Quadrangle Products will be closed from December 23, 2024 to January 2, 2025 for our end of the year closing. Happy Holidays!

Call today! (732) 792-1234
Request a Quote Contact Sales

Quadrangle Products

Best Design Options for Custom Cable Assemblies

Quadrangle Products is a contract manufacturer of wire harnesses and custom cable assemblies, specializing in the design and manufacture of custom cables for flat-panel displays and their peripherals. We support our customer’s needs for any quantity through our design services and quick-turn production. While standard cables may be able to get the job done in certain applications, they can easily fall short when specific connectors or pinouts are needed. 

When deciding on the design of your custom cable assembly, there are a few main things to consider. In this blog post, we will review some of the considerations that need to be made during the design stage.

Use Cases for Custom Cable Assembly

Most cable assemblies are used for power or data transmission from one board to another. For power transmission, higher currents will need different conductors and shielding. In cables designed for data transmission, shielding may be needed and twisted pairs can be added to the data pairs. Shielding and/or twisted pairs make sure data is not corrupted or transmitted incorrectly due to electromagnetic interference. Understanding the basic difference between what is required in a power transmission cable and a data transmission cable will make it much easier to determine what type of wire and covering is best for your project.

Voltage and Current

While always true for power cables, there are electrical requirements for data lines as well, just less significant. When choosing what wire to use there are three main points to think about: the voltage and current requirements, the impedance of the wire, and the wire gauge. All these factors will influence the other, so it is important to consider them.

When needing to make a high-power connection, you will need to know the maximum current and voltage requirements to decide on what gauge wire to use. A higher gauge will be needed the more power you will be drawing from the conductor. If your assembly involves a large run of cable, the impedance of the cable could become a factor. This is most common with a data line where loss can occur over a long distance. This could also lead to poor signal quality, network latency, and increased noise in the signal.

Crimp Considerations

Each connector has specific crimps or terminals that are specified for it, and these crimps have different allowable ranges for wire diameter. Knowing these limitations is important for crimp quality, and ultimately cable quality. While some cable houses may ignore these parameters and use out-of-spec wire Quadrangle designs cables for the highest crimp quality to produce the best quality cables.

Cable Shielding

Shielded cables are electrical cables that contain insulating conductors encased in a standard conductive layer. The shield can be made from strands of braided copper (or a similar metal), a spiral copper tape, or various shielding tapes.

There are many types of cable shields available commercially, and usage depends on the application.

  • Foil Shields
  • Metallic Braid Shields
  • Tape Shields 

Unshielded cable does not utilize shielding to reduce interference. Unshielded cable is typically used for applications where EMI is less of a concern. While offering less protection from interference, unshielded cables are popular because they are:

  • Versatile
  • Inexpensive
  • Lightweight
  • Flexible

Create Your Prototype With an Experienced Custom Cable Manufacturer

There are many other cable and wire manufacturers in the US, but most do not have the manufacturing capabilities that Quadrangle Products brings to the table. Our cables are 100% tested for quality which not all cable houses can guarantee. When it comes to cables and wires for an important project, settling for the second-best option just won’t cut it. With state-of-the-art tools and technology, our skilled team of engineers can get you the highest quality cables, wires, and related accessories to help you get the job done.

Types of Custom Cables From Quadrangle Products

Our custom cable products are broken down into a number of different types and styles. It is possible we already have a product that will be perfect for your project. Here are the types of cables and related accessories we offer:

Most of your cable needs should be satisfied by one of these categories and we have plenty of products to offer in each. If you can’t find something that fits, don’t worry. We can craft custom cables to fit your specifications. Contact Quadrangle Products today to learn more.