In the short video here, we’ll walk you through the initial steps in working with NEWT on your custom cable design and will introduce you to your NEWT team members who will be communicating and collaborating with you on your project. Take a look!
Advancing innovation in wire for over 100 years
In the short video here, we’ll walk you through the initial steps in working with NEWT on your custom cable design and will introduce you to your NEWT team members who will be communicating and collaborating with you on your project. Take a look!
The evolution of robotics and automation have transformed the modern manufacturing process. The intelligent factory of the future requires a level of flexibility and sophistication never before seen. From advanced sensors to autonomous motion control, components that can withstand ever increasing extremes in environment and performance will be imperative to remain productive.
We sat down with New England Wire Technologies Design Engineer, Tom Paquet, to pick his brain about the special anatomy and design behind today’s robotic cables. Let’s find out about the unique features required to support one of the hottest industries in the marketplace…
Q: So Tom, what kind of cable performance requirements do you typically see for robotic applications?
A (Tom): Honestly, we see just about everything. With robots being used for an increasing number of applications, there are requirements beyond just power, like signal, data and high voltage situations. It’s always about “where is this cable going to live?” That is, what environment will it be in? It’s important for us to understand if there are conditions that over time could compromise the integrity of the insulation. If it’s in a medical application, there are typically stringent cleaning requirements that we need to address. It’s also really important that we understand how the robot is going to move and what parts may rub on the cables, so designing for durability and sometimes abrasion, and always flexibility and flex life are critical.
Q: Can you explain the difference in the flexing movements required for robotics?
A (Tom): We see requests for cables to handle bending, torsional flexing, rolling, and combinations of all of those. Typically with robotics, flex life is more critical than overall flexibility.
Q: So, what is the difference between flexibility and flex life?
A (Tom): Flexibility is how easily the cable moves when handled. Almost all requests we see have a flexibility requirement in terms of how easily the cable moves, or how limp or “dead” it is when it lies on a surface. It can be tricky with robotics, because all of that movement you gain from flexibility is actually causing micro-movements within the cable which introduces friction and stress points which can create a weakness that eventually becomes a failure over time.
Flex life is a function of how many times you can flex the cable. Generally, flex life is given in the terms of “cycles”. When you bend something back and forth, we call that one cycle. So something that is very flexible may only have a few hundred or thousand cycles before it fails, depending on the cable construction. But something designed for very good flex life may withstand hundreds of thousands or millions of cycles, which is critical for robotics applications. Getting the correct balance between flexibility and flex life is super important in robotic design.
Q: What design features are important to promote better flex life?
A (Tom): The first step is to fully understand what type of motion the robot will be performing. So we need to discuss if this is a bending application, a torsional application, or something else as that can make a difference in some of our material choices.
Q: And what are the special material considerations for good flex life cables?
A (Tom): We’re almost always looking at alloy stranding for the conductors because they are harder and therefore deform less plastically. Without getting too much into Metallurgy 101, all materials first deform elastically and then plastically. So if you can bend something and it will return to its original shape, that’s an elastic deformation. If you bend it and it doesn’t return, that’s a plastic deformation – which is basically just “damage”. Harder metals, like alloys, can withstand more wear and tear before developing these imperfections, so that’s why alloys are a good choice.
Using plastics that will not fatigue quickly and fail is critical. Very flexible plastics tend to have poor flex life, and for the very same reason as alloys – you don’t want plastic deformation, you are looking for the elastic deformation. So we tend to use hard plastics for the primary conductors like polyesters or fluoropolymers. The jacket insulation should have a nice, tight fit to hold all of your conductors together and get a good bond, which is a good reason to use a polyurethane as that already has naturally good flex life and it is very abrasion and cut-through resistant.
Q: Why is cable design and geometry so important?
A (Tom): I mean, ideally we want an entirely symmetrical cable with all identical conductors – this ensures that everything equally shares any sort of stress burdens. In reality that hardly ever happens, so we have to be able to identify the weakest links, fortify them if possible, and put them in low-stress positions. Larger cables allow for more mechanically robust designs and larger bend radiuses, but real estate may mean there is less room for the cables in the overall design. Sometimes by the time people get to the cable portion of their finished robot design, they’re left with pretty minimal space for the cable to live – “this is the space we have left, what can you put in there to accomplish these goals?”
Q: Does NEWT provide testing for robotics cables?
A (Tom): We do offer a battery of test options that can help mimic real-life performance, allowing us to provide customers with reliable results. For example, for robotic designs, we commonly perform traditional flex testing which is often referred to as a “tick-tock” test for bend endurance, torsional stress testing, and rolling torsional testing which is a combination of torsional and flex testing. If customers have special testing requirements, we’re always happy to work with them to develop custom flex tests as well.
Want to see a quick video tour of our Mechanical Testing Lab? Click here.
Q: Are aesthetics important for robotics cables?
A (Tom): The way the end product looks is always important, especially when the cables are visible to users within the environment. You want the product to look professional. For medical robotics, there is a focus on clean, smooth, light-colored, probably glossy finished, and easy to clean cables. For other robotics the aesthetic may lean more toward something “cool” looking, and may use neon or bright colors. Onsite at NEWT, we have a custom color lab where we do color matching and custom color formulations for a wide variety of compounds and finishes, so the options are nearly endless.
Thanks Tom, this has been really helpful! Want to watch a video version of this discussion? View it here.
Tom has explained just a few of the key features of robotics cable design. If you have additional and/or special requirements for your project, Contact Us! We have provided custom cable to the robotics industry for decades. Our expert team of design engineers work closely with each customer to develop innovative, one-of-a-kind wire and cable solutions.
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While it is often one of the last characteristics mentioned, flexibility is an important design consideration for many wire and cable applications. Other aspects such as number of conductors or voltage rating are essential to designing an adequate construction, however, for many multi-conductor cables, the difference between adequate and ideal comes down to flexibility.
Off-the-shelf multi-conductor cable will typically utilize solid or coarsely stranded conductors, stiff insulation, separation layer materials, and foil shielding to cut costs. For applications in which flexibility is not an afterthought, a custom solution is often required. New England Wire Technologies specializes in designing and manufacturing flexible multi-conductor cable tailored to your specific requirements.
Design Methods:
Typical Applications:
Advantages:
Learn more about our ultra flexible stranding options, custom flexible interconnects, and extended flex-life cables.
New England Wire Technologies is well known in the industry as a manufacturer of high-quality braided wire products as well as flexible cables and strands which are used primarily in our specialty single and multi-conductor cables. We offer a full range of conductor materials including bare, tin, nickel and silver plated copper, a wide variety of alloys (bare and plated), pure nickel or silver, various stainless steels, Monel®, MuMETAL®, and bronze, as well as textiles (nylon, cotton, fiberglass, Aramid, polyester) and monofilament.
The chart below may help you in choosing the appropriate material for your application.
NEWT Designation | Description | Conductivity (% IACS) | Tensile Strength (psi) | Yield Strength (psi) | Elongation | Applicable ASTM Standards | Typical Uses/Benefits | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Soft | Hard | Soft | Hard | Soft | Hard | |||||||
NEWaloy 10 | ETP Copper | 100% Min | 35,000 Nom | 60,000 Nom | 10,000 Nom | 50,000 Nom | 10-25% | 1% Nom | ASTM B1/B3 ASTM B258 | The standard for the wire and cable industry, generally annealed (soft) except for 47-50 AWG | ||
NEWaloy 11 | OF Copper (Grade 1) | 101% Min | 35,000 Nom | 60,000 Nom | 10,000 Nom | 50,000 Nom | 10-25% | 1% Nom | ASTM B1/B3 ASTM B258 | When the highest conductivity is required or in hydrogen rich environments, generally annealed | ||
NEWaloy 13 | RoHS compliant High Strength Alloy | 73% Nom (hard) | 40,000 Nom | 90,000 Min | 30,000 Nom | 80,000 Nom | 10-25% | 1% Nom | ASTM B250 ASTM B258 | Mechanically demanding applications, high flex or continuous flex, hard-drawn typically used (see Newaloy23) | ||
NEWaloy 14 | RoHS compliant Alloy | 85% Min | 55,000 Min (only 1 temper) | 35,000 Nom | 6% Min | ASTM B258 | ||||||
NEWaloy 21 | OF Copper (Grade 2) | 100% Min | 35,000 Nom | 60,000 Nom | 10,000 Nom | 50,000 Nom | 10-25% | 1% Nom | ASTM B1 or B3 ASTM B258 | When the highest conductivity is required or in hydrogen rich environments, generally annealed | ||
NEWaloy 23 | RoHS compliant High Strength Alloy | 77% Nom (hard) | 90,000 Min | 80,000 Nom | 1% Nom | ASTM B250 ASTM B258 | Mechanically demanding applications, high flex or continuous flex, hard-drawn typically used | |||||
NEWaloy 61 | Cad-Copper (Not RoHS Compliant) | 80% Nom | 85,000 Min | 80,000 Nom | 1% Nom | ASTM B105 ASTM B258 | Mechanically demanding applications, high flex or continuous flex, hard-drawn typically used | |||||
NEWaloy 81 | Cad-Chromium Copper (Not RoHS Compliant) | 85% Min | 60,000 Min (only 1 temper) | 40,000 Nom | 6-8% Min (varies with size) | ASTM B624 ASTM B258 | Significant improvement in flex life versus copper with a minimal loss in conductivity | |||||
NEWaloy 15, 25, 75 | Phosphor Bronze (Resistance Wire) | Varies according to grade, size, & coating | Varies according to Grade | Varies according to Grade | Varies according to Grade | ASTM B105 ASTM B258 | Resistance wire, various grades are available to achieve a specific resistance | |||||
Aluminum 1350 | EC Grade Aluminum | 61.8% Nom (soft) | 8,500-14,000 | 27,000 Nom | 4,000 Nom | 24,000 Nom | 23% Nom | 1.4% Nom | ASTM B230/B609 ASTM B258 | When keeping weight low is the primary design goal | ||
Aluminum 5052 | Aluminum Alloy | 33.6-37.6% (soft) | 32,000 Max | 34,000 Min | 9.500 Nom | 26,000 Min | 25% Nom | 1% Nom | ASTM B211 ASTM B258 | When low weight is the primary design goal but with improved mechanical properties | ||
Stainless Steel | 304 or 316L, others available | 2.3 - 2.4% Nom for Standard Grades | 75,000 Min | various grades & tempers | 30,000 Min | Various grades and tempers | 25% Min | various grades and tempers | ASTM A580 ASTM B258 | Small but high strength signal wire, crush resistant shields or as a strength member | ||
CCA | Copper Clad Aluminum | Depends on temper & Copper:Aluminum ratio. 62.9% Min for Class 10A (soft, 10% Copper) | 25,000 Max | 30,000 min | 12,000 Nom | 22,000 Nom | 5% Min | 1% Min | ASTM B566 ASTM B258 | Low weight but with increased conductivity and ease of termination provided by copper surface, high frequency applications (skin effect will cause current to run primarily in copper) | ||
CCS | Copper Clad Steel | Typically 40%. 30% also available with slightly improved mechanical properties | 50,000 Min (Class 40) | 110,000 Min (Class 40) | 10% Min | 1% Min | ASTM B452 ASTM B258 | Very high flex life and tensile strength with reasonable conductivity, high frequency applications (skin effect will cause current to run primarily in copper | ||||
Tinsel Wire | Flat Wire helically wrapped around textile core | Varies according to type | Varies according to type | Varies according to type | Varies according to type | Offers extremely high flex life along with high flexibility and tensile strength when the increase in diameter can be tolerated | ||||||
Thermocouple Wire | Extension Wire for Types E, J, K, T, etc. | Varies according to type | Varies according to type | Varies according to type | Varies according to type | ASTM E230 ASTM B258 | To connect a thermocouple probe to the device that reads the signal. Using identical metals as the probe itself allows for accurate reading | |||||
Silver | Pure Silver | 1.06 | 21,000 Nom | 50,000 Nom | 8,000 Nom | Highest thermal and electrical conductivity at room temperature of all metals | ||||||
Magnet Wire | Enamel Coated Conductor | Varies according to conductor material. Typically 100% Copper | Varies according to type | Varies according to material | Varies according to material | ASTM D1676 ASTM D2307 | High frequency applications - the enamel insulates each individual strand increasing efficiency. See Litz (link to Litz) | |||||
Superconductor | Resistance = 0 below critical temperature | N/A | Varies according to type | Varies according to type | Varies according to type | High energy applications needing extreme efficiency: MAGLEV, MRI, particle accelerators |
By Shanna Hale
In addition to the selection of base metal and stranding technique, plating is an option to maximize and customize the properties of a conductor. Plating offers a relatively inexpensive means of combining the advantages of two metals.
The conductors and shields of multi-conductor cable are typically manufactured using copper or copper-based alloy as the base metal primarily due to these materials’ high conductivity, good mechanical performance and reasonable cost. While copper-based materials offer numerous benefits as electrical conductors, many applications require properties beyond what non-coated wire can provide. These properties include solderability, temperature range, contact resistance or corrosion, and chemical resistance; therefore, in order to improve one or more of the above properties, conductors are often plated. A variety of metals can be used for plating; however, tin, silver, and nickel are by far the most common.
Tin is the most common coating for copper and copper alloys due to low cost and very good solderability. Improved corrosion and chemical resistance is also an advantage of tin plating (but is dependent upon coating thickness). Tin has a relatively low melting temperature and therefore provides little, if any, improvement to the operating temperature range of copper. Also, tin has relatively low conductivity and, when plated over copper, forms an inter-metallic layer which will increase resistance compared to bare or silver plated wire.
Silver offers extremely high conductivity and will actually reduce the resistance of plated wire. This is particularly beneficial in high frequency applications because the skin effect will result in increased current flow through the silver. In addition to conductivity, silver plating copper will increase high temperature performance and generally improve chemical resistance. Solderability of silver plated conductors is excellent and while silver may experience some oxidation, silver oxide is a conducting material so the impact on solderability is not significant. While silver plating offers many advantages over tinned or uncoated copper, the added cost is a consideration.
Nickel is a much harder metal than other common plating options and offers excellent resistance to high temperatures. The operating temperature range increase due to nickel plating depends on the thickness of the plating but is superior to that gained by using silver. Nickel is very resistant to harsh environments and corrosion; however, due to its hardness, soldering can be difficult and requires an activated flux. Crimp termination can be a good option for nickel plated wire, but, because it is a hard material, some adjustments to tooling may be necessary. Conductivity of nickel is relatively low and plating will increase the resistance of wire (much like the impact of tin plating).
New England Wire Technologies has in-house plating facilities for tin and silver to meet your specific requirements or to ASTM standards. In addition to those discussed, New England Wire has utilized numerous other plating options including gold, chrome and Stay-brite®. We have extensive experience manufacturing custom wire and cable with plated materials and can work with you to select the appropriate option for your application.
Stay-brite® is a registered trademark of Harris Products Group.
A common question asked of the sales and engineering staff at New England Wire Technologies by those unfamiliar with our company is why a custom cable solution should be considered when there are so many off the shelf options out there. This is a very reasonable question and in some cases a standard product does make sense. However, when electrical device and component manufacturers stop to consider what properties would be ideal to meet the demanding requirements of their application and what level of service and quality they expect from their suppliers, the advantage of a custom cable solution from New England Wire Technologies becomes apparent.
The most immediate benefit of a custom solution is the knowledge and design assistance that the staff at New England Wire can provide for your project. Rather than spending days or weeks researching material, electrical and mechanical properties to understand your design options and then pouring through catalogs or calling vendors to try to find a part number close to what you actually need, you can simply go to our Contact Us form to upload a document, describe your requirements, or send an image of an existing cable. Our engineering staff will use their knowledge and experience to design an ideal solution optimized for your exact application. When new requirements, additional options, or added capabilities become necessary, a custom option is quickly adaptable to your changing needs.
Every aspect of a cable is customizable. A standard product will often use coarse stranding, stiff insulation and shielding, and low temperature materials to reduce cost. In addition, the exact size, number, or composition of components needed may not be an option, limiting your selection to an oversized, overweight, or otherwise inexact solution. With a custom cable from New England Wire Technologies you can select the exact components needed for your application to minimize size and weight. We will work with you to determine appropriate conductor stranding for the level of flexibility needed and the ideal conductor material or plating option to balance conductivity, flex life, temperature rating, etc. New England Wire stocks over one hundred extrusion compounds for use as insulation and cable jacketing, combined with a variety of film and textile options to support an incredible range of product requirements. These include the specific temperature and voltage ratings required for your application, flame resistance, flexibility, biocompatibility, low smoke, chemical resistance, toughness, UV resistance, and many more. Shielding is also customizable with the proper selection of braided, spiral, foil, or a combination to balance electrical shielding effectiveness with mechanical or diameter requirements. These are just a sampling of the design options and potential advantages that a custom cable solution from New England Wire Technologies can provide.
Why a custom cable? Perhaps that is a question best answered by the thousands of satisfied customers around the world using New England Wire products. Whether it is the right option for you; that is a question we would love to help you figure out…contact us today to discuss your wire and cable needs.
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Wire and cable is often required to withstand mechanical motion and maintain useable properties. New England Wire Technologies has considerable experience in design and materials to extend flex life in standard and rigorous use situations. While we test for many existing cable standards including a myriad of UL, CSA, ISO (agency multi) and other standards, the most important standard to meet is high performance in application. Specialized test fixtures have been developed in conjunction with the customer to more precisely match use. This allows tests to more accurately predict life or give better information to extend life.
Smaller gauge sizes develop less stress when subjected to bending. As a result, conductors with finer stranding will survive a larger number of bending cycles without suffering fatigue in comparison to a conductor manufactured with a coarser single end wire.
High tensile strength copper alloys can be used to increase longevity with little impact to conductivity and other electrical parameters while tinsel can be used for ultimate flex life when resistance is not an important parameter.
Selection of plastics for longevity and flexlife is critical in designing for long life as well. Harder abrasion resistant plastics work well but choices are also available that maintain flexibility and flex life.
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We specialize in designing rope lay cables, concentric and miniature bunched strands that offer the ultimate in flexibility. These stranded constructions complement our specialty insulated wire products, where flexibility and extended flex-life are primary concerns.
By combining smaller wire gauges into larger conductors, the overall conductor’s geometric resistance to bending and therefore it’s stiffness, is reduced as demonstrated in Fig. 1 comparing the stiffness percentage of several 28 AWG stranding (7/36 is considered to be 100% in this example).
In addition to reducing stiffness, smaller gauge sizes also develop less stress when subjected to bending. As a result conductors with finer stranding will survive a larger number of bending cycles without suffering fatigue in comparison to a conductor manufactured with a coarser single end wire.
In bunching operations a large number of wires are assembled by twisting them together through a rotating arm. Bunched conductors have higher packing density than cabled conductors, at the expense of reduced flexibility and some introduced twist in the individual wires.
For applications that require flexibility at larger conductor sizes, New England Wire offers ultra flexible ropelay cables. These ropelay are constructed of fine wire that is bunched and then cabled concentrically at specific lay lengths to maximize flexibility without impacting performance or aesthetics typically utilizing 44-52 AWG single end wire. Cabled conductors tend to maintain a circular shape better than a bunched conductor, in addition to improving flexibility by reducing strand interaction (or bunch interaction in larger ropelays).
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130 North Main Street
Lisbon, NH 03585
Phone: (603) 838-6624
Fax: (603) 838-6160
Email Us: info@newenglandwire.com