Interconnect Cable Design and Assembly

The Ideal Interconnect Cable Assembly For High Performance I/O Applications

Fault Free: Form, Fit and Function 100% Electrical Continuity Corrosion-Resistant Materials Maximum Flexibility and Durability Minimum Size and Weight Abrasion-Proof Coverings Crush-Proof Conduit Hi-Rel Crimp Contact Connectors Precision, Gold Plated Contacts Harsh Environmental Protection EMI Immunity

The Compromise “Acceptable” Performance and Cost Dictate Design

Fit and forget vs. frequent mating cycles Exposed environmental vs. enclosed mounting Commercial vs. military High power vs. signal (or combined) Crimp vs. solder Shielded vs. unshielded

Factors That Impact Cable Design and Construction:(1) Environmental and Mechanical

Fluid Immersion Chemical Resistance Abrasion Clamping Flame/outgassing Corrosion Impact/crush Shock and Vibration

Temperature Cycling Altitude Fungus Pressure Extremes Pull Forces/Elongation Bend Radius Aging Strain-Relief

Factors That Impact Cable Design and Construction:(2) Electrical

Current rating Wire voltage rating Wire AWG and Number Wire material/finish Insulation/dielectric EMI/EMP Impedance requirement

100 ohm pairs (Ethernet) 90 ohm pairs (USB) 75 ohm coax 50 ohm coax

Factors That Impact Cable Design and Construction:(3) Usability and Ergonomics

Size, Weight, Flexibility, Routing, Cable Management

Interconnect Cable/ConduitDesign, Materials and Construction

Connectorized System-to-System I/O Cabling

From One Box to Another Box

Feed-Thru CablingFor Non- or Partially-Connectorized Applications

(Non-Connector) Feed-Through Accessories

Complete range of functional types: shield termination, strain-relief, environmental sealing etc.

Split shells enable easy assembly and maintenance at any stage in the project.

Open Wire Bundle Cables

Lightweight and Flexible Cable Harnesses

Appropriate where no noise or crosstalk from adjacent wires is expected

Prevalent for data transfer with tightly twisted pairs

Shielded pairs might be inside of an unshielded cable assembly

Great for routing

Open Wire Bundle Cables Used in Internal Box Wiring

and Other Enclosed Non-Environmental Systems

Low cost compared to overmolded or jacketed solutions

Field repairable

Non-Environmental

Not particularly durable

Management of Open Wire Bundles

Wraps/tapes Cable ties Cable clips Spiral Wrap

Split tubing Expando braid Broom Stitch Others

Standard Jacketed/Shielded Cables

Backshell Equipped for External Harsh Environments

Shields added to twisted pairs, or multi-conductor cables, to help prevent EMI (victim or source).

Jacketing extruded, shrunk on or blown on Types of jacketing based on

environmental conditions such as immersion, chemical or caustic fluid exposure, corrosion potential, temperature or radiation exposure.

Field maintainable, user installable backshells

Jacketing Styles

Wide Range of Choices to Meet Every Need

Extruded jacketing is the best environmental sealing option

Blown on jacketing—soft rubber tubing is overfilled with compressed air, cable inserted, and tubing allowed to collapse for sealing fit

Both options offer a wide range of material types. Heat-shrink tubing is inexpensive, lightweight and ideal

for short runs and prototypes

High-Performance Jacket Materials

Environmental Sealing for Jacketed Cables

Typical exploded view of cable sealing backshell

Shield Termination Options for Jacketed/Shielded Cables

Dozens of different styles

Conical ring backshells Tag ring backshells Cable Sealing Band in a Can Backshells Tinel-Lock Backshells Sealtite/Liquidtite Conduit Backshells Band-It Clamping System Conductive epoxy potting for EMI

shielding and grounding in tight space applications

Jacketed/Sealed Cable Applications

External Wiring Requirements

Battlefield electronics Under vehicles Long cable runs

connecting field equipment

Soldier systems

Overmolded Sealed Cables

Ultimate Environmental Protection Use of encapsulating plastic medium to

cover backshells, adapters and transitions

Effectively isolates conductors from contamination and protects from abrasion

Mold geometries for unique applications Can integrate mounting brackets and

other hardware right on to the cable assembly

Tamper resistant

The Advantage of OvermoldingOutstanding environmental protection for harsh and caustic environments

compared to unjacketed solutions

Polyurethane, Viton, EPDM, Polyamide and Glenair proprietary materials provide robust protection for connectors and cables in harsh/caustic environments

Injection molding/transfer molding is a simple, reasonably priced solution to physical protection

Design flexibility: from simple point to point, to complex multiple branch assemblies—even fiber-optic and hybrid electrical/optical designs

Top Ten Overmolding Bullet Points

1. Superior, water-proof environmental sealing

2. Robust mechanical protection of the connector

3. Superior mechanical/strain-relief protection of wire/contact terminations.

4. Superior resistance to chemical exposure damage.

5. No induced cold flow stress to wire insulation or terminations compared to cable clamps

6. Superior electrical isolation and insulation

7. Reduced exposure of metal parts to wear damage

8. Flexible routing/cable entry angles

9. Superior performance compared to boots and backshells

10.Tamper proof

Connector Overmold Cross-Section

Typical Overmolded Cable Construction

Old School Overmold Tooling

Manual injection tooling serves a broad range of standard connectors.

Provides savings to customers and faster time to market.

All classes of rectangular connectors

Mil-Spec and commercial cylindrical

Production Overmold Systems

Numerous other materials, besides Viton, are suitable for injection molded protection of connectors and terminations.

Polyamide provides “good” levels of solvent resistant, abrasion resistance and temperature tolerance compared to Viton

New equipment and production system adds speed and reliability to catalog point-to-point or pigtail assemblies for the Series 80 “Mighty Mouse”.

Backshell Devices Used in Overmolding

Banding backshells, used for shield termination and the attachment of heat shrink boots are also employed in Overmolding.

The parts are blast abraded to facilitate overmold material bonding.

Design shown at right incorporates a threaded section for easy repair and maintenance or terminations.

Overmolded Cable Applications Preferred technology for fuel cells

Advanced F-18 E/F Fuel Cell Assembly with integral fiber optic media

F-22 Overmolded Fuel Cell Assembly and Wheel Well Assemblies

V-22 Fuel Cell Assembly

Cable Routing and Packaging Capabilities

Essentially unlimited range of breakouts and layouts

Straight, 90 and 45 degree angular specifications.

Existing tooling for many common molding adapters and connectors.

Breakout, bulkhead and transition tooling for many configurations

Imbedding PCB’s with OvermoldingA Unique Application of Injection Overmolding

Overbraid and Tubular Fabric BraidStrength Plus Chemical and Abrasion Resistance

Fabric braid for improved cosmetics, wire management, tensile strength, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, and flammability reduction

Fabric Braid Material Comparison

Low-End Tubular Fabric Braid Products

Polyethylene -54°C to +121°C used for abrasion, cut through and overall protection also very flexible.

Polyethylene is very standard and used extensively.

Halar (E-CTFE) -73°C to +150°C provides higher temperature and better mechanical toughness.

Materials are quite common and highly competitive with “Expando” braid type products.

Less Common Non-Metal Braid Products

PEEK 220°C High temp, high performance Teflon (FEP) 200°C chemical and fluid resistant Kevlar Extremely tough Dacron (Polyester) 150°C Nomex

Overbraid and Tubular Fabric BraidFor mechanical protection and EMI applications

Electrical Continuity of a cable or EMI/RFI shielding is the primary purpose but strain relief, cable strengthening and armoring are also provided.

Used for EMI/RFI shielding to prevent “conducted” signals from interfering with sensitive electronics; and to keep intended electrical signals and power from “radiating” and affecting adjacent cables or devices.

Standard braiding materials include bare copper, tinplated copper-covered steel, copper plated with tin, nickel or silver; bronze, stainless steel, copper-covered steel, aluminum wire

Overbraid and Tubular Fabric BraidMechanical Strength and EMI Protection

Metal braiding physically protects cable conductors while adding tensile strength and integrity to the assembly.

Metallic braids shield cable conductors from line-of-sight EMI penetration or escape, and by taking EMI to ground.

Bulk braid size range from 1/32” to 2-1/2” Overbraids up to 3” diameter More than 50 braiders

Ultra-Lightweigth Composite RFI/EMI Braided Shielding

Nickel Plated AmberStrand Composite Shielding Offers Unique Solution to Electromagnetic Compatibility

Expandable, flexible, high-strength, conductive, elastic composite material

Provides abrasion resistance and EMI shielding at a fraction of the weight of metal braid

Foil Shield/Tape Wrap Lighter Weight and Less Costly Than Braid

Foil shields: aluminum foil laminated to a Mylar, polyester or polypropylene film.

Film gives the shield mechanical strength and added insulation.

Provides 100% electrostatic shield protection.

Can shield individual pairs of multi-pair cables to reduce crosstalk.

Foil Shield/Tape Wrap Lighter Weight and Less Costly Than Braid

Lighter weight, bulk and less costly than spiral or braid shields and are generally more effective than braid shields in RF ranges.

Foil shields are often more flexible than braid but have a shorter flex life than spiral or braid.

Drain wires often used with foil shields to make termination easier and to ground electrostatic discharges.

Multi-Conductor Cables Critical element of the harness assembly

Customer defined:

Dimensions Core Type Insulation Conductor, shielding and

jacketing RoHS, UL or other Electrical (Voltage, etc) Flame rating Temperature rating

Coil CablesCommon Choice for Telephone/Communication Cables

Specified by “working length,” and “Retracted Length.”

Other design variables include:

Hand pulled or machine pulled

Coil “memory” strength Orientation and length of

straight ends

Summary: Application Checklist for Cable and Harness Specification

Application Checklist: Step One: Working Environment

Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery

Shipboard Aircraft Secure Communications Ground Support Rail/Mass Transit Space Missile Defense Telecommunications Armored Vehicle

Application Checklist: Step Two: Electrical/Optical Requirements

Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery Application defined requirements

for cable performance may include: Current rating Test voltage Insulation resistance DWV Signal leakage Attenuation Voltage drop Capacitance

Application Checklist: Step Three: EMI Shielding Requirements

Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery

Customer defined shielding specifications for the cable may include: Shielding effectiveness (dB) Frequency Range (Hertz) EMP TEMPEST

Application Checklist: Step Four: Key Environmental

RequirementsRequired Information for Fast Design and Delivery Customer environmental

requirements for the cable may include: Moisture/chemical Protection Low Smoke/Zero Halogen UL94-V0 Flammability NBC/CBRNE Resistance UV Resistance Temperature Resistance Controlling Specification

Application Checklist: Step Five: Key Mechanical Requirements

Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery

Customer mechanical specifications for the cable may include: Field Reparability Crush/Abrasion Resistance Pull (Tensile) Strength Flexibility/Flex Cycles Minimum bend radius Workmanship standards Strain-relief

Application Checklist: Step Six: Packaging

Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery Customer packaging/construction requirements for the

cable may include: Critical dimensions/tolerances Required tooling, such as crimp dies, molds and test

fixtures Specific cable management and identification

choices Approved jacket, boot and dielectric materials Jacket finish Specifications on length of lay in twisted pairs or

other cable construction details

Glenair Cable Harness Design

and Construction Services

ISO 9001:2008 and AS 9100:2009 Rev C CertifiedCable Assembly Factories 100% Vertically Integrated

All Key Processes Under Glenair Control

ISO 9001:2000 Certified AS9100:2004 Rev. B

Certified Certified soldering (NASA

STD 8739.3) Source inspection available

Testing Services

100% Testing all Cables Testing on Request Continuity High voltage Insertion loss (Fiber Optic Cable

Assemblies)

Immersion Temperature cycling Post-assembly filter performance Component verification (resistors, diodes,

capacitors) X-ray for broken wires, loose strands, mold

voids Return loss (back reflection) Interferometer measurement (fiber end

face geometry) Contact resistance Weight separation Contact retention

Cable Harness Application Development

The Bid Process

During the bid process, Glenair will often add value with superior knowledge of wire and cable layout and assembly, especially in prototypes.

COTS Cable AssembliesTurnkey cables as a standard catalog offering

Point-to-Point cordsets and pigtails available for all Series 80, Series 22, D38999 fiber optic and Micro-D connectors

High-speed data transfer cordsets for USB, Ethernet and more using Series 80 Mighty Mouse and other interconnects

Standardized part number development Accelerated lead times

Example Custom Cordset(High Speed 1000BASE-T Ethernet)

Summary A Huge Arsenal of Factory Capabilities

Wring, connectors, accessories, braiding and sealing all available

Catalog standards and thousands of customs Soup-to-nuts cable design, assembly and

testing rather than multiple vendor sourcing Engineering staff unparalleled in industry Can draw from a vast reservoir of cable

experience