Control Cables includes flexible control cables and flexible automation cables. These cables are supplied to a variety of industries and applications, including robotics, manufacturing, construction, power and distribution, and more. They are common in both commercial and industrial markets.

Flexible and continuous flex cables are not the same. Flexible control cables may bend during installation, but should remain stationary in their final applications. On the other hand, continuous flex cable can move constantly. These cables may also be referred to as chain-suitable cable or high-flex cable. Flex cables have much longer service lives than other types of cable. While typical cables might sustain half a million cycles, these control cables can withstand 1-3 million cycles.

There are two main categories of flexible control cables:

Control Cables Stranded in Layers

These control cables are easier to make and less expensive than those stranded in bundles. They are designed by laying multiple layers of stranding on top of each other. Because of this construction, the outer layers are pulled and the inner layers are compacted when the cable bends. Eventually, this causes distortion and warping within the flexible cable.

Control Cables Stranded in Bundles

Bundled cables are generally a little more expensive than those stranded in layers, but in the bundled cables, the layers are braided around a tension-proof core. This allows layers to “switch places” throughout the bending, so no one layer is always compressed or always stretched. This gives the control cables a longer lifespan.

Different control cables are designed to meet the needs of different applications.