Interconnect Cable
Design and Assembly
The Ideal Interconnect Cable Assembly
For High Performance I/O Applications











Fault Free: Form, Fit and Function
100% Electrical Continuity
Corrosion-Resistant Materials
Maximum Flexibility and Durability
Minimum Size and Weight
Abrasion-Proof Coverings
Crush-Proof Conduit
Hi-Rel Crimp Contact Connectors
Precision, Gold Plated Contacts
Harsh Environmental Protection
EMI Immunity
The Compromise
“Acceptable” Performance and Cost Dictate Design






Fit and forget vs. frequent mating cycles
Exposed environmental vs. enclosed mounting
Commercial vs. military
High power vs. signal (or combined)
Crimp vs. solder
Shielded vs. unshielded
Factors That Impact Cable Design and Construction:
(1) Environmental and Mechanical








Fluid Immersion
Chemical Resistance
Abrasion
Clamping
Flame/outgassing
Corrosion
Impact/crush
Shock and Vibration








Temperature Cycling
Altitude
Fungus
Pressure Extremes
Pull Forces/Elongation
Bend Radius
Aging
Strain-Relief
Factors That Impact Cable Design and Construction:
(2) Electrical







Current rating
Wire voltage rating
Wire AWG and Number
Wire material/finish
Insulation/dielectric
EMI/EMP
Impedance requirement
 100 ohm pairs (Ethernet)
 90 ohm pairs (USB)
 75 ohm coax
 50 ohm coax
Factors That Impact Cable Design and Construction:
(3) Usability and Ergonomics
Size, Weight, Flexibility, Routing, Cable Management
Interconnect Cable/Conduit
Design, Materials and Construction
Connectorized System-to-System
I/O Cabling
From One Box to Another Box
Feed-Thru Cabling
For Non- or Partially-Connectorized Applications
(Non-Connector) Feed-Through
Accessories
 Complete range of functional
types: shield termination, strainrelief, environmental sealing etc.
 Split shells enable easy
assembly and maintenance at
any stage in the project.
Open Wire Bundle Cables
Lightweight and Flexible Cable Harnesses
 Appropriate where no noise or
crosstalk from adjacent wires is
expected
 Prevalent for data transfer with
tightly twisted pairs
 Shielded pairs might be inside of
an unshielded cable assembly
 Great for routing
Open Wire Bundle Cables
Used in Internal Box Wiring
and Other Enclosed Non-Environmental Systems
 Low cost compared to
overmolded or jacketed
solutions
 Field repairable
 Non-Environmental
 Not particularly durable
Management of Open Wire Bundles




Wraps/tapes
Cable ties
Cable clips
Spiral Wrap
 Split tubing
 Expando braid
 Broom Stitch
 Others
Standard Jacketed/Shielded Cables
Backshell Equipped for External Harsh Environments
 Shields added to twisted pairs, or multiconductor cables, to help prevent EMI
(victim or source).
 Jacketing extruded, shrunk on or blown on
 Types of jacketing based on environmental
conditions such as immersion, chemical or
caustic fluid exposure, corrosion potential,
temperature or radiation exposure.
 Field maintainable, user installable
backshells
Jacketing Styles
Wide Range of Choices to Meet Every Need
 Extruded jacketing is the best environmental sealing
option
 Blown on jacketing—soft rubber tubing is overfilled
with compressed air, cable inserted, and tubing
allowed to collapse for sealing fit
 Both options offer a wide range of material types.
 Heat-shrink tubing is inexpensive, lightweight and ideal
for short runs and prototypes
High-Performance Jacket Materials
Environmental Sealing for Jacketed Cables
Typical exploded view of cable sealing backshell
Shield Termination Options for
Jacketed/Shielded Cables
Dozens of different styles







Conical ring backshells
Tag ring backshells
Cable Sealing Band in a Can Backshells
Tinel-Lock Backshells
Sealtite/Liquidtite Conduit Backshells
Band-It Clamping System
Conductive epoxy potting for EMI
shielding and grounding in tight space
applications
Jacketed/Sealed Cable Applications
External Wiring Requirements
 Battlefield electronics
 Under vehicles
 Long cable runs
connecting field
equipment
 Soldier systems
Overmolded Sealed Cables
Ultimate Environmental Protection
 Use of encapsulating plastic medium to
cover backshells, adapters and
transitions
 Effectively isolates conductors from
contamination and protects from
abrasion
 Mold geometries for unique applications
 Can integrate mounting brackets and
other hardware right on to the cable
assembly
 Tamper resistant
The Advantage of Overmolding
Outstanding environmental protection for harsh and caustic environments
compared to unjacketed solutions
 Polyurethane, Viton, EPDM, Polyamide and
Glenair proprietary materials provide robust
protection for connectors and cables in
harsh/caustic environments
 Injection molding/transfer molding is a simple,
reasonably priced solution to physical
protection
 Design flexibility: from simple point to point, to
complex multiple branch assemblies—even
fiber-optic and hybrid electrical/optical designs
Top Ten Overmolding Bullet Points
1. Superior, water-proof environmental sealing
2. Robust mechanical protection of the connector
3. Superior mechanical/strain-relief protection of wire/contact
terminations.
4. Superior resistance to chemical exposure damage.
5. No induced cold flow stress to wire insulation or
terminations compared to cable clamps
6. Superior electrical isolation and insulation
7. Reduced exposure of metal parts to wear damage
8. Flexible routing/cable entry angles
9. Superior performance compared to boots and backshells
10.Tamper proof
Connector Overmold Cross-Section
Typical Overmolded Cable Construction
Old School Overmold Tooling
 Manual injection tooling serves a
broad range of standard
connectors.
 Provides savings to customers and
faster time to market.
 All classes of rectangular
connectors
 Mil-Spec and commercial cylindrical
Production Overmold Systems
 Numerous other materials, besides
Viton, are suitable for injection
molded protection of connectors and
terminations.
 Polyamide provides “good” levels of
solvent resistant, abrasion resistance
and temperature tolerance compared
to Viton
 New equipment and production
system adds speed and reliability to
catalog point-to-point or pigtail
assemblies for the Series 80 “Mighty
Mouse”.
Backshell Devices Used in
Overmolding
 Banding backshells, used for shield
termination and the attachment of
heat shrink boots are also employed
in Overmolding.
 The parts are blast abraded to
facilitate overmold material bonding.
 Design shown at right incorporates a
threaded section for easy repair and
maintenance or terminations.
Overmolded Cable Applications
Preferred technology for fuel cells
 Advanced F-18 E/F Fuel Cell
Assembly with integral fiber optic
media
 F-22 Overmolded Fuel Cell
Assembly and Wheel Well
Assemblies
 V-22 Fuel Cell Assembly
Cable Routing and Packaging
Capabilities
Essentially unlimited range of breakouts and layouts
 Straight, 90 and 45 degree angular
specifications.
 Existing tooling for many common
molding adapters and connectors.
 Breakout, bulkhead and transition
tooling for many configurations
Imbedding PCB’s with Overmolding
A Unique Application of Injection Overmolding
Overbraid and Tubular Fabric Braid
Strength Plus Chemical and Abrasion Resistance
 Fabric braid for improved
cosmetics, wire management,
tensile strength, chemical
resistance, abrasion resistance,
and flammability reduction
Fabric Braid Material Comparison
Low-End Tubular Fabric Braid Products
 Polyethylene -54°C to +121°C used for
abrasion, cut through and overall protection
also very flexible.
 Polyethylene is very standard and used
extensively.
 Halar (E-CTFE) -73°C to +150°C
provides higher temperature and better
mechanical toughness.
 Materials are quite common and highly
competitive with “Expando” braid type
products.
Less Common Non-Metal Braid Products





PEEK
Teflon (FEP)
Kevlar
Dacron (Polyester)
Nomex
220°C High temp, high performance
200°C chemical and fluid resistant
Extremely tough
150°C
Overbraid and Tubular Fabric Braid
For mechanical protection and EMI applications
 Electrical Continuity of a cable or EMI/RFI shielding is the
primary purpose but strain relief, cable strengthening and
armoring are also provided.
 Used for EMI/RFI shielding to prevent “conducted” signals
from interfering with sensitive electronics; and to keep
intended electrical signals and power from “radiating” and
affecting adjacent cables or devices.
 Standard braiding materials include bare copper, tinplated
copper-covered steel, copper plated with tin, nickel or silver;
bronze, stainless steel, copper-covered steel, aluminum wire
Overbraid and Tubular Fabric Braid
Mechanical Strength and EMI Protection
 Metal braiding physically protects cable conductors
while adding tensile strength and integrity to the
assembly.
 Metallic braids shield cable conductors from line-of-sight
EMI penetration or escape, and by taking EMI to
ground.
 Bulk braid size range from 1/32” to 2-1/2”
 Overbraids up to 3” diameter
 More than 50 braiders
Ultra-Lightweigth Composite RFI/EMI
Braided Shielding
Nickel Plated AmberStrand Composite Shielding Offers Unique Solution to
Electromagnetic Compatibility
 Expandable, flexible, highstrength, conductive, elastic
composite material
 Provides abrasion resistance
and EMI shielding at a fraction
of the weight of metal braid
Foil Shield/Tape Wrap
Lighter Weight and Less Costly Than Braid
 Foil shields: aluminum foil
laminated to a Mylar, polyester or
polypropylene film.
 Film gives the shield mechanical
strength and added insulation.
 Provides 100% electrostatic
shield protection.
 Can shield individual pairs of
multi-pair cables to reduce
crosstalk.
Foil Shield/Tape Wrap
Lighter Weight and Less Costly Than Braid
 Lighter weight, bulk and less costly than
spiral or braid shields and are generally
more effective than braid shields in RF
ranges.
 Foil shields are often more flexible than
braid but have a shorter flex life than
spiral or braid.
 Drain wires often used with foil shields to
make termination easier and to ground
electrostatic discharges.
Multi-Conductor Cables
Critical element of the harness assembly

Customer defined:








Dimensions
Core Type
Insulation
Conductor, shielding and
jacketing
RoHS, UL or other
Electrical (Voltage, etc)
Flame rating
Temperature rating
Coil Cables
Common Choice for Telephone/Communication Cables


Specified by “working length,” and
“Retracted Length.”
Other design variables include:
 Hand pulled or machine
pulled
 Coil “memory” strength
 Orientation and length of
straight ends
Summary: Application Checklist for
Cable and Harness Specification
Application Checklist:
Step One: Working Environment
Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery









Shipboard
Aircraft
Secure Communications
Ground Support
Rail/Mass Transit
Space
Missile Defense
Telecommunications
Armored Vehicle
Application Checklist:
Step Two: Electrical/Optical Requirements
Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery
 Application defined requirements
for cable performance may include:








Current rating
Test voltage
Insulation resistance
DWV
Signal leakage
Attenuation
Voltage drop
Capacitance
Application Checklist:
Step Three: EMI Shielding Requirements
Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery
 Customer defined shielding
specifications for the cable may
include:




Shielding effectiveness (dB)
Frequency Range (Hertz)
EMP
TEMPEST
Application Checklist:
Step Four: Key Environmental Requirements
Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery
 Customer environmental
requirements for the cable may
include:







Moisture/chemical Protection
Low Smoke/Zero Halogen
UL94-V0 Flammability
NBC/CBRNE Resistance
UV Resistance
Temperature Resistance
Controlling Specification
Application Checklist:
Step Five: Key Mechanical Requirements
Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery
 Customer mechanical
specifications for the cable may
include:
 Field Reparability
 Crush/Abrasion Resistance
 Pull (Tensile) Strength
 Flexibility/Flex Cycles
 Minimum bend radius
 Workmanship standards
 Strain-relief
Application Checklist:
Step Six: Packaging
Required Information for Fast Design and Delivery

Customer packaging/construction requirements for the
cable may include:
 Critical dimensions/tolerances
 Required tooling, such as crimp dies, molds and test
fixtures
 Specific cable management and identification
choices
 Approved jacket, boot and dielectric materials
 Jacket finish
 Specifications on length of lay in twisted pairs or
other cable construction details
Glenair Cable
Harness Design
and Construction
Services
ISO 9001:2008 and AS 9100:2009 Rev C Certified
Cable Assembly Factories 100% Vertically Integrated
All Key Processes Under Glenair Control
 ISO 9001:2000 Certified
 AS9100:2004 Rev. B
Certified
 Certified soldering (NASA
STD 8739.3)
 Source inspection available
Testing Services
100% Testing all Cables
 Continuity
 High voltage
 Insertion loss (Fiber Optic Cable
Assemblies)
Testing on Request










Immersion
Temperature cycling
Post-assembly filter performance
Component verification (resistors, diodes,
capacitors)
X-ray for broken wires, loose strands, mold
voids
Return loss (back reflection)
Interferometer measurement (fiber end
face geometry)
Contact resistance
Weight separation
Contact retention
Cable Harness Application Development
The Bid Process
 During the bid process,
Glenair will often add
value with superior
knowledge of wire and
cable layout and
assembly, especially in
prototypes.
COTS Cable Assemblies
Turnkey cables as a standard catalog offering
 Point-to-Point cordsets and pigtails
available for all Series 80, Series 22,
D38999 fiber optic and Micro-D
connectors
 High-speed data transfer cordsets for
USB, Ethernet and more using Series 80
Mighty Mouse and other interconnects
 Standardized part number development
 Accelerated lead times
Example Custom Cordset
(High Speed 1000BASE-T Ethernet)
Summary
A Huge Arsenal of Factory Capabilities
 Wring, connectors, accessories, braiding and
sealing all available
 Catalog standards and thousands of customs
 Soup-to-nuts cable design, assembly and
testing rather than multiple vendor sourcing
 Engineering staff unparalleled in industry
 Can draw from a vast reservoir of cable
experience