I Love My Shielded Box Store ENET Cable! Why Should I Use 600V Cables?
Have you heard the saying, "you get what you pay for"? Well, that certainly applies in this case.
Here are some reasons why we feel you should only use 600v cable in your manuacturing facility:
- Quality, reliability, and durability, from the connector to the crush resistant heart of the cable.
- Developed specifically for EtherNet/IP, 600V cable supports voice, video and data – all in the same environment.
- This advanced cable allows direct application in the same space as other 600V cables – while still providing noise immunity and without additional barriers and raceways.
With these impressive features, the 600V Ethernet cable will provide users with a huge competitive advantage in the marketplace. But beyond being feature rich, there are regulating principles that in some applications, will necessitate the use of a 600V cable.
How Does Safety Come Into Play?
The guiding principle in application of any NFPA standards is safety. Applications governed under NFPA 79 are considered to have inherent mechanical protection as an element of the installation. This wiring is typically well protected mechanically and not accessible to untrained workers.
Under the NEC, mechanical safety and crush resistance, as well as fire resistance, are much stronger elements of the standard. For example, under the NEC, the smallest conductor allowed in a 600V cable tray is 18AWG, with significant insulation thickness and abrasion resistance. The smallest conductor allowed in a power limited cable tray is 22 AWG. In most cases, 600V AWM wiring does not meet the mechanical requirements of the NEC for Cable Tray, or Power Limited Cable Tray applications.
In fact, crush resistance is not only important to safety, but in the case of data cables, crush resistance may be a significant factor in network performance. In data cables the cable designs include important aspects not typically found in other electrical conductors. The uniform and measured spacing of conductors in each pair, and the proximity of the pairs to each other, both significantly influence performance of data cables. Crushing of data cables by heavy power cables will likely result in potential performance degradation and signal loss. Cables designed to lay in proximity to heavy power cables must have the inherent crush resistance to retain their critical mechanical parameters while subject to the bending, crushing and heating loads associated with a power cable environment. This is critical if the user wants to maintain the inherent performance of the cable.
Beyond the pure mechanical performance required for reliable signal transmission, the 600V power and control, tray environment creates other challenges. Beyond the NEC requirement that the cables be listed as 600V Type TC to meet the mechanical and fire safety requirements, these cables must also perform in the presence of significant electromagnetic interference and radio frequency interference. In order to perform in that environment, a mechanical design with thick jackets ensures increased mechanical separation. Increased shield performance is essential to reducing induced voltage to a level which will not affect sensitive network circuits.
What Does This Mean?
A 600V tray-rated Ethernet cable is the only solution that meets the requirements of the NEC if the cable must run in a 600V cable tray. Sometimes the limitations of the physical infrastructure make the installation of a 300V power limited or communications tray impractical. In this case, the 600V Ethernet cable with a TC rating would be the only compliant solution. An example of a system that might benefit from the use of TC Ethernet is a connection to a remote drive. It may be convenient and economical to run the control signals in the same cable tray that feeds the drive, rather than install separate communications infrastructure. The same would be true for any remote system component that has both a 600V feed and a network communications requirement. If the cable is entirely contained within a single enclosure, a 600V AWM design may well meet the regulatory requirements. If the system has a separate communications infrastructure, then CM(R) rated product will likely suffice from an electrical safety perspective. In many cases, the use of a 600V TC-rated Ethernet cable (which would be 18AWG or greater) can avert the need for separate communications infrastructure, and thus provide cost savings and code compliance, following NECessary safe practices as guided by the National Electrical Code.
Whether your lighthouse is safety compliance or network reliability, 600V industrial cables will provide the coverage you need.
