A Guide to Spiral Cable Wrap: Everything You Need to Know
A Guide to Spiral Cable Wrap: Everything You Need to Know
What is a spiral cable? That's a common question that refers to wrap that's applied to cable and wrapped in a spiral pattern. It has several purposes and is used across multiple industries. For instance, it's a common automotive wire wrap. This guide is designed to help you understand this critical cable management component. We'll cover:
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You can learn more about in Braided cable sleeving: a quick guide.
Spiral cable wrap is known by different names: spiral wrap tubing, cable spiral wrap, spiral wrap for wires, and wire spiral wrap. It’s a versatile and practical cable management solution, used to bundle cables and keep them organized and protected against abrasions. Braided cable sleeving, for example, does this too, but if you need easy access to your cables for any maintenance or repairs, then it's spiral cable wrap that you want.
When we're talking about cable management, we're talking about spiral cable wrap, which comes in black or natural, but you can also find it in other colors. Spiral cable wrap sizes vary while materials are typically nylon or polyethylene. Example:
It's worth mentioning that the concept of spiral wrap isn't just for cables. Hydraulic spiral wrap protects most types of hydraulic, pneumatic, and industrial hose assemblies. If it moves, spiral wrap is the perfect protection. There's even spiral wrap for heavy-duty uses, required by the mining industry to protect hoses underground.
Cable wrap is also cut in a spiral design so that you can route cables at any point from the bundle to a different direction. How to use spiral cable wrap is easy. You can apply spiral wrap to the re-routed bundle that you create too. Its design and construction also enable your cables to flex and even move around, making them ideal for robotic applications.
Standard Spiral Cable Wrap Lightweight wrap protects both cable and hose without restricting flexibility. Crush resistant, flexible, and easy to install. Available in heat-stabilized nylon or polyethylene. Sizes range from as small as 0.062 x 0.500 inches (roughly 1/16 x 1/2 inches) up to 1 x 7 inches.
You'll find it helpful to learn about other cable management wraps in our guide, The difference between cable conduit, wrap, sleeves and tubing.
Spiral wraps have an open design, which means they might not fully enclose a wire harness.
Slit Harness Wrap This is not a type of spiral cable wrap, but it's similar in that it's another type of plastic wire wrap. A slit harness wrap is used to bind and protect cable looms, also known as wire harnesses. A wire harness is a structured grouping or bundle of electrical wires or cables bound together and usually enclosed in a protective sheath. The purpose of creating a wire harness is to organize and protect the wires, which helps in efficiently transmitting electrical signals or power within a system.
Which spiral cable wrap material should you use?
Spiral wrap for cables increases your bundle’s lifespan while minimizing the amount of maintenance and repairs needed for wires, cables, and also hoses. That is if you choose the appropriate material. The plastic you decide on should depend on your application and its environment.
Use nylon in an enclosed environment
Nylon is lightweight yet provides high abrasion resistance. Look for a heat-stabilized option, which minimizes the loss of physical properties as operating temperatures increase. We are talking about electrical cable spiral wrap, and electrical applications operate in heat, so take the safe option.
Nylon does hold up over a wide temperature range, but if you can widen that range with a heat stabilizer, do it. Nylon is self-extinguishing, and you should make sure your choice has a UL 94 flammability rating, such as Essentra’s nylon spiral cable wrap.
It’s also perfect as automotive wiring protection, specifically for use under the hood in engines. Industrial operations also turn to nylon to protect hydraulic hoses, while nylon is also good for NEMA electrical enclosures.
Use polyethylene for general applications
Low cost, polyethylene wrap is the ideal choice if a temperature rating is not needed. It’s incredibly cost-effective, and in the color black, it resists UV rays, so you can use it outdoors.
Direct sunlight will not degrade the material, which is why it’s popular with the construction industry. It’s also used for industrial generator parts and in a typical outdoor electrical enclosure and cable junction box. Otherwise, polyethylene is a general all-purpose material, suitable for standard electrical installations, panel building, and the electronics industry.
Choosing the appropriate spiral cable wrap is essential to ensure effective cable management and protection:
1. Cable Size and Bundle Diameter: Determine the size and diameter of the cables or wire bundles you need to manage. Choose a spiral cable wrap with a diameter that comfortably accommodates the size of your cables, allowing for easy installation and future adjustments.
2. Material and Durability: Consider the environmental conditions in which the cables will be used. For harsh or outdoor environments, opt for spiral cable wraps made from durable materials like polyethylene or nylon that offer excellent resistance to abrasion, chemicals, and UV radiation. See above to determine which is right for you.
3. Length and Quantity: Consider the length of spiral cable wrap required for your project, and purchase in the appropriate quantity to ensure sufficient coverage for all cables.
Spiral cable wrap is incredibly versatile. It offers an efficient and cost-effective solution to improve cable organization, protection, and system reliability.
How to use spiral cable wrap
Industry
Application
Why It’s Used
Electronics & IT Equipment
Computers, servers, networking equipment
Prevent tangling & improve airflow for better cooling
Automotive & Transportation
Electrical & entertainment systems, communication lines
Organize and protect wiring from sharp edges & other components
Industrial Machinery
Automated systems, control systems
Organize and protect wiring from abrasion & chemicals
Medical Devices
Robotic surgery systems, medical imaging equipment
Enable flexibility & ease of movement in devices, organize cables & maintain a clean environment
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Renewable Energy
Solar power installations, wind farms
Protect and organize cables involved in power generation and distribution
Your next question is probably how should a spiral wrap be applied? It's ridiculously easy. No tools are required. Follow these steps for an easy, hassle-free installation:
1. Prepare the Cables. Before wrapping, ensure the cables are clean and free from debris or dirt. Straighten out any knots or tangles in the cables to make the wrapping process easier.
2. Determine the outside diameter of your cable bundle so that you can choose the closest spiral cable wrap size. Remember, spiral wrap sizes come in a wide range.
3. Choose spiral wrap slightly smaller than your bundle, or it will slip. You want to avoid over-tightening. The cable wrap should be snug but not too tight. Leave some room for movement to prevent strain on the cables.
4. Cut the length of spiral wrap that you'll need.
KNOW: How you position the wrap around your cables will dictate your bundle’s flexibility.
• If you increase the space between the spirals, you can bend cables more sharply.
• On the flip side, the closer together you space the spirals, then the less flexibility you'll have, but the trade-off is that you'll get greater abrasion resistance.
5. Begin spiral wrapping the cables from one end and work your way along the length of the bundle. Cable wrapping should be done in a spiral pattern to maintain flexibility and allow for easy expansion or contraction of the wrap as needed.
6. If you want to route any cables outside of the bundle, do so now. If later, you want to re-route any cables, simply unwrap the spiral cable wire wrap just enough to remove those cables. You can also reuse it for other applications.
7. Trim excess length at the ends to keep the installation tidy. Be careful not to cut too close to the cable bundle.
Finally, it's a good idea as part of your spiral cable management to attach labels or use color-coded tags to identify individual cables or cable groups. Proper labeling will make maintenance and troubleshooting more straightforward. Advise users to periodically check the wrapped cables for signs of wear, damage, or loose connections. They should replace damaged cable wraps or rewrap sections if needed.
Hydraulic Hose Guide - Create Sturdy Hydraulic Applications
Hydraulic hoses are taking a more and more important role in mobile vehicles and fixed production lines, and mechanical power transfer fields these years, hydraulic hose guide is necessary due to the improvement of automation control level and efficiency of modern equipment.
In simple terms, a hydraulic system uses liquid fluid – hydraulic fluids — to generate work. A lift, for example, can carry heavy loads from one point to another periodically under the power of the pressurized hydraulic fluids.
Hydraulic hoses accommodate hydraulic fluids and sustain the pressure and transfer the periodical pressure to the motion of the actuators. they can find their application in construction, agriculture, mining machine, etc.
In this article, as a professional hydraulic hose manufacturer, I will walk through all the hydraulic hoses we supply into some categories and help you figure out the popular hydraulic hoses used in the current market.
What are Hydraulic Hoses?
Hydraulic hoses are made from some polymer such as synthetic rubber, thermoplastic, or PTFE, to accommodate hydraulic fluids and transfer the power from the power creator (pump) to actuators. Hydraulic systems are vital units for some mechanical equipment.
Hydraulic hoses can sustain certain pressure lies in they have a reinforcement layer in the middle, the reinforced pattern includes fiber braided, steel wire braided and steel wire spiral wound. Different reinforced patterns result in different pressure ratings of hydraulic hose.
The hydraulic hose structure statement can guide you on how to choose the right hydraulic hose.
General hydraulic hoses consist of three fundamental layers from the inner to the outside on the analysis of the cross-section of the hose. Each of these layers plays an important role in ensuring the hose works optimally:
- The inner or core layer ensures the hose is chemically compatible with the hose. It is the only layer that has direct contact with the hydraulic fluid, and if not chemically compatible, it could easily damage.
- The reinforcement layer acts as a support to the inner layer. The inner layer may be chemically compatible with the fluid but not strong enough to withstand its pressure. Thus, the reinforcement layer is what helps the hose withstand pressure.
- The outer layer is the external part of the hose – the part you see and touch. It ensures the hose doesn’t get damaged – punctured or melted by heat, for example – from the outside. So, it has to be compatible with the working environment.
Types of Hydraulic Hoses
Hydraulic hoses have different types of classifications. The three most common classification types, however, are material, standards, and reinforcement.
- Types of Hydraulic Hoses By Material
Hydraulic hoses typically come in rubber, thermoplastic, or Teflon material. The most common is rubber, which is popular due to its high compatibility with many hydraulic fluids. Rubber's flexibility is also an advantage.
A rubber hydraulic hose comes with a rubber inner layer and outer layer. But the reinforcement layer is typically made with wire steel braids. The number of braid layers determines how much pressure the rubber hose will handle.
Thermoplastic hydraulic hoses are lightweight, flexible, clean, and non-conductive. They come with a nylon inner layer, a synthetic fiber reinforcement layer, and a polyurethane outer layer.
The third material, Teflon, makes a hydraulic hose that will not corrode. At least, not under normal circumstances. They come with stainless steel braid reinforcement later, and most come without an outer layer.
Teflon hydraulic hoses are popular for high-temperature applications. They also have good chemical compatibility, like rubber.
- Types of Hydraulic Hoses By Standards
General hydraulic hose standards fall into two series: SAE J517 and DIN EN standards.
SAE is the abbreviation of the Society of Automotive Engineers, hydraulic hoses that comply with SAE standards are popular in North America. the common types are listed in the table below.
DIN EN is the abbreviation of Deutsche Industrial Norme and European Norm, this standard originated in Germany and was adopted by European Norm. The hydraulic hoses which adhere to EN have similar requirements to that in the SAE, so some hoses can meet the two standards at the same time.
| Standards | Material | Reinforcement Pattern | Num. of Layer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAE J517 | Rubber | Steel wire braid | Single | SAE 100R1AT |
| Two | SAE 100R2AT | |||
| Single or two | SAE 100R17 | |||
| Singe | SAE 100R5 | |||
| Textile braid | Single | SAE 100R3 | ||
| Two | SAE 100R6 | |||
| Single and Helical steel wire | SAE 100R4 | |||
| Wire spiral wound | Four | SAE 100R9 | ||
| SAE 100R12 | ||||
| Four or six | SAE 100R13 | |||
| SAE 100R15 | ||||
| Thermoplastic | Textile or wire braid | Single | SAE 100R7 | |
| Two | SAE 100R8 | |||
| PTFE | Steel wire braid | Single | SAE 100R14 | |
| EN | Rubber | Steel wire braid | Single | EN 853 1SN
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