Integrated wiring: Is your Ethernet cable tough?

Have you ever had a working environment that is against your experience? But if you're in the same boat as a cable, you might be able to cause data transfer errors or network delays, or you might be able to damage the entire cable if you drive on the cable. For this, ordinary commercial cables are not even immune to the possibility.

In fact, the popular commercial 5e type unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Ethernet cable is very vulnerable to industrial standards, in addition to the obvious physical damage, there are more hidden, invisible electromagnetic/RF interference.

Using too much force to pull commercial grade UTP will lengthen the cable.

Physical damage
The commercial standard stipulates that the maximum tensile strength is 25 lbs (11.35 kg), for example, before the cable is 100 feet; Pull the string and it may turn 100 feet 2 inches! The elongation of the cable will cause excessive signal loss (attenuation) and signal delay, which will directly limit the distance the cable may be laid. Again, when the cable is moved, the twisted pair may disperse, altering the spacing between the wires and the center of the wire, resulting in an imbalance. As a result, the line pairs will have more coupling (crosstalk), signal echo transmission (return loss), will be more susceptible to the surrounding electromagnetic/radio interference effects. Any of these factors can cause loss of cable transmission data, resulting in industrial process disruption or security problems. It is reported that adhesion line to the technology can prevent the spread of the line to ensure the design performance of the cable. Each wire pairs of insulated conductors along the entire cable physically adhesion together, no matter how you carry, even in the installation, line pairs will not be inadvertently separated, but also increased the mechanical strength, in addition to mechanical stability, but also improve the tensile degree. ---http://bianceng.cn (computer science)

Extreme low temperatures can harden and brittle cables, and extremely high temperatures may degrade the plastic properties used in cables.

Temperature effect
The problem of physical damage is caused by cable installation, so what are the problems encountered in extreme temperature environments in industrial applications? According to the researchers, the cable should be laid according to the expected temperature before the cable is laid. We know that the cable temperature rating is not the only consideration, in 20 ℃ or more, for each additional 1 ℃, the general commercial 5e cable attenuation will increase by 0.4%; at 60 ℃, attenuation may increase by 16%. In addition, you can either lay a shorter cable or expect the signal to be strong enough that it can be received in error by electromagnetic/RF interference.

In addition, most commercial 5e cable is not used outdoors, when the cable is exposed to the ultraviolet light in the sun, the cable's plastic sheath will accelerate decomposition. The mechanical strength of the sheath begins to decrease, which shortens the service life of the cable. Consider using products that provide sun RES cable sheathing to ensure they are durable in practical applications.

In the actual daily production activities, many parts need to be well lubricated to ensure smooth operation. Oils extracted from oil will be immersed in ordinary commercial 5e cable, especially at elevated temperatures, the oil will cause cable sheath expansion, loss of mechanical strength, so that the core exposed outside. Anti-oil sheath becomes an indispensable auxiliary element, it can meet your actual production needs.

Avoiding potential sources of interference is the best option.

Electromagnetic/RF Interference
All of the above questions are obvious because you can see or feel these problems happening. But you can't easily tell when Emi/rfi and whether it has caused significant damage to the network. In this way, avoiding potential sources of interference is the best choice. For example, in the laying of cables should be as far as possible from the source of interference, such as welding machine, switching relays or DC drives. What should you do when you try to control a similar interference source such as a welding machine? One way is to use optical cables. Optical cables can avoid the effects of electromagnetic/RF interference. If you are concerned about costs, complexity or the tenacity of optical cables, you may consider using the 5e shielded copper cable solution. Even a simple layer of aluminum foil shielding, in the correct grounding can also provide a significant ability to resist electromagnetic/RF interference.

The correct grounding is the key to obtain effective shielding.

Grounding method
ungrounded or grounded incorrectly may reduce the shielding effect, the ideal shielding grounding should have only the only contact. When the jamming signal is coupled to the shielding layer, the current will be imported into the Earth to avoid the influence of the line pairs under the shielding layer. When both the near and distal ends of the shield are connected to the ground, a grounding loop may be formed. The earth potential difference between the proximal position and the distal position will result in a huge electric difference and a corresponding current on the conductive shielding layer, and the current on the shielding can make the shielding the interference source of the line pair carrying the signal.

A highly balanced, stable UTP can provide great immunity.

of balance
Each half of a pair of strands can be seen as a circular antenna, and the other half of the new twist is in the opposite direction to the top wire. In an ideal balanced cable, the alternating polarity of the annular antenna offsets the interference of the online pair.

Although ordinary commercial cables can be used in some industrial applications, in some applications, ordinary commercial cables cannot be accepted because of the lack of toughness. It is therefore necessary to consider providing the best mechanical stability for shielded and unshielded twisted pair cables, minimizing the impact of adverse environmental conditions and providing a unified installation-type performance technology. In addition, an additional industrial-grade plastic sheath or armored sheath provides additional protection and strength for the cable, achieving the expected design objectives of the senior Control engineer.