What are braided cables? – A braided cable, alternatively know as either a cable screen or cable shielding is the application of a fine wire mesh or weave over the twisted conductors. This is generally in the form of multiple Plain or Tinned Copper fine wire strands woven together to give a specified braid coverage. Typically, the minimum coverage you can expect from a CDC braided cable would be 80% however the coverage can be adjusted to suit your specific requirement. There are multiple benefits to braided cables. Firstly, the actual braid creates a screen or shield around the conductors which directly reduces the electromagnetic influence from other sources either internal or external. This shield or screen in effect improves the overall effectiveness of the internal conductors. The cable braid also increases the cables’ mechanical strength where rugged performance is required particularly when the cable is to be deployed within a harsh environment.
CDC Ltd are one of the UK’s leading braided Copper wire manufacturers.
Key services
- Full consultation on cable shielding requirements
- Wide range of capability: Aluminium foil shielding/serve shields/Lapped screens, Braided screens, Textile braids
- Range includes Aluminium, Copper (plain and tinned), Silver, Silver plated, Galvanised steel, Nomex and Kevlar
- Screening of cable up to 35mm in diameter
- 16/24/32/48 bobbin braiders available
- Optical coverage’s up to 100% available
We offer comprehensive flexible braided cable and screening solutions, ranging from fine single strand braids to heavy duty multiple strand braids. We can also provide foil shielding with drain strands and lapped screening/serve shields where flexibility is more of a concern.
The materials we use include plain Copper (PAC), Tinned Copper (TAC), Nickel plated Copper (NAC), oxygen free copper (OFC), Silver plated Copper (SPC), Nickel (Ni), Aluminium (AI), Phosphor Bronze (Phos Bronze), Stainless Steel (SS), Galvanised Steel (GSWB), various textiles, heavy duty Kevlar braids and Nomex.
We have the capability to screen cables up to 35mm in diameter on either of our 16/24/32/48 carrier braiders offering optical coverage’s up to 100%.
Our approach to braided cables
We provide a full consultation on cable screening and cable braiding services, determining the correct optical coverage for the environment in which your cable will be used.
Our screening options are versatile too; we can design a cable from the ground up and screen it for you. Other options include adding screening and braiding to a pre-existing cable.
Cable Shielding options
There is a broad range of cable shielding solutions, from simple Aluminium foil tapes including drain wires where overall size and cost restrictions are in place to multi cable braids combined with alternative ferromagnetic wraps. Below is a short breakdown of the types of cable screening we carry out at CDC:
Aluminium foil screening
This is the most basic form of electromagnetic screening, and is ideal for low EMI applications. This type of screening would usually include an appropriately sized drain wire to simply connect to ground.
Helically lapped screen/Served Shield
Where flexibility is a concern, for example within a retractable cable, a lapped screen (single direction screen) is applied to significantly increase the cable’s flexibility. This is also the ideal solution for individual wire or twisted pair shielding where an aluminium foil screen is not sufficient, for example within a high temperature cable.
Traditional (woven) cable braiding
This type of shielding can offer a wide range of % coverage. At CDC, we suggest using multiple fine wires in order to preserve flexibility while providing optimum coverage.