Custom coil cords and cables are still very necessary. If you need power, a clean signal or security of transmission a coiled cable is a great solution.

3 Reasons Why Coil Cords are Important in a Wireless World

Coil cords are everywhere, from the back of a semi truck, to a camera’s flash strobe to the arcade games where you manipulate a claw to pick up a toy.  Coil cords are used in a wide variety of industries too.  Coiled cables are used by the medical industry, security industry and industrial control industry to name but a few.  And in this age of everything wireless a good question is why would anyone use a coiled cord?  So no matter what you call it, a coil cord, curly cord or coiled cable this article will give some reasons why a coil cord is still the right solution for many applications.

1)      There are three main reasons to use a custom coil cord instead of wired solution.  The first is power.  While wireless solutions exist for many application when electrical power needs to be supplied it almost always is done with wire or cable.  When something is wireless it means the product uses radio waves of some sort.  Radios that we listen to are one example of just such a product.  We could connect all radios with coil cords and send the signal along the cord, but that isn’t practical for long lengths of distances, so radio waves are used to send the signal.  When radios waves are sent they move in all directions and don’t really care what they hit, and don’t react with anything but antennas “tuned” to their frequency.

Power is different.  If power was transmitted like radios wave it would interact with anything metallic in its path.  And if the metallic object was connected to something the power would transfer from the metal to the object.  This would act as conductors, and could be very bad as in the extreme case of lightning, which is a very powerful wave of energy.  So cables, and coil cords, are used as a part to transfer power for obvious safety reasons.

2)      The second reason coiled cables are used instead of wireless is to avoid electronic noise.  We live in a world filled with radio waves all around us.  Often custom coil cords are used instead of radio waves because the items needing the signal would be damaged or impaired by other signals.  A classic representation of this is again a radio, only the old AM kind.  We have heard static and other stations fade in and out on radios.  The static we hear is noise.  If a coiled cord was used instead of radio waves, and the radio was shielded from outside waves, we wouldn’t hear static.  However connecting all radios with coil cords is impractical, but in an operating room it isn’t.  This is why cables and coil cords are often used in hospitals.

3)      The third reason to use a coil cord instead of wireless signal is security.  In the early days of cell phones, it wasn’t unusual to be talking with someone one moment and the next be speaking with someone else.  This was because the cellular phone systems and their suppliers at that time were not as advanced as now.  For most people this is not an issue, but if you are in the military it can be a matter of life or death.  Having a coiled cable transmit signal or power ensures there will be no interruptions.  Imagine a surgeon in the operation room losing power at a critical point in surgery.  This is why where failure is not an option coiled cords are often used.

Wireless products are great, and they have made our lives much more mobile and easy.  However as the above points show custom coil cords and cables are still very necessary.  If you need power, a clean signal or security of transmission a coiled cable is a great solution.  Meridian Cable manufactures and designs coil cords for any coiled cable need you have.

Electronic Cable Assemblies are used on a wide variety of equipment they often experience wide ranges of movement, or flexing.

Electronic cable assemblies are found on medical products, military equipment, industrial controls and machinery, and all kinds of consumer electronics.  Electronic cables can be defined as cables that transmit control signals or information, or that supply low current power typically below 5 amps.  Often the power is DC by sometimes it can be AC, but in either case for electronic cable assemblies the power is low.

Electronic cable assemblies are used on a wide variety of equipment they often experience wide ranges of movement, or flexing.  Regardless of how much movement the assembly experiences it is critical that it be designed correctly to withstand any flexing.  This is important for two reasons.  One, a failed cable assembly means the data or power stops and this can have bad consequences.  Two, a wrong design can increase costs beyond what the application truly needs.

Some applications require a lot of flexural capability. Examples are medical cables, military cables or industrial control cables where failure is not an option or the equipment runs quickly for long periods of time.  Other applications don’t flex much at all.  Examples are vending machine cables, security cables or box build wire harnesses that are installed one time and never move again.

Flexural requirements for wire assemblies can range from 1, in the case of wire harnesses, to hundreds of thousand for industrial cables.  Some products need hi-flex cables to ensure they never fail, which is the case for medical cable assemblies and military cable assemblies.

How many flexes a cable can withstand is a direct function of the materials used in construction and the process employed to make the product.

In regards to electronic cable assemblies, there are really only 3 types of materials in any cable or wire, metal, plastic and fillers.

• Typically the metal used is copper in some fashion.  The copper can be bare, plated with another metal such as tin, or in some cases clad around another metal such as silver.
• The plastic can be any combination of polyvinyl chloride, PVC, polyethylene, PE, polyurethane, PU, or thermoplastic elastomer, TPE.
• Fillers are used to ensure the cable’s cross section is uniform in shape, whether round, oval or square a uniform cross section is critical.

At the heart of all cables and wires is metal, typically copper.  Metal as we all know comes in many varieties and copper, for most applications, has the best attributes to make a cable or wire.  As we also know most metals don’t like bending.  This is especially true of larger pieces, which is why most electronic cable assemblies use stranded wires.  This means to make a certain gauge conductor many smaller strands of copper are used.  The amount of copper doesn’t change it is just spread across many conductors.  As we all know small things bend easier than large things so a wire or cable made with a high strand count will have a long flex life than a wire or cable made with one conductor.

Around the conductors is most often plastic of some kind.  We all experience and use plastic every day and the variety is quite amazing.  From the rigid bodies of cell phones, to the semi flexible sides of a milk or water container, to soft pliability of a rubber band plastics used in custom cable assemblies come in even more varieties than copper.  Some custom wire assemblies can accept very rigid constructions, but for custom electronic cable assemblies usually a high degree of flexing is required.  For these applications it is best to use plastics capable of handling repeated bending.  These can range from PVC all the way to PTFE.

Obviously with all these factors designing a custom electronic cable can range from simple to very complex, so finding a qualified cable and wire vendor is critical for many companies.  Meridian Cable recently designed, manufactured and cycled a cable assembly to over 200,000 cycles without any failures.  If you need custom electronic cable assemblies,Meridian Cable can design and manufacture just what you need.  Contact us today for any custom cables needs.

Coiled cables are used in many places but they are all used because they extend.  This extension allows power or data to be passed from one point to another when one or both of those points move.  As you can imagine using a fixed wire harness for this type of application would only last until the cable broke.

Since the ability to extend is why coil cords are used testing their ability to withstand repeated extensions and retractions is critical.  Recently Meridian Cable has been testing a 23 gauge, 7 conductor, polyurethane jacketed coiled cord for repetitive extension fatigue.

The test is simple, yet quite rigorous.  Using our custom testing machine the cables are extended and retracted continuously.  The electrical and mechanical integrity of each unit is monitored continuously too to determine the exact point of failure.  Also, after a set number of cycles the coiled cable is removed from the test machine and it’s new state is measured and compared to it’s original mechanical specifications.

Meridian’s cable mentioned above recently passed 200,000 cycles and is still going strong!  While wire harnesses are great certain applications demand a cable that can extend and retract.  And as our data is proving we make a cable that can live up to a demanding environment.

Molded Cables: The Facts

Molded cables are extremely important but are rarely noticed by those using them. According to Meridian Cable’s owner and resident molded cable assemblies expert Bud Kinzalow, though they can be small, these cables serve large and important purposes.

Molded cables derive their name from the fact that plastic is typically molded onto cable, and their purpose is to mechanically attach connectors to cables. Kinzalow notes that custom molded cables are created through a specialized process that allows for maximum protection of important parts. “First,” he says, “the connectors are attached to the cable and are subsequently placed into a mold. Next, the mold is closed and the plastic is injected into the cavity that surrounds the cable terminal or connector interface.”

What results from this process are quality molded cables that can stand the test of time.  Kinzalow adds, “People use these protective  molded cables every day when they grip the plastic on their headphone jacks, plug something into the computer or plug a power cable into the wall.” Created to protect the connection between wires and connectors, molded cables have become ubiquitous not only in the wire and cable industry but also in everyday life. People are able to charge their computers, listen to music, and perform other everyday tasks thanks to molded cable assemblies.

Molded Cables: Typical Uses

One purpose that custom molded cables serve is protection of connectors and cables from the elements. According to  Kinzalow, “In years past- and still sometimes today – many connections between wires and connectors were soldered, meaning they were welded at a low temperature and one metal was used to hold together two other dissimilar metals. The resulting soldered connection often needed to be covered so that water, other pieces of metal or environmental elements couldn’t damage or short the connection between the wire and the connector. The over-molding was likely created to provide this protection and ensure a longer lifespan for the soldered cable.”

These days, molded cables are rendered to fit varying types of connectors and serve many different purposes. These numerous everyday uses emphasize the importance, in today’s technologically advanced world, of molded cables. You can find molded cables in:

• Stereos
• Headphones
• Computer Chargers
• Cell phone chargers
• Power cords
• USB cables
• Many more every day devices

Molded Cables: Who Makes Them?

Since molded cables have so many uses, there are numerous manufacturers that can create them to suit varying situations. These manufacturers may turn to custom cable assembly companies like Meridian Cable to design and create custom molded cables for them.

“Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) looking to design and sell molded cables should ensure that the vendor that they turn to is UL, ISO, FDA, and even military cage code certified,” Kinzalow advises. For example, if an OEM turns to Meridian Cable to build custom molded cables, they will find that Kinzalow’s company has all the necessary certifications in addition to the design expertise to be able to create a design that is unique to each OEM’s performance specifications. “Also important,” he adds, “is having the manufacturing wherewithal to make the product that the customer needs, the logistics capability to deliver the molded cables anywhere in the world, and the integrity to follow through on what was promised.”

It is extremely important to trust the vendor who is designing and making the cables because, though these molded cables can be small and seemingly easy to make, there is in fact a great deal of work that goes into creating perfectly fitted and useful molded cables.

Molded Cables: Who To Contact

If you are an Original Equipment Manufacturer looking for custom molded cables, contact Meridian Cable(www.Meridiancable.com) for service from a UL approved manufacturing facility and UL approved distributor of over 50 different types of wire and cable. Meridian Cable is also ISO nine thousand one 2008, cage code and FDA certified. Call us at 1-866-866-0544 to speak with one of our designers and discuss how we can meet your performance specifications for custom molded cable assemblies.

Spiral cables, also known as curley cords, are those cords with a distinct spiral or curley shape that can be found anywhere from mobile cell phone car chargers to heart defibrillators.

According to cable assembly expert and Meridian Cable owner Bud Kinzalow, “spiral cables connect two devices where one or both need to move with relation to the other.” For example, the cables that connect telephone handsets to bases are retractable spiral cables. There are some spiral cables that remain stationary, while others are pulled out and retracted hundreds of times per day (like the spiral cables that are frequently used in the medical field).

Though spiral cables can be found connecting common household electronics, Mr. Kinzalow notes that they can also be found in many other places that might actually surprise you. His examples include factories and tractor-trailers: “if you find yourself in a factory or warehouse, you will see spiral cables controlling the up-and-down movement of large overhead doors. If you are driving near a tractor-trailer on the highway, you will see these cables between the trailer and its load connecting the air-lines, brake lines, brake line lights, surge breaks turn signals and any power units for refrigeration in the vehicle.”

Mr. Kinzalow adds, “Spiral cables are donned daily by military and public safety personnel. Coiled cables connect mics for two-way communication – those that clip to the shoulder of police officers or military personnel – to their batteries.” These are just a few of many examples of the vastly different industries that utilize spiral cables.

Spiral cables penetrate many industries

Probably the most common places to find spiral cables are in your home and in your car. Your telephones and cell phone car chargers, for example, would not be so convenient without spiral cables. According to Mr. Kinzalow, “the cellular telephone industry finds a great deal of use for these cables. Spiral cables attach cigarette lighter adapter plugs, used to power up cellular phones inside cars, to the connectors that plug into cell phones. GPS units, radar detectors, and even powered coolers for heating and cooling also plug into the cigarette lighter plug in your car and therefore also utilize spiral cables.”

Mr. Kinzalow also notes another particularly important use for spiral cables: they protect items on display at retail stores from theft; they are attached to the top-dollar items so that you can only pull them towards you so far until the cable stops you. So, we can add the retail industry to the following list of those that value spiral cables: the cellular telephone industry, the public safety industry, the medical industry, and the GPS and radar detection industries. Clearly, there is nearly no end to the industries that are penetrated by spiral cables.

Spiral cables in manufacturing and construction

When you get into your car, do you expect that the seemingly insignificant spiral cables that connect your telephone handset to its base are also critical for the technological integrity of your vehicle? Well, according to Mr. Kinzalow, they are: “If you travel to any car manufacturing plant where robotics and/or power tools are used, you will see spiral cables being used to transfer power and, especially in newer cars, to collect data.”

But spiral cables don’t just streamline the car manufacturing process; they have also modernized construction. Mr. Kinzalow explains, “If you are on the highway and come across a construction site, you will see spiral cables connecting GPS units to small computers on the equipment that moves or paves earth. These spiral cables enable communication between the two and the construction company’s corporate headquarters so that information can be wirelessly transmitted about elevation, how much dirt is moved, and how much concrete is poured. The process can be remotely monitored this way.” All of this is made possible by multifaceted spiral cables.

If you have more questions about spiral cables, contact Meridian Cable. Call Meridian Cable at 1-866-866-0544 to speak with a qualified engineer!

Curley Cords Basics

Curley cords can be found everywhere, from your cell phone car charger to simple key chains from the convenience store. According to Bud Kinzalow, cable assembly expert and owner of Meridian Cable, “Curley cords connect two devices where one or both of them need to move relative to the other.”

Curley cords are also known as:

• Coil Cord
• Coiled Cable
• Spiral Cables
• Coil Cable Retractile
• Retractable Cable

These names signify that these cords are coiled, curly and retractable. An example of a common use is the modern telephone: curley cords are what attach handsets to telephones.

Kinzalow explains: “When your phone rings, you pick it up off of its base and naturally pull it towards you; curley cords make sure that the cable does not snap back once you run to the end of the line. Curley cords are what allow the cable to grow. When you return the handset to its place, the curley cords retract and take up little space. Otherwise, you would be stuck with a huge pile of cable behind your phone!”

The Many Purposes of Curley Cords

Curley cords tend to be designed differently to fit their various uses. Obviously, the work that goes into making curley cords for key chains differs greatly from the work that goes into creating curley cords for heart defibrillator paddles.

Two Basic Categories of Curley Cords

Curley cords used for medical devices  fit into the first category. “Since medical devices have to be cycled many times and absolutely cannot fail,” Kinzalow points out, “they are constructed differently so that they can be extended and retracted hundreds of thousands of times and still maintain their structural integrity.” Therefore, the process for creating stationary curley cords differs greatly from the process for creating the more durable curley cords.

Kinzalow explains the second type, “stationary curley cords are those that are created to stretch only once – like when someone has two devices, and one is always in a fixed position while the other’s position can vary from a foot to five feet away. These curley cords are not designed to go back and forth, they just always stay plugged into a stationary device and can stretch to connect to the other device, whether it is one foot, three feet or five feet away.” These types of curley cords would be designed to accommodate their relatively stationary purpose.

Designing Specific Curley Cords For You

According to Kinzalow, if you are an Original Equipment Manufacturer looking for durable curley cords, there are several things you should take into consideration before you place your order from a vendor like Meridian Cable.

First, note in what kind of environment you would be using the cords. Different environments call for different designs: curley cords made for industrial environments differ from those made for medical environments or retail environments.

Next, you must decide how long of a life you need your curley cords to have, and how dynamic their lives will be. For example, if you need curley cords that must last a hundred thousand cycles, than you must ensure that your design is catered specifically to these parameters. Or, if your curley cords need to last forever and be cycled 30 times a day, you must ensure your vendor is able to specially design them. For example, there are some curley cords that must endure 500 movements a day for one month (so, 15,000 cycles total). These are those curley cords that are popular in retail environments for merchandise protection; they are the cords that are attached to the hot, new items, like IPods, so that someone cannot just walk off with them.” Anyone who has gone anywhere near an Apple store during the month of December has witnessed these theft-preventing curley cords going through thousands of cycles. Stores like Apple’s allow you to test out the hottest new items without taking the risk that you will leave with them – all thanks to curley cords.

Whether you need curley cords or other types of specially designed cables, Meridian Cable (www.meridiancable.com) is the certified cable and wire assembly vendor that can meet your needs

Call us at 1-866-866-0544 to talk to our engineers today!

Whether you call it a coil cord, coiled cable or retractile cord we have all seen the spiral cords used in many applications.  Coil cords are found in garage doors, your cell phone car charger, defibrillator paddles and simple key chains.  Whatever the design goal the primary reason for using this type of solution is to put a lot of cable or wire into confined space and have it available to extend when necessary.  Coil cords are a great way to accomplish this goal.

All coil cords have the same general shape, a straight section, followed by a coiled or curly section, followed by yet another straight section.  The extension capability of a coil cord comes from the coiled or curly section.  When the cable is pulled the coiled section acts like a spring and stretches. 

Recently Meridian Cable was approached by a medical device company to solve a “spring” problem.  The medical company’s device weighs about 1 pound and will be connected to a patient via a coiled cord.  The medical company wanted the device to stay put when the cable was extended 5 inches, however they didn’t want the 1 pound mass of their device to pull on the patient if the device fell off a standard bedside height surface.  This meant the device had to almost free fall for 22 inches.

The customer also had physical requirements for the coil diameter and overall cable length.  The coil diameter could not exceed 0.60 inches in outside diameter and the overall cable length must be no longer than 42 inches.  The coiled diameter could be smaller and the retracted length, or coiled section, could be adjusted.

To solve this problem the following force parameters were established.  At 5 inches extended the force must be less than 0.25 pounds and at 22 inches extended the force must be between 1.0 and 1.25 pounds.  The 5 inch force was designated “B” and the 22 inch force was designated “C”.

Several cable constructions were made, but all of them had 6, 24 awg conductors.  We settled on two cable designs with the primary difference being the type of shielding used.  Testing was performed over several days using various configurations and the results were achieved.

Based on the above data specific samples were made for the customer to test.  To see a video of the coil cord manufacturing process just click this link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG741GMdE-I&feature=channel_video_title

Should you need a standard coil cord or a custom design coiled cable Meridian Cable can help.  Meridian Cable has over 30 years of experience designing and manufacturing coil cords, coiled cables and cable assemblies. Designed – Built – Delivered, Meridian Cable is ready to help create a solution for you.

We have all seen them, those curly wires that are used to connect things and stretch like a spring.  Coil cords are found in garage doors, your cell phone car charger, defibrillator paddles and simple key chains.  Coil cords are a great way to attach two items where one or both need to move.  Whatever the application knowing how and what mechanical tests are needed to verify a coil cord design is critical in achieving proper performance. 

All coil cords have the same general shape, a straight section, followed by a coiled or curly section, followed by yet another straight section.  The extension capability of a coil cord comes from the coiled or curly section.  When the cable is pulled the coiled section acts like a spring and stretches.  It is this mechanical stretching that makes this type of cable assembly critical in certain applications.

Since a coil cord is a dynamic assembly care must be taken to ensure the design will last the expected life of the product.  Advanced life testing is one way to verify the design meets the required specifications and can perform as expected.  The testing discussed in the article are Cycles to Failure, Retraction Compliance and Cable Flexing to Failure.

Coiled cables are springs made from raw cable that is typical composed of copper and plastic.  As we have all seen, if copper or plastic is repeatedly flexed it can fatigue and eventually fail.  When a coiled cable is extended and then retracted flexing is occurring.  This flexing, over time, will fatigue the materials.  The best way to determine if the design can withstand this process is to perform a Cycles to Failure test. 

In a Cycles to Failure test a coiled cord or cords is attached to a test machine that can be programmed to extend and retract the cable.  The test machine’s extended length, cycle speed, extension dwell and retraction dwell can all be programmed.  For example the machine could be set to 110% of designed extended length, a cycle speed of 30 per minute, an extension dwell of 10 seconds and a retraction dwell of 20 seconds.  The machine would then cycle the cable or cables until an open circuit occurs indicating failure.  All the parameters can be changed to align properly with the intended application.

In a Retraction Compliance test the cords are attached to the cycling machine and cycled.  However before cycling the coil cable’s initial retracted length is measured.  After cycling the cable is allowed to rest for a period of time and then the cycled retracted length is again measured.  Retraction Compliance is defined as a percentage of cycled retracted length to initial retracted length.  These percentages can range from 50% for a very poor or heavily cycled coiled cable to 95% plus for a well designed assembly.

The Cable Flexing to Failure test is used to make sure the raw cable used itself can withstand fatiguing.  The coil cord is made and sections of the cable, both the coiled section and straight section, are attached to programmable cable flexing machine.  The machine’s flex radius, cycle speed and rotation angle can all be customized to ensure the cable meets the desired requirements.  For example the flex radius could be ½”, the cycle speed could be 60 per minute and the rotation angle could be 180 degrees. The machine would then cycle the cable until an open circuit occurs indicating failure.  All the parameters can be changed to align properly with the intended application.

Designing a coiled cable properly is critical.  Over engineered and the cost is too high; under engineered and the performance is inadequate.  However the only way to ensure the design is correct is through testing.  There are two types of testing.  Lab based, programmable testing which Meridian Cable performs, or field testing which everyone who buys a coil cord eventually does.  In many cases the lab based testing before field launch will help ensure a proper cable is designed, manufactured and delivered.

Should you need a standard coil cord or a custom design coiled cable Meridian Cable can help.  Meridian Cable has over 30 years of experience designing and manufacturing coil cords, coiled cables and cable assemblies. Designed – Built – Delivered, Meridian Cable is ready to help create a solution for you.

We have all seen them, those curly wires that are used to connect things and stretch like a spring.  Coil cords are found in garage doors, your cell phone car charger, defibrillator paddles and simple key chains.  Whatever the application knowing how to specify a coil cord is critical in achieving the design goal.  Coil cords are a great way to attach two items where one or both need to move and this article will give you the basics needs to specify one.

All coil cords have the same general shape, a straight section, followed by a coiled or curly section, followed by yet another straight section.  The extension capability of a coil cord comes from the coiled or curly section.  When the cable is pulled the coiled section acts like a spring and stretches.  One of the key factors affecting the stretching ability is the material used to make the raw cable.

A coiled cable is only as good as the material used to cover the copper stranding and for the out jacket.  So knowing the materials available and how well they perform is critical.  This is where an expert designer can help tremendously and below are some materials to consider along with their basic performance characteristics.

The inner conductor jacket material can be polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE).  These basic materials all have pros and cons.  PVC is the least expensive but also has lower performance.  PP and PE are a bit more expensive and allow the conductors to move more when the coiled cord is stretch which enhances retractablity.

The outer jacket material is perhaps the more critical of the two material considerations.  Choices can range from PVC, to polyurethane (PU) and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).  PVC has the weakest retraction capability, PU has the strongest and TPE will usually have the longest life.  Other materials are used for special applications but are not as common, although their performance characteristics can be quite impressive.

Should you need a standard coil cord or a custom design coiled cable Meridian Cable can help.  Meridian Cable has over 30 years of experience designing and manufacturing coil cords, coiled cables and cable assemblies. Designed – Built – Delivered, Meridian Cable is ready to help create a solution for you.

CABLE ASSEMBLIES AND WIRE HARNESSES, the words are used all the time and often interchangeably.  One person’s cable assembly is another person’s wire harness.  Is there a difference, and if so does it really matter?  This article will show how to tell the difference, and give pros and cons for each.

Why would it matter what a bunch of wires is called?  Let’s use an example we can all relate to – food.  Most likely all of us have seen something on a menu at a restaurant and didn’t know what is was, and usually we ask someone at the table with us or the waiter.  But what if we didn’t and ordered noodles expecting pasta?  They look the same, but don’t really taste the same.  Or say we order tuna, expecting sushi, but we are served tuna salad instead.  Both are fish, but are decidedly different.  The same is true with cable assemblies and wire harnesses; while they both have wire they are decidedly different.

A cable, which is used to make a cable assembly, is a grouping of wires that are covered by an extruded sheathing.  Typical this sheathing is a thermoplastic such as polyvinylchloride, thermoplastic rubber or polyurethane.  In some special instances a thermoset material such as chlorinated polyethylene, chlorosulfonated polyethylene or EPDM hydrocarbon rubber.  Whether thermoplastic or thermoset material is used the key is the individual conductors are covered by a compound extruded around them.  This layer is in addition to the insulation on the individual wires providing additional protection from heat, moisture, abrasion, compression and other hazards the cable assembly might experience.

A wire, or conductor, which is used to make a wire harness, is an individual strand or group of strands covered by an extruded sheathing.  Again, this sheathing can be thermoplastic or thermoset, however in the case it is just a single layer.  When wire harnesses are made a group of individual wires are assembled together and typical “bound” in place with a mechanical device such as a cable tie, heat shrink, tubing or woven braiding.  Since the wires have only the one layer of sheathing the amount of protection from the environment is much less.

So what are the pros and cons of a cable assembly?  Some pros include, as mentioned above, increased protection from the environment due to the extra layer of plastic.  Also, having all the conductors in one bundle makes a neater and more convenient package which can be quite useful if the cable must be routed through or around equipment or components.  Having a cable also can allow the connectors on the end to be over molded, thus sealing the entire cable from the environment.  Two cons are an increase in size and weight, and typically the cost is higher due to the extra material and labor.

And the pros and cons of a wire harness?  These are usually the opposite of cable assemblies.  Pros include smaller size and weight, and lower cost since the extra material and labor is not used.  The cons are an increase in environmental vulnerability since the individual wires are exposed and the possibility of the wires “catching” on items during installation.

Since the differences are quite apparent what are some typical places each are used?  Cable assemblies are found in many exposed uses such as medical devices, industrial controls, military electronics and security products.  Wire harnesses are most often found inside products such as computers, vehicles, control cabinets and electronic assemblies.  So much like ordering food, when designing or buying a cable assembly or wire harness it is critical to know what you want.