose.
Here, we are going to give you a handy guide of the different types of electrical cables and what they are used for!
•Electric and magnetic fields are confined to the dielectric with little leakage outside the shield
•Good choice for carrying weak that won’t tolerate interference from factors such as the environment.
•Good for higher electrical signals that must not be allowed to radiate or couple into nearby circuits.
Coaxial Cable
•Conducts electrical signal using an inner conductor surrounded by a dielectric insulator
•Usually one to four layers of woven metallic braid/tape.
Types of coaxial cable: •Hard Line•Leaky Cable•RG/6•Twin-axial•Biaxial•Semi-rigid
A coaxial cable is used to:
•Connect home audio and video equipment•Connect television networks •Connect components of a local area network.• Used as a transmission line for radio frequency signals
Ribbon Cable
•Multi-wire planar electrical cable.
•Conducting wires running parallel to each other on the same flat plane
•Allow the simultaneous transmission of multiple signals of data.
•Consist of anything from 4-12 wires!
•Shape of a ribbon cable is wide and flat – resembles a
piece of ribbon.
•Were used mostly in the mainframe computer industry
•On card readers
•Card punching machines Tape machines.
•Used to interconnect network devices
•CD drives, floppy drives and hard drives.
Cables that just consist of two or more IDC connectors with every connector connecting to every wire have a simple identification method.
•One edge of the cable being marked with a red stripe•Risk of reversed connections is reduced.•Edge with the stripe is connected to pin 1 on the connector.
However, when individual wires or small groups of wires need to be terminated separately – this method is less helpful. Therefore:
•Ribbon cable manufacturers introduced rainbow ribbon cable
•Uses a repeating pattern of colours.•Referred to as a “hippie cable” due to its distinct appearance.
Twisted Pair Cable
• Invented by Alexander Graham Bell – the man credited with inventing the very first telephone!
.
•A twisted pair electrical cable is pairs of insulated copper wires which are twisted around each other. The purpose of this is cancelling out electromagnetic interference from external sources. For example: electromagnetic radiation from unshielded twisted cables.
•Pairs of insulated copper wires which are twisted around each other.
•Cancels out electromagnetic interference from external sources – such as electromagnetic radiation from unshielded twisted cables.
•Diameter of each wire ranges from 0.4 to 0.8 mm
•Number of pairs will vary
•The greater amount of pairs – the higher the resistance to external noise
They are used for telephone cabling and wiring local area networks. •Easy to install
•Flexible •Cheap
Shielded Cable
• Used in security systems to provide protection from power and radio frequency interference
•Reduces the number of false alarms being
generated.
•Made up of one or more insulated wires that are enclosed by a common conductive layer.
•Protects the cable from any external radio and power frequency interference.
•Minimises capacitively coupled noise from other electrical sources.
•High voltage power cables with solid insulation are shielded to protect the cable insulation, people, equipment.
Direct-Buried Cable
• Communications or transmissions cable designed to be buried under the ground
•It doesn’t have covering, sheathing or piping
in place to protect it.
•Built to specific tolerances to heat, moisture, conductivity and soil acidity.
•Multiple layers of heavy metallic-banded sheathing.
•Heavy rubber covers
•Shock absorbing gel
•Wrapped thread-fortified waterproof tape
•Heavy metal core.
It’s cheaper and easier to lay than all other types of cables – as these all need protection from the earth!
Flexible Cable
• Deal with the tight bending physical stress that is associated with moving applications
Back in the 1980’s when there were increasing demands within the field of automation technology, the moving cables guided inside carriers often failed, sometimes bringing entire production lines to a standstill at high cost!
• Specialised, highly flexible cables were produced
•Unique characteristics
•Different from standard designs.
•Superior flexibility
•Extended service life
•1-3 million cycles
Other TypesCommunications Cable
Heliax Cable
Non-metallic sheathed Cable
Metallic sheathed Cable
Multicore Cable Paired Cable
Single Cable
Submersible Cable
Twinax Cable
Twin-lead Cable
