Custom wire and cable: Reducing your cost.

With custom cable it is not uncommon to hear “Copper prices just dropped, why didn’t my cable price go down?” Copper prices are a major factor affecting custom wire and cable prices but not the sole factor. Custom cable is normally made to order and many times in smaller quantities which is affected by the prices of materials at the time of ordering. “Off the shelf” commodity wire is usually made continuously and in large volumes which absorb day to day cost fluctuations of copper/metals, compounds and labor/set up keeping the price more stable.

Here are just a few factors which affect the prices of custom wire and cable products

Petroleum prices- Which can range from transport and freight costs to the actual compounds which are made from petroleum products.beside copper:

• Material shortages- An example is the fluoropolymer (FEP), earlier this year due to the earthquake in Japan affected production for Daikin and DuPont which are the only manufacturers of fluoropolymers in the world today. In addition with China cutting back on their fluorospar exports which happened at the same time resulted in an increase of 20-30% for the compounds.


• Material minimums- Custom cable designs sometimes use conductors and compounds which are not commonly used and are subject to minimum buys which are factored into the per foot price of the cable.
• Set up- Setting up equipment takes time and material, the higher the volume the less the set up costs affect final price.

There are ways to help keep your cost down, for example:

• Plan ahead – Placing blanket orders, scheduling orders over multiple shipments over time. Buying higher volumes helps absorb minimums by amortizing material, set up and labor costs. Sometimes the overall cost for ordering 1000 feet is less than ordering 200- 500 feet. Ask for price breaks to evaluate your options.

• Request samples – Custom wire is usually specialized to the design however you can check to see if your manufacture has a similar item they can sample you. This is helpful when you need prototype of proof of concept quantities. Many custom cable manufacturers have sample stock and overruns available which may be similar to what you need.

• Wait for it- If you time to wait, ask your cable manufacture if they have any upcoming jobs using the same material. Running your order along with another may save you on set up costs and/or minimums. It's a long shot, but can be done if your material is a more common one.

• Substitutions- Ask what is driving the price. If a material minimum is involved, find out if there is a substitute material which may be readily available you can use. Sometimes just changing the plating or strand count can make the difference.

Custom Cable-High Performance Custom Wire and Cable

What makes a wire or cable a custom wire or cable? One would think it would have to be an elaborate cable design, but in reality something as simple as a unique color or printing can make the cable become a custom cable.

Custom wire and cable is not readily available or stocked by distributors or manufacturers. Simply put, custom wire and cable is anything that is made to order specifically for a customer. Hypothetically, let's say you have a commodity cable that you use regularly but now your product design has changed and you need one or two more conductors. You check with your distributor and the manufacture doesn't offer that construction. You now need to turn to a custom wire and cable manufacturer which is set up to run special construction cable with little or no minimums

.Yes you will pay a little higher per foot than you do with the commodity wire however, you get exactly what you need and the performance you require. Prices between custom and commodity cable can't be compared as the construction and materials are different and the quantity produced are much lower with the custom cable. In the end it's all about having choices available to make a better product.

A few benefits of using custom wire and cable include:

• Engineered specifically for your application
  
• Custom configurations
• Custom colors and/or printing
• Improved performance

You have choices! When having a custom wire or cable designed you a wide range of options to assist in building the right wire or cable for your needs. Some options include:

• Gauge sizes, smaller gauges available
• Insulation and jacket materials
• Type of shielding and construction
• 
  Conductor stranding, plating and type
  

Reverse engineering is used in situations where the origin of a cable is unknown or there is no information about the wire or cable. Engineers in most cases will carefully dissect the wire or cable taking measurements and noting the construction of conductors, cable lay, shielding, fillers and other vital information. A series of tests are performed to determine the insulation and jacket materials. At this point if a customer would like to see improvements in the cable's performance such as a more flexible cable, or higher flex life it should be mentioned to the engineers so changes can be made to the design.

So who uses custom cables? Just about every industry including medical, robotics, aerospace, music/audio, and more. Building a better mousetrap often means designing a product that will exceed its expected performance and the wire and cable needs to be considered as well.

If you do not know much about wire and cable properties, don't be alarmed. Custom cable manufacturers have engineering resources to assist you with every step of the way starting with deermining the right materials and construction based on your application and requirements.

If you have questions about custom wire and cable or a project that you need assistance with, contact Calmont for assistance. Feel free to post any questions or comments you may have. If you enjoyed this article please feel free to share it.

Medical Wire and Cable-Applications of Medical Wire

Medical wire and cable is different than wire and cable

used in other applications. Design engineers need to keep this in mind when specifying their cable. Often time custom medical cables are needed due to bio-compatibility, sterilization and possibly smaller sized device requirements.

When specifying a medical cable one needs to keep in mind several factors such as:

• Sterilization techniques autoclave, gamma, alcohol?
• Will this be a disposable cable?
• Will the cable come in contact with the patient? Bio compatibility.
• Flexibility requirements.
• How will the device be used day to day?

Due to time constraints many times engineers will sometimes settle for a readily available off the shelf cable for prototypes or proof of concept, which is fine for the short term. When it comes to field and clinical trials a prototype should be made with wire or cable specifically designed for the application to better measure longevity and functionality. Medical cable applications fall into several categories; handheld medical devices are a large segment of medical cable applications.

Medical Hand Piece Cables

Cables for medical hand pieces must carry the power, control, sensor and data to and from the hand piece. The cable may be as simple as a two-conductor cable, providing power to a cut & cauterize scalpel or a multi-conductor power, control and sensor cable used on an orthopedic surgery device. Cables for handheld medical lasers likely contain lumens for cooling. Ablating hand piece cables can also contain lumens for irrigation and suction removal.

The design of medical hand pieces falls into two categories: re-useable and disposable. See below for information on Disposable Medical Cables and Re-useable Medical Cables.

Disposable Medical Cables

Disposable medical cables are made from the lowest cost materials that will meet the design needs of the device. Conductor cost is dictated more by the number of strands used to make the conductor. The higher the strand count the more flexible the wire becomes. A marketing trade-off is often made for disposable cables, i.e. increase stiffness can be tolerated by the need to hold cost down. 7 or 19 strand conductors can be used, where in re-useable cables the strand count can be well over 50. The use of plating is reviewed and bare copper is the most often used. Tin plating is used only to enhance solder ability. Crimping the wires is often the cheapest means of terminating the conductor. Silver plating is rarely used for disposable cables. Conductor sizes are determined by the current needs of the device.

Insulation and jacket materials are chosen by cost. Low cost materials such as Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) or Thermo Plastic Elastomers such as poly urethane are often used. Polyethylene can be used as insulation. Insulation and jacket thickness are determined by the voltage ratings of the signals in the cable.

Shields, when required, are usually of a spiral type rather than braid to hold the cost down. Spiral shields may lose shield effectiveness during repeated flexing, but the number of flexes for disposable cables is limited.

Jacket colors usually are chosen by the program. The need for gamma sterilization may limit the color shades available. Colors can change during gamma sterilization and are usually required to be stable for less than 10 cycles to allow for re-sterilization when repackaging is needed.

Re-useable Medical Cables.

Medical cables designed for re-useable devices have to use materials that will withstand several cycles of sterilization by alcohol based agents or autoclaves.

Conductors are made from high strand count conductors for maximum flexibility and often they are made from high strength copper alloys. The size of the conductors is determined by the current they must carry to the device. To withstand the rigors of sterilization, plating’s of tin or silver plating may be required.

Insulation must also withstand the rigors of sterilization and are often either Teflon’s such as FEP, PFA or Tefzel® or Silicone Rubber. The use of lower cost materials may be made on a case by case basis.

When shields are required, they must be made from materials resistant to many sterilization cycles and are often silver plated copper or silver plated high strength copper alloys. Shield construction is usually of a braid rather than a spiral, as spiral shields can move during flexing and compromise the shielding effectiveness.

The more popular choice for cable jackets are made from Santoprene™ TPE which is good for up to 100 cycles of autoclave, or Silicone Rubber.

Medical cable applications also include implantable, medical robotics, therapeutic devices, sensors and monitoring equipment.

To find out more or discuss your applications with medical wire and cable please contact Calmont Wire & Cable.

Please feel free to leave your comments; we would enjoy hearing from you.

Medical Cable- Applications of the Lumen in the Medical Industry

In the medical device industry a lumen is a term used to describe tubing which is typically used to transfer liquids, gases/air or even other cable components such as fiber optics and cameras. Lumens can be manufactured in a variety of configurations and incorporated inside a cable with multiple lumens (multi-lumen).

If you have been to the dentist then you have had experience with lumens. The handpiece used for air and water has lumens within the cable. The suction piece placed in your mouth is a disposable lumen. Other uses for lumens include micro-surgical instruments and pressure transducers. Cables for handheld medical lasers likely contain lumens for cooling. Ablating handpiece cables can also contain lumens for irrigation and suctioning.

Lumens are not limited to the medical cable industry. Lumens are used in many industries and are often called other names such as tubing or hose.

Other industries using lumens include:

• Industrial
• Automotive
• Instrumentation and sensors
• Automation/ robotic

As products become smaller and more compact and it is more common to see tubing and cable incorporated into one component. A few examples outside the medical industry include hi-tech hand sprayers with electronic controller in handpiece, cables with hydraulic fluid tubes, pressure transducers and air controlled switches.

Often when designing a device or equipment with tubing or lumens a custom cable solution is needed. It is important to tell your cable manufacture as much information as possible about the application and its intended use.

Key information may include:

• Used for fluid, air or other?
• Will it be pressurized?
• Type of fluid or gas?
• Flexibility requirements?
• Bio-compatibility requirements?

The more your cable manufacture knows, the better the design will meet your needs. Working with a cable manufacturer early in your design phase will help to determine tubing size, material and construction to insure your project goes smoothly from the start.

Comments are welcome! Tell us about your lumen application or challenge.

Implantable silicone lumen One of the obvious benefits for using silicone wire

Silicone wire and cable is known for being extremely flexible and resistant to high temperatures, which makes it the material of choice in a variety of applications and industries that require an extremely flexible cable. Silicone wire is also flexible in the many applications and industries that it is used in. For example, Calmont is involved in a wide spectrum of projects using silicone wire and cable ranging from medical implants, automotive ignition wires to applications where the wire was weaved into fabric and even used for art and decorative lighting.

Industries that use silicone wire include:

• Medical
• Aerospace
• Robotics and automation
• Automotive

for wire and cable is the flexibility. Silicone wire, depending on the construction can be as limp as a piece of string. This type of wire is ideal with applications where routing a wire through a tight space is required such as, box builds, equipment, robotic arms or handheld devices. Other benefits include resistance to gasoline, alcohol-glycol. The temperature range for standard silicone is -60°C to 200°C and has excellent weather-ability. The downside to silicone is it's abrasion resistance which is fair. Depending on the application this may have no impact, best uses are static installations or when the wire or cable is not subject to contact with sharp objects.

Fluorosilicone is another type which is widely used and has a significantly greater chemical resistance than silicone. It is resistant to hydrocarbon fluids (gasoline / diesel) and solvents. The temperature range varies by the grade. Most is 250C it is available up to 350C upon request. Fluorosilicone also has excellent flexibility and flame retardant properties.

Tell your wire and cable manufacturer any special requirements your application has to get the right silicone compound. There are different grades, and durometers available. Sometimes a special formula or additive may be needed to meet the requirements listed below.

A few options include:

• Medical grade
• Flame retardant
• Low smoke
• High temperature to 350°C

Silicone ribbon cables are often used in place of PVC ribbon cables when flexibility is required. Silicone ribbon cables can be extruded or manufactured using a special process to bond the conductors. The construction of the silicone ribbon cable can be from two conductors to over twenty depending on the manufacturer's capabilities.

Co-extrusion: Silicone wire to the Hula Hoop.

Choosing co-extruded silicone wire for applications that require suppression of electrical noise, corona resistance, low loss of power and extremely flexible nature is ideal. The co-extrusion process for silicone wire involves the combination of two extruders running simultaneously to produce the semi conductive silicone insulation and the silicone outer jacket. There are many applications which require this type of performance.

These applications include:

• Aerospace
• Medical
• X-Ray and MRI
• Radar systems
• Photo copiers
• Robotics

Extruding the semi-conductive insulation and the outer jacket layers of silicone at the same time insures that there is no air or any contamination particles at the joining of the two layers. The use of a semi-conductive silicone layer over the copper conductor reduces corona by filling the space around the conductor with semi-conductive silicone to remove the air. The semi-conductive material also increases the effective corona inception diameter from that of one of the strands in the conductor to a diameter slightly larger than the total conductor diameter. This results in the higher corona inception values and increase effective radius of conductor found in co-extruded silicone wires.

Features and Benefits:

• Corona, moisture and ozone resistant
• Lightweight and extremely flexible design
• Radiation resistance
• Excellent electrical characteristics
• Resistant to temperature extremes
• Lower EMI

Increased Customer Benefits:

• Reduces noise on radar
• Spots on Xerox copies
• Error spots on medical x-ray's

Built in stripes

Other uses for Co-extrusion
In 1958, The Wham-O Company had a problem: The stripe in the original Hula Hoop was painted on and was wearing off quickly after a short time of use. The Wham-O Company asked Calmont Wire & Cable's founder Bill Chilcote to find a solution to the problem. Bill seized the opportunity and developed a co-extrusion process and built the equipment to add the stripe right into the tubing, which made the stripe permanent. The stripe has evolved over the years but the fundamentals of Bill’s technology are still being used today for the Hula Hoop and many other applications in a variety of industries.

Flexible Wire- Conductor and Insulation selection for flexible wire and cable

Medical device, aerospace and automation manufacturers often require flexible cables for their products. Flexible wire and cable can have many interpretations. Sometimes a simple description such as, “the wire needs to be as limp as a wet noodle” is enough to understand your needs. The choice of type of conductor and insulation can greatly influence the flexibility of the cable performance. Understanding what the flexibility requirements are will help to determine the materials and construction for the flexibility of the wire or cable.

When specifying a flexible cable you need tell your cable manufacturer what the intended use will be.

• Do you need to route it through equipment or a tight space?
• Will it be subject to repetitive flexing?
• Do you need the cable to flexible during use?

There are several factors which make a cable flexible, a few are:

• Conductor stranding
• Shield types
• Cable lay
• Insulation materials.

Typically in conductor stranding, the more strands a conductor has the more flexible the wire will be. Normally “off the shelf” wire and cable is stranded in 7 or 19 strand configurations, is not flexible enough for most applications requiring flexible or high flex cycles. The general rule is the higher the strand count of the conductor, the more flexible the wire or cable will be. Stranded conductors are composed of un-insulated “strands” of wire twisted together. The advantages of stranded conductor over a single strand are increased flexibility and flex-fatigue life. When you see 22AWG (19/34) for example, what the description means is that there are 19 strands of 34 AWG making up the 22 AWG conductor. Other common options for a 22 AWG is a single strand (solid) up to 168/44 strands. The construction of the conductor also plays a role in the cable’s flexibility, for example a rope stranding is the most flexible. For repetitive flexing applications such as robotics and automation, the use of high strand alloy material is recommended.

Choosing the right insulation can add to the cable’s flexibility. Silicone is one the most flexible of the compounds used. Silicone wire is used to meet a variety of demands such as extreme high and low temperature requirements, flame resistance, flexibility, strength and purity. The application and environment also play a role when choosing jacket material. Harsh environments, chemicals, and abrasion will narrow down your insulation and jacket options. Discussing your flexible wire application with a cable manufacturer can help you choose the right materials for the performance and longevity of your product

Finding Reliable Aerospace Products

Though it is not something most of us think about every day, some people’s livelihoods are dependent on finding high-quality aerospace products. Things like a specialty wire and cable and other materials need to be reliable and trustworthy. When you are building flying machines, you have to understand you have the lives of others in your hands. Though you need to protect your bottom line and make smart investments to save money, you also need to make safety your main priority.

Industrial wire and cable products are one of the most important investments you will make as an airplane manufacturer. If you are in charge of buying materials, you will probably have access to several different options. Your choices will not be unlimited, though. Most airplane parts and airplanes are built by one of just a few different companies. All have comparable quality and are well-known within the industry. If you have spent any length of time working in the industry, you are familiar with the companies that manufacture parts. If you should come across a company that offers parts for a deeply discounted rate, you should be skeptical of their quality.

It might be tempting to look for discounts on coaxial cables you buy in bulk. This is the common line of thinking for managers and buyers in large companies. You are always looking out for your bottom line. However, when you are dealing with an industry in which safety is a factor, the price should be secondary. Finding quality materials is your main priority. If you try to cut corners, it could cost people their lives.

Conductor flexible cables are just a few of the components you will be focused on when building an airplane. You might feel as if your attention is being pulled in several different directions. You have a lot of responsibility, but you still need to make intelligent decisions that provide you with the safest materials possible. Do your research and make sure you are making a smart choice. You can look for a good deal or buy parts from a lesser-known manufacturer, but in the long run, you are likely to regret your decision. Proceed with caution and make sure you have your priorities in order. There are plenty of ways to get great deals on parts without sacrificing quality or safety.

Custom Cable Requirements for Aerospace, Defense, And Medical Industries

Wire and cable companies have the unique privilege and responsibility of supplying materials to important applications ranging from medical fields to military defense. Common requirements of military or aerospace wire and cables include tensile strength, longevity, temperature resistance, purity of materials, conductivity, and a host of other factors. Let’s examine each of these properties that custom cables and wires must possess in order to serve the function these wires are designed to fulfill.

Tensile strength, longevity, and temperature. In the harsh, zero gravity environment of space, and the unforgiving climate conditions in parts of the Middle East, having equipment that will perform optimally despite adverse temperature, humidity, and impact damage can mean the difference between a successful mission, or the loss of human and equipment assets. In a context closer to home, a team of surgeons assisted by surgical robot machines employing high-tech robotics cables, can help a patient undergoing surgery in ways not previously possible. And it is important to the success of a surgical operation that these robotic components perform at the highest level of efficiency with regards to conductivity and strength.

Conductivity and purity of materials. This refers to the ability of custom cables to convey power and data through their medium within acceptable parameters of time taken and power transferred. For equipment to operate properly, the right amount of data or power within the allotted time required for a wide range of applications. Much of the technology employed by the medical, defense, and aerospace engineering fields run on electric power, and that power is conveyed through various lengths of wires and cables from a power source to the end of a crane’s arm or a space shuttle’s piloting console HUD display.

All these critical qualities of custom wires and cables play an integral role when operational requirements call for specified and tangible results in the context of aerospace, defense, and medical applications. And since these applications by nature have high standards of performance due to the stakes involved for each respective industry, experts in this specific field of custom cables and wires manufacturing are usually the ones who handle these requirements for NASA, government agencies, and various medical practices.

Wire Applications in Military Vehicles: H Model Cougar MRA

Applications for custom wires and cables generally fall into one of several categories, one of which being mechanical requirements for military vehicles and equipment. Military wires and cables provide electrical power, communications, and a host of other functions within a given piece of hardware.

As combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq (Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom) intensified, there was a growing need for a series of vehicles designed to survive the explosive threats posed by the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) as well as conventional mining and ambush tactics employed against Coalition personnel. These vehicles were collectively described as MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) capable, and would be specifically built to defeat these threats. One such vehicle is the Cougar. Manufactured by Force Protection Inc. employing advanced flexible wire technology, the Cougar has been in production, and in service for the past seven years.

Vehicles such as the Cougar are not new designs. While new to the US military, the Cougar design can trace its origins to the Olifant Manufacturing Company of South Africa, which originally developed the multi-wheeled, "V" shaped blast hull design for use by the South African military in its operations against Angola and Namibia in the 1980s. These vehicles were designed to have good road speeds and endurance (to allow for the long distances traveled, as well as reduced maintenance requirements because of their wheeled design) and were specifically designed with advanced silicone wires and armor technologies to maximize passenger survivability against small arms ambushes and conventionally laid mines and IEDs.

The Cougar MRAP H model is a 19.4 feet long, 9 feet wide (spare tires mounted), 8.6 feet tall (not including turret splash shield.) 3-door, diesel powered, 3-ton capacity 4-wheel drive Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. The Cougar-H is The Cougar is equipped with an automatic transmission and in addition to the driver and co-driver, has seating for 4 additional passengers. Each seat is equipped with a 4-point ribbon cable shielded pur safety harness. The vehicle is equipped with driver/co-driver doors, as well as double doors for the passenger compartment, and a single vehicle accessibility hatch on the roof. The Cougar is equipped with dual A/C units (24,000/48,000 BTU/hour), is NBC overpressure and filter protected, and is equipped with a 9,000-pound capacity electrically powered winch. The unprepared fording depth is 39 inches, an approach angle of 40 degrees and a departure angle of 50 degrees. The Cougar is capable of travel both on and off road and is equipped with run-flat tire inserts. The Cougar-H is air transportable by the C-17 transport aircraft.