Water and moisture is among the greatest foes of cable assemblies. The component of an assembly can suffer from corrosion and mildew damage if exposed excessive amounts of moisture or water. When moisture gets trapped inside a connector, it cause the shields and insulation to corrode. Even if there is no physical damage, moisture can easily change the cable’s impedance characteristics such as signal reflection. This can lead to a failed or unreliable system. However, there is one solution that can take care of all these problems – waterproof cable assemblies.
Waterproof Cable Assemblies – General Product and Services
Waterproof cable assemblies are designed with specialized materials and components to create water tight sealing. Certain processes can also be used to create hydrophobic effects in cables. This means that the cables will be able to repel water.
Generally, customers will find three products and services, which specifically help in the construction of these types of cable assemblies.
- Waterproof Connectors: These connectors are designed using materials that adhere to M and IP Series and DIN standards. Connector solutions can include front mounted seals, bulkhead mounted connectors, rubber O-rings, and back filling connectors. These types of connectors are ideal for process control applications.
- Potting and Encapsulation: Potting is a process where a cable or its components are dipped into a liquid resin. The resin is a thermosetting material, and is specially designed to protect the cable and components from any environmental contaminants. These can include dirt, electric shocks, moisture, vibrations, and humidity. The same resin can be used for the encapsulation process. The encapsulation method involves building a frame around an object, and filling the frame space with the resin. This can provide additional protection for cable harnesses and assemblies.
- Over Molding: This is a type of plastic injection molding, which is ideal when creating waterproof cable assemblies, and for electronic circuits and connectors. It involves the use of rigid plastic and thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). The TPE is molded over the rigid plastic to create an extremely strong material. Over molding helps create water resistant sealing, and improve grip in wet environments.
These are three basic waterproofing offerings provided by cable assembly manufacturers. Waterproof cable assemblies can ensure that the cables provide good performance, reliability and durability.