How to Choose the Right Supplier for Your Custom Cable
Cables connect the electronic components of your products and systems, ensuring that they operate as designed. However, a poorly-chosen or improperly assembled cable can cause faulty performance and potentially expensive failures. Custom cable is a tailored solution that addresses specific environmental conditions and physical space constraints, delivering improved durability and reliability over time.
The right supplier will help you select the best materials for your application. They’ll also provide a fast turnaround, enabling you to meet your production schedules without sacrificing quality. In addition, the right partner will be able to scale production efficiently. Most manufacturers build their own cables in house using hand tools to cut, strip and crimp wires to terminals. This method is fine for prototyping, but doesn’t scale well into high-volume manufacturing. The right supplier can build your cables using advanced tooling for higher fidelity, quicker turnaround times and cost savings.
Conductors
Choosing the right conductor type for your custom cable depends on the level of flexibility you require, conductivity requirements and temperature rating. Conductors are arranged in different ways to impart specific flexing properties, including individual stranding and the use of various materials and plating options.
You should discuss the exact electrical needs of your design with a Northwire cable specialist at an early stage of prototyping, rather than simply specifying a particular wire type or length. The Northwire team will ask the right questions to determine the optimal wire technologies for your design and select conductor stranding and insulation options to minimize size, weight and cost without compromising electrical properties or flex life.
Prototypes should be tested in the environment where the final product will be used to ensure a smooth transition into production. Some suppliers are able to offer this service for you, allowing you to test your cable designs in a real-world context while saving you the hassle of arranging a test environment at your own facilities.
It is essential to consider the manufacturing process for your custom cable during the design phase, especially if you plan on outsourcing the assembly work. A few key questions can help you understand the capabilities of a potential partner, such as:
Can they produce your custom cable with standard tooling? If not, how long would it take them to develop a custom machine that can make the necessary parts? Do they have a strong track record of meeting deadlines and specifications?
Do they follow ISO and IPC standards to ensure consistent, high-quality assembly? Do they offer a range of testing and certifications, including tolerances, electrical parameters, temperature performance and resistance to chemicals and abrasion?
It is important to choose a custom cable supplier that is UL recognized or listed, as they have met the highest standards of safety and sustainability. UL’s recognition goes beyond cable and electrical components, certifying parts across countless industries. You can even request that your custom cable supplier obtain a UL listing for the entire assembly, simplifying your supply chain and offering more transparency to your customers.