Multi conductor cable

[g2c]

Hello all,

I would like to bundle a few, say a dozen conductors in a multi conductors flat or round cable. The conductors are used to light lamps or acrivate roller shutters. Working Voltage is 220V and the current is ≤ 500mA. My questions:

Can someone recommend such a cable?

What should be the insulation voltage of these conductors? Should it be 220V peak to peak i.e ~680V?

Thanks for your help

 

[Reloadron]

I suggest you start by looking at multi-conductor or multi-pair cable from manufacturers like Alpha Cable, Belden Cable and other manufacturers. You make no mention of environment the cable is to be used in so I don't know if you want plenum or non plenum rated cable or how flexible it must be or cable run length? Insulation and over braid material? Insulation is rated in normally RMS voltage and based on what you mention 300 volt would be adequate. AWG 20 should be adequate for the current you mention but this also depends on length of the wire run, consult a wire ampacity chart. You are really not providing enough information to get a good answer to your question.

Ron

 

[Pommie]

Depending on application length etc. You could use a relay board at the business end and run ribbon cable to your switches.

More info would help.

Mike.

 

[ronsimpson]

300 volt would be adequate

The roles of "house wire" I have are rated for 600V rms.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

The generic name for such multi-core mains voltage cable is "YY".

You can get it with anything up to 25 - 50 cores depending on manufacturer and current ratings from a few amps to possibly 100A..

For 500mA, the 0.5mm core size types would be fine.
Some examples:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/cabl...&sort-by=Number of Cores&sort-order=desc&pn=1


For info, "CY" has the same cores with an added copper mesh screen & second jacket, or "SY" has woven steel armouring plus an extra jacket.

 

[g2c]

QUOTE="Reloadron, post: 1347332, member: 146097"]? Insulation is rated in normally RMS voltage and based on what you mention 300 volt would be adequate.

Ron[/QUOTE]

I was thinking of a worst case condition where two adjacent conductors would be in opposite phase in which case at moments there would be ~680V potential difference which would exceed the 300+300 insulation volrage; am i wrong?

My application is to tidy up my house electricity cabinate where wall switches and triac controls come from its bottom and the loads goes from the upper side. Total distance is ~1,5m. Currently I'm using individual rigid 1.5mm^2 and its very messy. I dont need much but i really need to clean up this mess

Guy

 

[g2c]

The generic name for such multi-core mains voltage cable is "YY".

You can get it with anything up to 25 - 50 cores depending on manufacturer and current ratings from a few amps to possibly 100A..

For 500mA, the 0.5mm core size types would be fine.
Some examples:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/cabl...&sort-by=Number of Cores&sort-order=desc&pn=1


For info, "CY" has the same cores with an added copper mesh screen & second jacket, or "SY" has woven steel armouring plus an extra jacket.

Thanks. It seems that yy is the very thing i was looking for. There are even with 25 cores. Ill choose something suitable and ask for the full spec

 

[MaxHeadRoom78]

If non flexibility is possible, you could also look at PVC conduit and fittings using TR64 (300v control wire) individual conductors, it has a much smaller dia than TEW etc and is good for 230vac , makes for a neat installation and is protected, you can include as many conductors as you wish.
Max.

 

[unclejed613]

if this is a one-off device, you might consider bundling your own wiring harness. not only can you get the exact mix of wire gauges you need for various purposes, but at a lot lower cost. just keep in mind, however, that if there's any environmental conditions that would require a special jacket material, you will be better off buying pre-made cable. the same goes for any shielding requirements. high voltages (above about 50 volts) requires insulation for the wires that are either thicker, or have "premium" types of insulation (like Teflon). depending on the cable length, you may need a heavier wire gauge for longer cables to minimize resistance losses (i.e. lower voltage at the other end).
cable lacing is almost a lost art. i learned how to do it when i worked for a company that made test fixtures and prototypes. i learned the NASA method which is shown here:

the other (Marline) method is shown here:

the reason we used the NASA method is that as you can tell from the pictures, if you have a loop damaged, the Marline method can unravel. the Marline method can also be problematic if you make changes to the wiring harness. the NASA method uses a clove hitch around the bundle, then a surgeon's knot to top it off. with enough practice, you can get to be almost as fast as if you were using zip ties (zip ties will always be faster but don't look as good). spacing between loops is about 1 inch



another thing to be aware of, is that with more than 3 wires in a bundle, the current capacity of the wires needs to be derated, because the wires are no longer in free air. there's a chart [here]. this applies whether you are making the cable or buying cable.

 

[Reloadron]

The roles of "house wire" I have are rated for 600V rms.

I have some in 300 V and 600 V flavors of Type SJ, SJO, SJOW, SJOOW Portable Cord 300 V as well as 600 V which is common everyday rubber jacket but other than working voltage the thread starter makes no mention of the environment the wire is to be used in so he can pick whatever he wants for his application. Actually as to common stuff I think it is all SJOOW in whatever gauge you want. When I bought spools at work I normally went with the 600 volt insulation simply because the cost per foot on a given gauge was only a few cents higher for the 600 volt stuff.

Ron

QUOTE="Reloadron, post: 1347332, member: 146097"]? Insulation is rated in normally RMS voltage and based on what you mention 300 volt would be adequate.

Ron

I was thinking of a worst case condition where two adjacent conductors would be in opposite phase in which case at moments there would be ~680V potential difference which would exceed the 300+300 insulation volrage; am i wrong?

My application is to tidy up my house electricity cabinate where wall switches and triac controls come from its bottom and the loads goes from the upper side. Total distance is ~1,5m. Currently I'm using individual rigid 1.5mm^2 and its very messy. I dont need much but i really need to clean up this mess

Guy[/QUOTE]
I can't speak for Europe or outside the US but here in the US the standard residential voltage is 240 VAC 60 Hz split phase so 240 VAC RMS is as big as it gets. For example with that 240 VAC it is split as 120 and 120 VAC for US residential outlets. It is conceivable to measure between two 120 VAC outlets hot side to hot side and have 240 VAC but that 240 VAC is as good as it gets. Whatever your mains entry voltage is that is what it is. If 220 or 240 VAC is the mains residential voltage expressed as an RMS value that is as big or high as it can be. The insulation breakdown voltage is expressed in Volts RMS unless otherwise stated. Your current you mention is < 1.0 amp which is very low so all you need is wire with an insulation breakdown rated for your 220 VAC. You can run multi conductor or as mentioned a bunch of pairs of two conductor.

Ron

 

[MaxHeadRoom78]

I don't see much point in wiring large gauge wiring for such a light load, as I mentioned, you should be able to get control wiring with overall small ga/dia with the suitable voltage rating.
Wether individual control wire or multi-conductor.
Max.

 

[g2c]

If non flexibility is possible, you could also look at PVC conduit and fittings using TR64 (300v control wire) individual conductors, it has a much smaller dia than TEW etc and is good for 230vac , makes for a neat installation and is protected, you can include as many conductors as you wish.
Max.

Thank, rigid is really not an option in my case