One of the most significant elements of an electronic or electrical system is the cable assembly. But still, it is one of the last components that is addressed or given importance to. In fact, an over or under designed cable assembly will have a tremendous negative consequence in the performance of the electronic system.

What Is A Cable Assembly?

 

Cable assembly is a group of wires or cables that are organized and integrated into a single unit. Cable assembly is primarily used to transmit power, signals, and information to the designated application and to provide cables protection. Cable assembly also makes an application easy to use, repair and maintain.

A cable assembly is also known as wiring looms or cable harness. You will be able to find cable assemblies of various sizes, colors, lengths, and sizes depending on the application. Anyway to give you a more detailed view on this topic I have an interesting flow of subheadings below.

 

How It Works

 

As we might know electronic devices and applications deal with many cables that are often overwhelming to maintain. Think of an instance where the cables are tangled and the pain to untangle them. This can even cause disruptions in the flow of signals and power. So what a cable assembly does is bring the different cable components in an application or device to a single unit in a neat and well-organized manner. This will prevent the cables from getting all over the place and make it easier to use and maintain.

In addition, rough usage of cables and other unpredictable weather conditions can easily damage cables and disrupt their functioning. So under a cable assembly, all the cables are neatly bundled in an extremely durable sheet of material of exterior covering. This will thereby act as a protective layer for all the cables and its overall functionality. Likewise, a cable assembly also protects the cables from external environment uncertainties, easy wear, and tear and other rough usages.

Now that we know how it works,  let’s see how it’s made.

 

How Its Made

Cable assemblies are manufactured using outer sheaths that protect the cables from the external environment. Especially it protects the cables from ultraviolet radiations, moisture, oil, heat, fire, and cold. At the same times, the outer sheaths make the cables resistant to any plethora condition. In fact, what is great about cable assemblies is that it can withstand any major unpredictable environmental conditions.

Most of the cable assemblies are made out of recyclable and environmentally friendly materials. One of the beneficial things about how a cable assembly is made is that they have an extensive range of connectors and terminals. This extensive range of terminals and connectors can be used for controlling input, output, data and electrical current in an effective and efficient manner.

While this is the usual way how a cable assembly is made, they can also be custom-made. Custom made cable assembly address specific challenges and specification of devices and environments such as fire, moist, dust, friction, chemical and temperature exposure, flexibility and so on. The customization can also extend to desired shapes, sizes and colors.

So if the cable assembly option that your device may require is complex, you will need to specify it to an expert or any other specialized organizations and get it customized.

Now if you’re already shopping for cable assemblies and find it challenging to get hold of one, let me help you. I’ve compiled five of the most common cable assembly types. One of these could be the one you’re looking for to suit your device or application. Or, you could just Email us and we can help with your requirements.

 

Five Common Cable Assembly Types

Before I begin, it’s worth noting that these are just a few common cable assembly types which are also used or searched for frequently. However, there are many other types of cable assemblies which can range from simple to complex designs.

 

Military Grade Cable Assemblies

As the name implies, these are cable assemblies focused on aerospace, tactical and marine applications. Military grade cable assemblies need to be met with tough requirements and specifications. There’s even a separate set of requirements that need to be met with the connectors and wires that will be used in military graded cable assemblies. This is because the purpose of military graded cable assembly is to be suitable for rough and unpredictable environments.

These type of cable assemblies are used for fields of communication links, military ground equipment, inter-shelter communications, and remote weapon control, marine and airborne systems. So as you can see, these cable assemblies needed for underwater environments are totally different from military graded cable assemblies.

Millitary cablings

 

RFI/EMI Shielded Cable Assemblies

 

We’re living in an extremely electrically noisy world, and believe it or not, each of your cables is also adding to that noise. Yes, cables also get affected by EMI (electromagnetic interference) or RFI (radio frequency interference). These interferences cause several disruptions within the electrical system of your device.

For example, you may experience loss of data, poor signal quality, degraded performance or even completely ceasing the functions of your device. So the best way to eliminate this is to opt for an RF/EMI shielding for your cable assemblies.

There are two main types of shielding options available such as foil and braided shielding. Foil shielding attempts to cover the entire conductor of a cable assembly. Braided shielding, on the other hand, weaves copper into a mesh and surrounds the entire conductor. Likewise, braided shielding gives more protection from the interferences – but are more expensive. To decide which shielding option is the best for your device and the environment, get in contact with an interconnection solutions partner like QL-Custom.

 

Overmolded Magnetic

Molded Cable Assemblies

 

Molded cable assemblies are something that we come across in our non-work life. The best example is an HDMI cable. This is a type of cable assembly is typically used when you prefer a simple, and more appealing and finished appearance in your applications.

Molded shells are used for this type of cable assembly and they are made from either plastic or metal. They can also be shielded or unshielded and can be conveniently used in a variety of applications.

Lear more about molded cable see our Molded cable blog

 

Assembled Coaxial Round Cable Assemblies

Coaxial cables are a type of cable assembly where it has an inner conductor surrounded by a tubular insulating layer and a tubular conducting shield. They also have an insulating outer sheath or jacket.

This is something you can easily find in your TV cables (The thick black cables behind your TV that you always try to hide away!). These are mostly used in cable internet and other applications in vehicles, medical equipment, and radios.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RF coaxial cable

Flat Ribbon Cable Assemblies

 

As the name suggests, these are wired bundles and neatly organized into a single unit in a flat ribbon. They are large with wires or conductors running parallel to each other. They also have different colors coded for each wire. This helps to identify what exactly each wire does and identify them individually for easy maintenance.

These types of cables are perfect for use where cables requiring greater width. But their shape also enables them to be folded into space-saving configurations.

Flat ribbon cable

 

Reaching the end it is important to remember that these days there are many types of cable assemblies for a wealth of different applications. In Fact, cable assembling can also be done manually in a cost-effective manner. However, they may need a great level of understanding and days or weeks to finish, depending on the complexity of the design, so it’s a good idea to.