Armor-Clad (AC) Cable: AC cable includes THHN-insulated conductors with 16-gauge aluminum bond wire placed inside the armor to act as a grounding conductor.
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Automotive Cable: This is a general-purpose thermoplastic (GPT) wire, also referred to as primary wire. Normal applications are within motor vehicles with limited exposure to fluids, physical wear and abuse.
Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC) Cable: BNC cables are small, quick-connect/disconnect radio frequency connectors used for coaxial cables.
Category Cable: This is used for systems and data networking systems. Cat 5e is the most common variety of category cable that’s used for computer networking on internet service installations. The conductor pairs are twisted together to prevent cross-talk and interference from other paired conductors in the cable, as well as external interference. The higher the megahertz (MHz) capability, the more twists per foot.
Coaxial Cable: This is a metallic cable that carries television and video signals. It connects to video equipment and features a central conductor with a dielectric insulator, metallic shield and plastic jacket.
Doorbell Wire: Doorbell wire is used to connect a wired doorbell or video doorbell to a home’s electrical system. 18-gauge wire is the variety most often used.
Dual Armored Cable: This is a durable cable that offers protection without employing electrical conduit, elbows, offsets (which can be expensive) or conduit couplings. For areas where the cable may be exposed to moisture, metal-clad armor prevents corrosion.
Flexible Cord: Typically used for industrial machinery, washing machines and large appliances, portable tools, equipment, and extension or power cords, flexible/power cord has its own naming convention based on a letter code, with a common option being SJEOOW.
- S: service cord (when not followed by a J, V or P; also indicates a rating of 600 volts)
- J: junior service cord, 300 volts
- T: thermoplastic
- E: elastomer, thermoplastic that looks and feels like rubber
- O: oil-resistant outer jacket
- OO: oil-resistant outer jacket and oil-resistant insulation
- P: parallel cord (light duty, flat)
- V: vacuum cleaner cord (light duty, round)
- W: sunlight- and moisture-resistant
Lamp Cord: Used with lamps, small appliances, radios and other similar products that don’t exceed 300 volts, lamp cord is available between 18- and 12-gauge sizes in a variety of colors.
Landscape Lighting Low-Voltage (LV) Cable: This underground cable is suitable for outdoor accent lighting, landscape lighting and security lighting. Applications shouldn’t exceed 150 volts. It’s used for direct burial, is suitable for sunlight and is available between 16- and 8-gauge sizes.
Metal-Clad (MC) Cable: MC cable is used heavily in commercial electrical work, for running through concrete or in other commercial environments. Individual THHN wire conductors are run through an aluminum interlocked armor. It includes a grounding wire.
Mobile Home Feeder: This connects a mobile home to a supply of electricity where permanent wiring is required, and it’s suitable for direct burial and underground service entrance cable. It includes four RHH or RHW-2 conductors, with a white stripe for neutral and a green ground conductor. It’s sunlight-resistant.
Network and Data Cable: This comes in three types — fiber-optic, twisted-pair and coaxial cable — and is used to connect multiple networking devices or computers in a network.
NM-B: This is a non-metallic sheathed cable that’s used as a residential building wire for branch circuits for outlets, lighting and other residential applications. NM-B is available between 14 AWG and 6 AWG with two or three conductors.
Preassembled Whips: These are pre-cut lengths of armored cable designed to increase jobsite productivity. Assembly comes with pre-stripped THHN conductors and pre-installed zinc die-cast, snap-in fittings.
Residential Grounding Wire: This is bare copper wire that’s available in 4-, 6- and 8-gauge solid and stranded construction. It’s used to ground the residential electrical system, usually at the meter before it enters the dwelling. It’s also used for grounding the perimeter surface around pools.
Service Entrance Cable: This includes individual conductors rated XHHW-2 or THHN/THWN and feeds power from a main breaker to a subpanel. It can be exposed to direct sunlight and used in wet or dry locations.
- SE-R: Twisted together with a bare ground, SE-R is used to bring service from the panel to other panels in multiple-unit dwellings and in SE-U purposes.
- SE-U: Bare conductor strands are helically wound about the two paralleled insulated conductors. It’s used for single-family residential buildings to convey power from the service drop to the meter base and from the meter base to the distribution panel board.
Speaker Wire: Made of copper and designed to transport a low-voltage electrical current, speaker wire has a variety of wiring uses, including doorbells, thermostats, home security sensors, landscape lighting and other low-current systems.
Sprinkler Wire: Multi-conductor sprinkler wire is suitable for direct burial on applications up to 30 volts. It’s used in central controls for underground sprinkler systems and is available in 18-gauge construction with up to 25 conductors.
Submersible Pump Cable: This includes THWN copper conductors that are heat-, moisture-, oil- and gasoline-resistant. It’s suitable for temperatures below 75 degrees Celsius with two or three conductors. It’s used for power and circuits for submersible pump systems.
Thermostat Wire: Used in heating and air conditioning systems, along with bell and alarm systems, thermostat wire is available in 20- or 18-gauge sizes with up to 10 conductors.
Underground (UF-B) Wire: A copper wire used for underground purposes, including direct burial, it comes in a gray jacket and can be used for deck lighting, outdoor water features, landscape lighting and air conditioner compressors.
Underground Residential Distribution (URD) Cable: Used for secondary distribution and underground service applications at 600 volts or less, it’s suitable for direct burial or placement in ducts. It’s acceptable in wet locations in triplex or quadruplex. Conductors are stranded, compressed aluminum. The neutral conductor has a yellow, triple-extruded stripe.
When completing an electrical project, it’s important to have the right tools and safety equipment to get the job done. Check out some of the most common tools for an electricians tool box.
Boxes and Covers: These are used to house outlets and adapters for operating lights, ceiling fans, kitchen appliances, etc.
Circuit Breakers and Fuses: These are two devices for preventing an electrical current from causing damage by overloading or shorting a circuit. Breakers and fuses interrupt the current during an overload or short and are housed in a breaker box or fuse box. Homes built after the s typically use circuit breakers rather than fuses.
Electrical Tape: Used for repairing electrical cords or insulating a wire, electrical tape is typically black. It can be used to identify wires and should be stretched as you apply it for better adherence.
Electrical Testers: Checking a circuit to make sure it isn’t live can be a life-saving decision. An electrical tester will quickly inform you if you’re working with live cables or not.
Outlets and Adapters: When wires are connected to an outlet or adapter, it allows the electrical current to power anything plugged into it, such as a kitchen appliance.
Plugs and Connectors: These are usually run from an appliance or a power cord and are plugged into an outlet on the wall. They allow an appliance to receive power from an outlet.
Wire Connectors: These connect two wires together with a connector: The exposed end of each wire is put into the connector and twisted so that they’re connected. Check out our DIY Basics video: How Do I Connect Two Wires?
Wire/Cable Cutters: This tool is used to cut directly through wire and cable. There are a variety of cutters for different jobs, so check that you’re using the appropriate one, whether you’re cutting through copper wire or a network cable.
Wire Strippers: This device removes the plastic casing to expose the bare wire underneath. Most strippers offer multiple slots for a variety of wire sizes, while some have an adjustment dial to set the correct size. Simply insert a wire into the correct sized slot, twist and pull it through.
Even in an increasingly digital world, efficient performance and communication rely on what’s hidden in plain sight: the complex network of cables. At its best, industrial cable management ensures the smooth operation of health care, manufacturing, datacom and many other applications.
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At the heart of any well-organized data center, for example, you'll find carefully arranged trays and raceways – the physical pathways that guide and protect cables as they traverse the building. These structures are not just about keeping cables out of sight; they’re also crucial for preventing damage, reducing interference, and enhancing accessibility for maintenance and upgrades.
On the simpler end, cable management solutions like ties and bundling tools offer a lower-cost option. In the right situation, they too can ensure each cable is securely positioned, reducing the risk of snags and signal degradation.
Which is right for your application? We’ll compare all three – cable trays, raceways, and ties – but start with a review of the traits you should look for in an industrial-grade product.
Also, here are helpful posts on similar topics:
- Cable Jacket & Insulation Material Comparison Guide
- 9 Control Panel Layout Design Tips for Safety & Performance
- Guide to Industrial Wires & Cable Types – When to Use?
- 8 Control Panel Wiring Guidelines for Industrial Electronics
Factors in Choosing the Best Cable Management Solution
Product
Known As …
Notable Benefit
Cable Ties
The baseline solution
Simple to use
Ducts & Raceways
The professional solution
Well organized, yet highly protective
Cable Trays
The high-volume solution
Good access for operators & air ventilation
Wires and cables power real-time decisions and processes. However, managing them is an exercise in planning for the long term. Your application might require you to follow several criteria to make sure the cables are safe and able to perform their best:
- Cable(s) size – This includes both the dimension of each cable and the bundle as a whole. Factor in any need for future scalability in your layout plans.
- Strength – Structured cabling won’t have much structure if your “solution” can’t support the weight of the cables without deforming or failing over time. Again, consider the potential for additional cables later.
- Cost – A lower price point may bring the total project cost down now, but maintenance and replacement costs may increase as a result.
- Environment – How will working conditions impact the product’s ability to last long-term? Will there be exposure to extreme temperatures, chemicals, or moisture?
- Flexibility – Depending on your device design, the cabling system may need to adapt to bends, elevation changes, and expansions.
- Codes & requirements – Only certain cable types can be used in cable trays, per Article 392 of the National Electric Code.
- Installation complexity – This is important both initially and when it’s time to replace cables. Would it be useful if your system could accommodate different scenarios for adding, removing, and replacing cables?
- Color – Different things may mean different things to the user or the maintenance guy. Work this out before the start of the project to facilitate easier identification and servicing.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to the level of protection the cables need versus your desired feng shui.
Cable Trays
Cable trays are common in industrial or commercial buildings, from malls to restaurants and office buildings. The NEC classifies these products as support systems, meaning they’re a structural component of an electrical setup.
Cable trays do not fully enclose the wires inside them. If you go with trays, you’ll need cables that have high fire resistance, tensile strength, and positive results from crush and impact testing.
The types of cable trays available depend on the structure. They include:
- Ladder trays
- Ventilated trays
- Channel trays
Cable Tray Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
- Capacity: Ideal for large volumes, with flexibility to add or remove cables easily
- Ventilation: Open design betters air circulation, reducing risk of overheating
- Accessibility: Provides easy path to cables for mods maintenance, & inspection
- Cost: Materials and support structures can be more expensive up-front
- Space: Requires sufficient overhead or underfloor space to install
- Protection: More exposed to mechanical and chemical damage
Cable Raceways & Ducts
Sometimes it’s OK to leave a bundle of wires as-is. In many other projects, extreme conditions or visual appeal are more of a concern. This is where raceways and ducts come into play.
Made of a flexible plastic, ducts are open structures that still enclose the cables enough to keep them organized. Ducts have mounting holes for easy installation on flat surfaces.
Raceways are also called wireways, conduits, or enclosed conduit pathways. No matter the name, the key difference stays the same: Raceways are fully enclosed. They’re typically a sturdier product and provide protection against:
- Humidity
- Corrosive chemicals
- Dust & debris
- Extreme temperatures
Fiberglass, aluminum, and PVC are all materials manufacturers use in raceways to provide sufficient protection of the cables running within. These are typically self-adhesive and provide a more appealing aesthetic.
Raceway Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
- Protection: Resistant to physical damage. Some materials provide EMI shield
- Aesthetics: Provides neat, organized appearance by concealing cables
- Safety: Reduces risk of short-circuiting, electrical fires, & tangled feet
- Cost: More expensive than cable ties due to material type and installation labor
- Flexibility: More challenging to reroute or add new cabling
- Space: Can take up an excessive amount of floor or wall area
Cable Ties & Wraps
Industrial cable ties are simple, yet sturdy fasteners that are simple to produce and use. This means they’re available at a lower price point. These products have wide-ranging utility and are therefore readily available.
Common types of cable ties include:
- Locking cable ties: Curved tip allows easy retrieval from a flat surface, as well as faster threading. Consistent and reliable for general applications.
- Dome top barb ties: Nylon product common in wire bundle management. Quick installation process, yet surprisingly durable. White ties are typically for indoors, while black cable ties are for both indoor and outdoor use.
- Releasable cable ties: Ideal for heavy-duty applications. Can press tab to release the cable for changes or repairs.
A Note on Datacom, Ties, & Wraps
You might think cable ties or tie wraps would be synonymous with data communication. Actually, users in those environments prefer Velcro straps (hook and loop fasteners) instead of rigid cable ties like Ty-Raps for bundling network cables.
This preference is due to a few reasons:
- Flexibility – Easier to make changes to the cable bundle without cutting and disposing of the wrap
- Reduced pressure – Can secure sensitive data cables without risking damage or compromised performance
- Reusability – More sustainable and cost-effective for managing cables that might need frequent adjustment
A diverse array of materials are available for cable ties. Each has its own recommended temperature range for the working environment:
- Nylon (-76°F- to 185°F): Versatile and popular in numerous applications, especially HVAC systems where the product must comply with regulations for fire resistance and smoke production
- Weather-resistant nylon (-76°F to 185°F): Resistant to UV light damage; also used indoors
- Heat-stabilized nylon (-76°F to 239°F): This material can endure higher temperatures but is meant for indoor environments only
- Metal-detectable nylon (-40°F to 185°F): Indoor material for the food & beverage and pharmaceutical industries, which have strict standards against contamination
- Tetzel (-76°F to 338°F): Stands up to radiation and extreme hot/cold. Usable both indoors and outdoors.
Cable Tie Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
- Cost: Less up-front investment than raceways and trays
- Simplicity: Easy to use and requires no special tools for installation.
- Versatility: Uses range from simple bundling to structured w/ mounted base
- Accessibility: Once cut to remove or adjust, it's an inconvenient waste
- Pressure: Overtightening can damage insulation and wires inside
- Organization: Limited routing support and environmental protection
The Best Cable Management Solution Focuses on Productivity, Not Price
Cable management is a key criteria for effective protection in a bundle of commercial and industrial applications. Whether in the expanse of a data center or the compact confines of a control panel, your cabling solution directly impacts operational performance and uptime.
Regardless of where you’re introducing cabling, each strand needs adequate protection while staying mindful of other components in the assembly. Order and efficiency – not just price – are the purchasing goals here.
To get tips for sourcing other key electronic components, see our full blog library:
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