Instrumentation cables are one of the most common kinds of cable we are asked to design here at Custom Designed Cables, yet providing a single definition for what exactly instrumentation cable is would be extremely difficult.
This is because instrumentation cables can be used for just about any application involving the transmission of voice and data, meaning that they are used for an extremely broad range of equipment. They can also be used for the interconnection of electrical equipment and instruments.
Instrumentation cables, being used for as many applications as they are, can be designed in all shapes and sizes. These can range from small cables with a small number of cores for handheld devices such as walkie talkies, to large multicore cables used in medical equipment such as MRI scanners.
In short, if you need a cable for a piece of equipment that requires the transmission of data or voice, then you’re probably going to need an instrumentation cable.
How Is An Instrumentation Cable Constructed?
As instrumentation cables can be utilised in so many different types of equipment, they are usually custom built to the particular requirements of whoever has requested the cable. These requirements are usually based on the size of the equipment, the kind of tasks the cable is going to have to power and the conditions in which the cable will have to operate. This places a lot of emphasis on the cable designer to come up with a suitable solution for the particular application.
This involves suggesting the kind of materials that could be used for the cable, determining what level of cable shielding (if any) will be required, and designing the cable so that the transmission of data, no matter what the distance between two points, is properly facilitated. The base of an instrumentation cable usually consists of a black cable jacket, a set number of cores (according to the requirements of whomever has ordered the cable) and different colour codes for each cable. Most organisations who order instrumentation cables usually require a basic instrumentation cables with a few tweaks in order to make it suitable for their particular application.
This could involves a different colour cables jacket, different colours for the cores, or even a change in the number of cores housed inside the cables. Other changes could include the inclusion of screening or the printing of the companies name on the side of the cable. All of these changes are the responsibility of the cable designer. So what is the best way to go about ordering your own instrumentation cable? The answer, quite simply, is that it depends.
A lot of organisations who order cables have an idea of the kind of cable they want (the amount of cores, etc) and call upon us to design a cable that meets their exact specifications. In other cases, however, a client may approach us with little technical knowledge and require us to research their particular application and devise a solution based on our years of experience. No matter what your level of knowledge and what you require instrumentation cables for, Custom Designed Cables is here to help. We have a proven track record of taking the requirements of a client and providing them with the perfect cable for the job. To learn more, call 01204 658784 or contact us online.