Designers and equipment manufacturers look to custom cable and cable assemblies when their requirements don’t match up with the standard offerings.
The highest volume users for custom solutions are in the areas of multimedia (typically used to connect TV sets, video recorder, DVD recorder, cameras, radios and CD devices ), telecommunications (Ethernet runs and patch cords) and vehicle electrical systems (consumer automobiles, watercraft and motorcycles; industrial vehicles such as big-rigs, farm equipment and construction; as well as military land, marine and aircraft).
Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) often require a custom cable for their equipment (e.g., welding machines, factory robots, paper mills, etc.).
This could include a customization of one or more parameters that make up a cable assembly:
- length
- connector type
- wire diameter
- cable color
- housing color
- labeling
- insulation / shielding
- winding / twisting
- Ingress Protection (IP) / Environmental Rating
- wiring harness configuration
In the automotive and defense industries, nearly every cable assembly is custom for a particular make and model. This is necessary since a vehicle wiring harness can consist of many different length wires to connect with the lighting, environmental and control systems. There are also unique insulation colorings and labeling for an individual assembly. The cables must also meet very stringent environmental requirements to ensure safe operation over an extended lifetime.
One company that has been providing custom connectivity solutions for over 40 years is ASSMANN WSW components. For a complete list of custom cables and cable assemblies, please visit their cable assembly page . Buyers can also get a quote through a member of their sales team at 1-877-ASSMANN (1-877-277-6266).
They explain their custom assembly offering as:
In cooperation with industrial, telecom and automotive customers ASSMANN WSW components develops customer tailored cable assemblies based on customer requirements or a complex automotive cable harness. Customers get full services, starting with the selection of the appropriate connectors, cables and accessories, and including the preparation of drawings. The complete project management including FSIR, pre-series- and series production is offered from one source. For the production of customer tailored cable assemblies semi-automatic and full automatic machines are used for cutting, cutting of insulation, stripping of cables and crimping of contacts.
Besides that, the following manual assembly steps are involved – pushing crimped cables into the housings, sealing of connectors and modules, winding and labeling on the base. High quality levels are reached by having multiple tests done during the manufacturing process – contact withdrawal forces tests, insulation resistance tests, short cut tests and identification tests.
In addition to custom cables, ASSMANN WSW components offers a full selection of standard cables including:
- USB Mini / Micro Cables
- Cat 5e with Molded Boots
- Cat6
- Cat7
- Power Cords
- D-Subminiature (D-SUB)
- RCA
- Coaxial
- SCART
- Mini_DIN
For additional information on cables, cable assemblies and Insertion Protection (IP) please refer to the following related articles:
Understanding The IP67 Rating For Waterproof Cables And Connectors
Waterproof USB Cables And Connectors With IP67 Rating
Fiber Optic Patch Cord And Cable
USB 3.0 Connectors And Cables For High Speed Data
(Photo Credit – ASSMANN WSW components )
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Disclosure: ASSMANN WSW Components is a client, sponsor or has a professional connection with this site.