A cable gland (more often known in the U.S. as a cord grip, cable strain relief, cable connector or cable fitting) is a device designed to attach and secure the end of an electrical cable to the equipment. [1] A cable gland provides strain-relief and connects by a means suitable for the type and description of cable for which it is designed—including provision for making electrical connection to the armour or braid and lead or aluminium sheath of the cable, if any. Cable glands may also be used for sealing cables passing through bulkheads [2] or gland plates. Cable glands are mostly used for cables with diameters between 1 mm and 75 mm. [3]
Cable glands are commonly defined as mechanical cable entry devices. [4] They are used throughout a number of industries in conjunction with cable and wiring used in electrical instrumentation and automation systems. Cable glands may be used on all types of electrical power, control, instrumentation, data and telecommunications cables. They are used as a sealing and termination device to ensure that the characteristics of the enclosure which the cable enters can be maintained adequately. Cable glands are made of various plastics, and steel, brass or aluminum for industrial usage. Glands intended to resist dripping water or water pressure will include synthetic rubber or other types of elastomer seals. Certain types of cable glands may also serve to prevent entry of flammable gas into equipment enclosures, for electrical equipment in hazardous areas.
Although cable glands are often called "connectors", a technical distinction can be made in the terminology, which differentiates them from quick-disconnect, conducting electrical connectors.
For routing pre-terminated cables (cables with connectors), split cable glands can be used. These cable glands consist of three parts (two gland halves and a split sealing grommet) which are screwed with a hexagonal locknut (like normal cable glands). Thus, pre-assembled cables can be routed without removing the plugs. Split cable glands can reach an ingress protection of up to IP66/IP68 and NEMA 4X.
Alternatively, split cable entry systems can be used (normally consisting of a hard frame and several sealing grommets) to route a large number of pre-terminated cables through one wall cut-out.
There are at least three types of thread standards used:
In telecommunication, the term outside plant has the following meanings:
Components of an electrical circuit are electrically connected if an electric current can run between them through an electrical conductor. An electrical connector is an electromechanical device used to create an electrical connection between parts of an electrical circuit, or between different electrical circuits, thereby joining them into a larger circuit. Most electrical connectors have a gender – i.e. the male component, called a plug, connects to the female component, or socket. The connection may be removable, require a tool for assembly and removal, or serve as a permanent electrical joint between two points. An adapter can be used to join dissimilar connectors.
In electronics, electrical termination is the practice of ending a transmission line with a device that matches the characteristic impedance of the line. Termination prevents signals from reflecting off the end of the transmission line. Reflections at the ends of unterminated transmission lines cause distortion, which can produce ambiguous digital signal levels and misoperation of digital systems. Reflections in analog signal systems cause such effects as video ghosting, or power loss in radio transmitter transmission lines.
A grommet is a ring or edge strip inserted into a hole through thin material, typically a sheet of textile fabric, sheet metal or composite of carbon fiber, wood or honeycomb. Grommets are generally flared or collared on each side to keep them in place, and are often made of metal, plastic, or rubber. They may be used to prevent tearing or abrasion of the pierced material or protection from abrasion of the insulation on the wire, cable, line being routed through the penetration, and to cover sharp edges of the piercing, or all of the above.
In electrical and mechanical trades and manufacturing, each half of a pair of mating connectors or fasteners is conventionally assigned the designation male or female. The female connector is generally a receptacle that receives and holds the male connector. Alternative terminology such as plug and socket or jack are sometimes used, particularly for electrical connectors.
A shielded cable or screened cable is an electrical cable that has a common conductive layer around its conductors for electromagnetic shielding. This shield is usually covered by an outermost layer of the cable. Common types of cable shielding can most broadly be categorized as foil type, contraspiralling wire strands or both. A longitudinal wire may be necessary with dielectric spiral foils to short out each turn.
In telecommunications, structured cabling is building or campus cabling infrastructure that consists of a number of standardized smaller elements called subsystems. Structured cabling components include twisted pair and optical cabling, patch panels and patch cables.
A stuffing box or gland package is an assembly which is used to house a gland seal. It is used to prevent leakage of fluid, such as water or steam, between sliding or turning parts of machine elements.
Electronic packaging is the design and production of enclosures for electronic devices ranging from individual semiconductor devices up to complete systems such as a mainframe computer. Packaging of an electronic system must consider protection from mechanical damage, cooling, radio frequency noise emission and electrostatic discharge. Product safety standards may dictate particular features of a consumer product, for example, external case temperature or grounding of exposed metal parts. Prototypes and industrial equipment made in small quantities may use standardized commercially available enclosures such as card cages or prefabricated boxes. Mass-market consumer devices may have highly specialized packaging to increase consumer appeal. Electronic packaging is a major discipline within the field of mechanical engineering.
A modular connector is a type of electrical connector for cords and cables of electronic devices and appliances, such as in computer networking, telecommunication equipment, and audio headsets.
In mechanical engineering, a compression seal fitting, also known as a sealing gland, is intended to seal some type of element when the element must pass through a pressure or environmental boundary. A compression seal fitting may serve several purposes:
Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV) are dynamically vulcanized alloys consisting mostly of fully cured EPDM rubber particles encapsulated in a polypropylene (PP) matrix. They are part of the thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) family of polymers but are closest in elastomeric properties to EPDM thermoset rubber, combining the characteristics of vulcanized rubber with the processing properties of thermoplastics. There are almost 100 grades in the S portfolio that are used globally in the automotive, household appliance, electrical, construction, and healthcare markets. The name Santoprene was trademarked in 1977 by Monsanto, and the trademark is now owned by Celanese. Similar material is available from Elastron and others.
Cable management refers to management of electrical or optical cable in a cabinet or an installation. The term is used for products, workmanship or planning. Cables can easily become tangled, making them difficult to work with, sometimes resulting in devices accidentally becoming unplugged as one attempts to move a cable. Such cases are known as "cable spaghetti", and any kind of problem diagnosis and future updates to such enclosures could be very difficult.
Homes typically have several kinds of home wiring, including electrical wiring for lighting and power distribution, permanently installed and portable appliances, telephone, heating or ventilation system control, and increasingly for home theatre and computer networks.
The Stahlpanzerrohrgewinde standard for screw threads, more often called by the shortened Panzergewinde, was a technical standard created in Germany and subsequently used in Switzerland, Austria, and other neighboring European countries. It has been retracted. The thread is used to join pieces of electrical conduit and cable glands.
Copper has been used in electrical wiring since the invention of the electromagnet and the telegraph in the 1820s. The invention of the telephone in 1876 created further demand for copper wire as an electrical conductor.
Cable entry systems are used for routing electrical cables, corrugated conduits or pneumatic and hydraulic hoses into switch cabinets, electrical enclosures, control panels and machines or in large heavy-duty vehicles, rolling stock and ships. Possible requirements can be high ingress protection rates or integrated strain relief.
An electrical conduit is a tube used to protect and route electrical wiring in a building or structure. Electrical conduit may be made of metal, plastic, fiber, or fired clay. Most conduit is rigid, but flexible conduit is used for some purposes.
Electrical busbar systems are a modular approach to electrical wiring, where instead of a standard cable wiring to every single electrical device, the electrical devices are mounted onto an adapter which is directly fitted to a current carrying busbar. This modular approach is used in distribution boards, automation panels and other kinds of installation in an electrical enclosure.