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.
Bunching
Bunching is a high-speed operation that allows for large number of ends of wire to be assembled by twisting them together through a rotating arm, commonly in a non-planetary operation. In a bunch, each end has no definite place to occupy in the final construction; as a result, ends can (and will) shift and float freely. This allows for a non-concentric number of ends to be used and improves the packing density in comparison to stranding or cabling, at the expense of reduced flexibility and some introduced twist in the individual wires.
Stranding
Stranding is performed on a semi-planetary cabler. These machines impart little to no twist into the wire making it an excellent option for applications that require high strength or low elongation alloys.
Cabling
For applications that require flexibility at larger conductor sizes, New England Wire offers ultra flexible ropelay cables. In cabling, fully planetary cablers rotate each spool of wire as it is cabled adding no additional twist into the wire. This improves cable flexibility, reduces cable memory, and improves the overall aesthetics of the final product by maintaining a circular shape better than a bunched conductor.
