Many industries rely on high-quality cables for data transfer, commands, and power circulation within industrial machines. These industries rely on industrial cables for connectivity, leading to careful cable selection and routing because of different physical, environmental, and electrical hazards. There are a few factors that one should consider, when choosing industrial cables for various industrial applications.
We will discuss the various factors that affect the selection of suitable cables for industrial applications:
Industrial environment
The installation of industrial cables is primarily associated with manufacturing facilities, oil and gas processing plants, coal mines, wastewater treatment facilities, and transportation systems, including tunnels and subways. The environment at such facilities could be rough on cables. One must consider various hazards when choosing industrial cables for application in these facilities, including chemical hazards, ultraviolet light, moisture ingress, impact, temperature extremes, and vibration. Cable selection should be done, considering environmental factors and other significant factors, including signal integrity, minimized signal losses, and EMI effects.
Failure of industrial cables installed would result in compromising operator safety, causing quality problems, and potentially damaging the whole structure.
Mechanical hazards
Mechanical hazards to the cables in an industrial environment could include impact, abrasion, shock, tension, and vibration. Moreover, many industrial applications are constantly in motion, like multi-axis machine tools, robots, wind turbines, pick and place machines, automatic handling systems, and conveyor systems are a few examples. Therefore, the industrial cables chosen for application in such industries should be able to endure repetitive flexing for hundreds and thousands of cycles.
Ingress hazards
Ingress hazards to industrial cables for various industrial applications include moisture, chemical, and dust. Moreover, many industries use strong chemicals, which requires the industrial cables to be sturdy enough to survive prolonged exposure to harsh chemicals without compromising performance. For instance, the food and beverage processing facilities have equipment that must undergo regular cleanings with high-pressure water and caustic chemicals to meet hygiene standards. A cable is not appropriately designed to endure exposure to these harsh chemicals would allow fluids to wick into the conductors.
External and internal elements
Industrial cable installations are exposed to both internal and external elements. The significant internal or external elements affecting the cable’s performance, life, and quality, include high and low-temperature extremes, UV radiation, Moisture, and even rodent or pest attacks or invasive tree roots.
Electrical hazards
The electrical hazards concerning the use of industrial cables in various industries include heavy currents, high voltages, inadequate grounding, and electromagnetic interference from arc welders, furnaces, and HVAC equipment. A factory upgrade could cause space constraints which further cause the new cables to be routed close to noise sources, including motors and generators.
Final words
No two applications are alike for industrial cables as each of the types of industrial cables, is designed to serve cabling needs considering the environment of various industries. The success of the industrial application of various types of cables, lies in considering the chemical and mechanical properties of the connection technologies.