Axon' Cable Glossary

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    A: letter typical of miniatures wire-wrap connections.

    a-coax® : low loss coaxial cables designed for wireless protocols such as Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11.- Axon’ registered trademark

    AFNOR: (Association Française de Normalisation) French Standard Association.

    AISI: (American Iron and Steel Institute) American Institute which definies irons and steels.

    ALLOY: metal made of the fusion of two or more metals.

    ALUMEL®: magnetic alloy used for thermocouple and thermocouple extension wire. Alumel is a registered trademark of Hoskins Mfg. Co.

    ANNEALING: thermal treatment process which consist of heating a metallurgical product at a sufficient temperature to recover some or all of its structural and physical-chemical balance and then gradually cooling it.

    ANSI: (American National Standards Institute) a federation of trade, technical and professional organizations, government agencies and consumer groups, coordinates standards development and publishes standards.

    ARMOUR: overall metallic braid or helically applied metallic tapes primarily for the purpose of mechanical protection.

    ASA: (American Standards Association) a federation of trade, technical and professional organizations, government agencies and consumer groups, coordinates standards development and publishes standards.

    ASTM: (American Society for Testing Materials) an organization which tests materials and establishes standards for the testing of various materials for industry.

    ATTENUATION: the loss of power or signal in a circuit expressed in decibels (dB).

    AWG: (American Wire Gauge) sytem commonly used for describing the size of copper wire. It is based on the circular mil system. 1 mil equals 0,0254 mm or 25,4 microns.

    AXALU®: round wires made with silver plated aluminium conductor and extruded crosslinked ETFE insulation – Axon’ registered trademark.

    AXOBUS®: range of cables, couplers, harnesses and connectors manufactured to theMIL-STD-1553 standard. – Axon’ registered trademark

    AXOCLAMP®: shield termination band to ensure the shielding efficiency at the cable/connector junction. – Axon’ registered trademark

    AXOJUMP®: range of flat flexible cables with flat conductors used for board to board interconnection. Axon’ registered trademark

    AXOLAB®: low loss microwave coaxial assemblies protected by a flexible stainless steel hose and a thermoplastic insulation.

    AXOLINE®: flat cables with flat conductors for cabling in the car cell. Axon’ registered trademark

    AXOLINK®: flat flexible cables terminated with connectors for display interconnect. Axon’ registered trademark.

    AXOMOVE®: range of composite cables designed for robotic technology. Axon’ registered trademark.

    AXOPACK®: desiccant bags made with porous PTFE (celloflon®) for specific applications (space, off-shore,etc…) – Axon’ registered trademark

    AXOPT®: custom designed cable or assembly including optical and electrical solutions-Axon’ registered trademark.

    AXOSPEC®: custom designed low loss microwave coaxial assemblies which meet very specific requirements for complex applications. Axon’ registered trademark.

    AXOSPIRAL®: high strength spiral cords – Axon’ registered trademark

    AXOTWIST™: twist capsule. It consists of an aluminium cassette with a Silform flat silicone cable. Axon’ trademark

    AXOWAVE® : Range of low loss microwave coaxial assemblies. Axon’ registered trademark

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    B.S.I: British Standard Institute.

    BLUETOOTH® : It is a technology of Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN). It makes it possible to exchange data without cables between laptops, printers, PDA or mobile phones.

    BRAIDED SHIELD: metal part made of woven bare, coated or aluminium srands used as electrical screening of wires and cables.

    BUNCH STRAND: a conductor in which all individual strand are twisted in the same direction without regard for geometrical arrangement.

    BUS BAR: a conductor, copped bar used to make a common connection between several circuits.

    BUS BAR: rectangular copper or aluminium conductor used to supply a common electrical power to different devices or to make a common connection between several circuits.

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    C.S.A: Canadian Standard Association

    CABLE: usually two or more insulated wires covered with an outer sheath (or jacket) overall.

    CAPACITANCE: property of a system of conductors and dielectrics which permits the storage of electricity where potential difference exists between two conductors. It is expressed in farads and their submultiples.

    CARRIER: set of fine metal or textile parallel strands woven together resulting in a braid.

    CCQ: Centralized Control of Quality, French organization which controls and warrants the quality of electronic components.

    CELLOFLON®: Axon’ patented porous PTFE. This material presents a 80% porosity, a density of 0.42 and a dielectric constant of 1.18 (density of solid PTFE : 1.18 ; dielectric constant : 2.1).

    CELSIUS TEMPERATURE SCALE: (or centrigrade temperature scale). Temperature scale based upon the water freezing point defined as zero degree and the boiling point defined as 100 degrees.

    CHROMAX®: Chromax® is a DRIVER HARRIS registered trademark for a resistent wire. It is a 35% nickel, 20% chromium and 45% iron alloy

    CHROMEL®: non magnetic alloy used for thermocouple and thermocouple extension wires. Chromel is registered trademark of Hoskins Mfg. Co.

    CHROMEL®-ALUMEL®: (nickel chromium - nickel aluminium) thermocouple that permits temperature measurements. This combinaison is the most commonly used for it can measure temperatures from 0°C to + 1200°C.

    CIRCULAR MIL(CMIL): term used to define conductors' cross-sectional area (particulary in USA). It is equal ot the area of a circle 1/1000 of an inch in diameter

    CLOTHING: continous tube insulating the conductor.

    COAXIAL CABLE: coaxial cable is a two conductor cable in which one conductor completely surrounds the other. Both conductors have a common axis and are separated by a continous uniform insulation or dielectric thickness.

    CONDUCTANCE: reciprocal of resistance (1/R).

    CONDUCTIBILITY: property of an element to transmit electricity.

    CONDUCTIVITY: reciprocal of volume resistivity (S/m) (1/p).

    CONDUCTOR: it is the inner part of an insulated wire transmitting electrical current. A conductor usually consists of copper, aluminium, steel,nickel, silver or other materials.

    CONSTANTAN®: 55% copper and 45% nickel alloy used in thermocouple and extension wires.

    COPPER: basic metal for electrical conductors used either bare or silver, tin or nickel plated.

    COPPERCLAD®: nickel iron alloy (generally 42% nickel) covered with a layer of copper of variable thickness according to the conductibility needed.

    COPPER-CONSTANTAN: thermoelectric couple that permits temperature measurements from about -180°C to +300°C.

    COPPER-CUPRONICKEL®: thermoelectric couple compensating the couple platinum rhodiumplatinum.

    COPPERWELD®: Copperweld is a Copperweld Steel Company registred trademark for a hard or soft annealed steel wire coated with a layer of copper of variable thickness accorfing to conductibility needed.

    CORE: made of two components (conductor and insulation). It could be an insulated wire or the inner part (under the outer conductore) of a coaxial cable.

    CORONA: (effect) luminous discharge due to gas ionization surrounding a conductor submitted to a voltage gradient exceeding a critical value.

    COVERAGE: ratio expressed in percent of the cable area actually covered with a braid on the total cable area (under the braid).

    CUT-THROUGH: resistance of an insulation to penetration with a sharp object under conditions of pressure,temperature, etc.

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    D.I.N: (Deutches Institut für Normung) standardization Association in Germany.

    DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephone) : it is a wireless digital standard for phone working at a frequency of 1800 to 1900 MHz.

    DIELECTRIC: name given to any insulating material that is not a conductor of electricity.

    DIELECTRIC CONSTANT: specific inductive capacity. Porperty of a dielectric to store electrostatic energy.

    DIELECTRIC LOSS: lost energy when the dielectric is placed in a variable electric field.

    DISSIPATION FACTOR: the loss angle tangent of the insulation material.

    D-Line® : range of micro-D assemblies and connectors. Axon’ registered trademark.

    DRAIN WIRE: an uninsulated solid or stranded conductor which is placed within a cable in contact with an electrical shielding braid or tape.

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    E: hook-up wires insulated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with an operating voltage equal to 600 V AC.

    E 108916: AXON CABLE UL file number for the Recognition of extruded unshrinkable PTFE tubing (Category:YDPU2) for electrical purpose.

    E 45046: AXON CABLE UL file number for the Recognition of Appliance Wiring Material. (AWM-Category:AVLV2) electrical wires and cables.

    EE: hook-up wires insulated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with an operating voltage equal to 1000 V AC.

    ET: hook-up wires insulated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with an operating voltage equal to 250 V AC.

    ETFE: (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) thermoplastic resin used to insulate wires and cables with an operating temperature rating from -90°C to +155°C.

    ETHERNET®: Ethernet is a standard for data transmission for local networks. It is also called IEEE802.3 standard.

    EXTENSION CABLE: a pair of wires used to connect a thermocouple cable to a temperature meter.

    EXTRUSION: a processing method whereby heated or unheated materials are forced through a shaping outlet or die under pressure to become a continous formed shape.

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    FAHRENHEIT TEMPERATURE SCALE: a temperature scale based upon the water freezing point defined as 32°F (0°C) and the boiling point defined as °F (100°C). Formulae - °F=°C*9/5+32

    FEET: English unit of measure =12 inches=304,8 mm=0,3048 m.

    FEP: (Fluoroethylene propylene) thermoplastic resin used to insulate wires and cables with an operating temperature rating -90°C to +200°C.

    FLEXLINK®: bulk flat flexible cables made with flat copper conductors insulated with a polyester tape – Axon’ registered trademark

    FLEXTRACK® : range of self supporting flat cables for the automation and robotics industry. Axon’ registered trademark.

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    GIGABIT ETHERNET: this term describes various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of one gigabit per second (IEEE 802.3-2005 standard).

    GREY: radiation dose (1 Gy = 100 Rad).

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    H: hook-up wires insulated with polymide with an operating voltage equal to 600 V AC.

    HIGH VOLTAGE: wire or cable with a voltage exceeding 600 V AC.

    HOOK-UP WIRES: insulated wires with a section generally less than 3 mm² used in electronic wiring.

    HT: hook-up wires insulated with polymide with an operating voltage equel to 600 V AC.

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    IEC: International Electrotechnical Committee.

    IMPEDANCE: the total opposition (i.e. resistance and reactance) a circuit offers to the flow of alternating current. Volts per ampere; ohms

    INCH: English unit of measure (1 inch=25,4 mm)

    INSULATION RESISTANCE: the resistance of an insulation material to the flow of current resulting from an impressed D.C. voltage.

    IPCEA: Insulated Power Cable Engineers Association of power cable engineers from many different American companies. The object is to establish standards in the insulated power cable industry.

    IRON: Internatinal Organization for Standardization.

  •  JPage up

    JACKET: (or sheath) overall cable cover normally providing mechanical and environmental protection.

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    K: hook-up wires insulated with polyimide with an operating voltage equel to 600 V AC.

    KK: hook-up wires insulated with polyimide with an operating voltage equel to 1000 V AC.

    KT: hook-up wires insulated with polyimide with an operating voltage equel to 250 V AC.

    KU: symbol designating hook-up wires insulated with ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) according to the French specification NF-C-93524.

    KW: symbol designating insulated single wires for wrapping according to the French specification NF-C-93522.

    KX: symbol designating coaxial cables according to the French specification NF-C-93550.

    KZ: symbol designating hook-up wires insulated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) according to the French specification NF-C-93522.

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    LL 44552: AXON CABLE CSA file number for the Certification of Appliance insulated wire and cable (class 585101).

    LOW NOISE: semi-conductive coating applied on the dielectric of a core or wire to reduce to a minimum any signals generated by the motion of the cable components in respect to each other.

    LOW VOLTAGE: voltage inferior or equal to 600 V AC.

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    M: hook-up wires insulated with polymide with an operating voltage equel to 600 V AC.

    M.C.M: 1000 circular mils (103 cmils)=0,506707 sqmm.

    MAGNET WIRE: insulated copper wire used for winding coils, motors and transformers.

    MANGANIN®: resistance wire registered trademark. It is an alloy made of 86% copper, 12% manganese and 2% nickel.

    MFA: (perfluoromethoxy) thermoplastic fluorinated resin used for the insulation of single wires and the jacketing of cables. Working temperature : -90°C to +250°C.

    MICA: inorganic tape included in the composition of cables offering resistance to very high temperatures, flame and fire.

    MICROINCH: one-millionth of an inch.

    MICRON: one-thousandth of a millimeter / = 0,001 mm.

    MIL: one-thousandth of an inch = 0,0254 mm = 25,4 microns.

    MIL SPECIFICATION: American military specification for various materials.

    MYLAR ALUMINIUM TAPE: polyester film and aluminium foil lamination used as shield.

    MYLAR®: registered trademark for a polyester film used as separating tape in multiconductor cables.

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    N.E.M.A: (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) American organization well known for electrical motors and gear reducers standardization and for electrical wire and cable specifications.

    NETWORK : A network is a group of interconnected computers. It allows the user to connect multimedia devices such as television, computer, Internet, phone, video supervision camera to every RJ45 terminal outlet.

    NF SPECIFICATION: French specification for various materials established by ASSOCIATION FRANCAISE DE NORMALISATION.

    NICHROME®: Driver Harris registered trademark for a resistance wire mainly made of nickel and chromium in various ratios according to the type.

    NICKEL PLATING (NP): electrolytic process by which a thin uniform layer of nickel is put on copper or other materials.

    NOMEX®: DUPONT DE NEMOURS registered trademark for an aramid fiber with an excellent mechanical resistance, good resistance to high temperature radiation and chemicals.

    NPC: (Nickel Plated Copper) symbol designating a nickel plated electrolytic copper conductor.

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    OZONE: allotropic variety of oxygen produced by discharge of electricity into air.

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    P: hook-up wires insulated with polyimide with an operating voltage equel to 600 V AC.

    PFA: (Perfluoralkoxy) thermoplastic fluorinated resin used for the insulation of single wires and the jacketing of cables. Working temperature : -90°C to +260°C.

    PICOCOAX®: miniature coaxial cables – Axon’ registered trademark

    PICOLINE®: low width flexible flat cables made with flat copper conductors insulated with a polyester tape.

    POLIAX (POLymer Imide Axon’) : Zero halogen insulating material which can replace ETFE or FEP for wires when the application requires zero halogen (for marine application for exemple).

    POLYAMIDE: polymers resulting from polycondensation of diacides or diamines or aminoacides.

    POLYETHYLENE: name given to a whole family of insulating materials derived from the polymerisation of ethylene gas, with good electrical characteristics.

    POWER CABLE: wire or cable carrying adequate current capacity to supply power.

    PTFE IMPREGNATION: impregnation of a glass fiber braid with polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) lacquer.

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    QPL: Qualified Product List issued by the US Governement Agency.

    QUALITY CONTROL: Control department responsible for maintaining a high and constant quality level for all products.

    QUASIFLEX®: hand formable semi rigid cables. Axon’ registered trademark.

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    R: letter typical of thermoplastic rubbers in the composition of outer jacket electrical cables.

    R.M.S: (Root Mean Square) a means of expressing AC voltage or AC current in terms of D.C (approximatively 80% of alternative current peak voltage).

    RAD: radiation dose corresponding to an inertia equal to 10 puissance 5 Joule per gramme of material. (&Rad = 0,01 Gy).

    REM: cooling irradiation dose. Unit used in biological tests on the human being where REM equals. 1 RAD * factor of radiation * factor of radiation distribution.

    RESILIENT: number typical of impact strengh of a material.

    RESISTIVITY: the longitudinal electrical resistance of a uniform rod of unit length and unit cross sectional area.

    RG: (Radio Frequency Government) symbol designating coaxial cables, following MIL-C-17 American standard.

    ROENTGEN: Unit of X or radiation quantity equivalent to X or radiation quantity so that corpuscular émission connected with it produces ions into air carrying a quantity of electricity of one or other sign equal to 1/3 10 puissance 9 coulombs.

    ROPELAY: a conductor made of multiple groups of strands (i.e. a 133 strands conductor is made of 19 strands laid into a group and then seven such groups laid cabled).

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    S: letter typical of single or multiconductor shielded cables but with no outer jacket.

    SCWH: silver plated copped covered hard steel.

    SCWS: silver plated copped covered soft steel.

    SERVED WIRE SHIELD: screen made of a group of metallic strands helicoidally applied around one or more insulated.

    SHIELDING: the process of applying a metallic braid composed of tinned or bare copper over the insulated conductors. The shielding effectiveness is in proportion to the amount of coverage, usually expressed in percentage.

    SILFORM™: flat silicone cables and assemblies.

    SILICONE IMPREGNATION: impregnation of a textile braid with silicone varnish.

    SILVER PLATING: electrolytic process by which a thin uniform layer of silver is put on copper or other metals.

    SINTENING: usual term for fusing polytetrafluoroethylene paste compound at high temperatures.

    SPARK TEST VOLTAGE: dielectric test applied to wire or cable during its manufacturing to determine if there are electrical defects in the insulation or sheath.

    SPC: (Silver Plated Copper) symbol designating a silver plated electrolytic copper conductor.

    SPCA: (Silver Plated Copper Alloy) symbol designating a silver plated copper alloy conductor.

    SPTF: non magnetic silver plated copped alloy.

    STK: designation of single or multiconductor shielded cables with an outer jacket in fluorethylene propylene (FEP).

    STRAND: individual wire of any stranded conductor.

    STRANDED CONDUCTOR: (twist) a conductor made with a specified number of strands.Ropelay strand, for example, is a conductor made of multiple groups of strands. A 7*19 ropelay strand has 19 wires laid into a group and then 7 such groups cabled laid into a conductor.

    Strapping: coupling by wire-wrap connections of two pins with an uninsulated solid conductor.

    STZ: designation of single or multiconductor shieled cables with an ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) outer jacket.

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    TAPING: a method or process to insulate electrical wires and cables. Insulation of helically wound tapes applied over a conductor. This operation can possibility be followed with a sintering according to the tape-type used.

    TEFLON®: DUPONT DE NEMOURS registered trademark for a family of powders or resins such as PTFE - FEP - PFA.

    TEFZEL®: DUPONT DE NEMOURS registered trademark for a thermoplastic resin named ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE).

    TF: (Tensile flex) International Wire (USA) registered trademark for a copper, chromium and cadmium high mechanical resistance alloy. (other name : ALLOY 135).

    THERMOCOUPLE: union of dissimilar metals submitted to various temperatures in order to create an electromotrice force (E.M.F). The voltage is usually in micro or millivolts.

    THERMOPLASTICS: range of resins being easily softened under heat.

    TIN PLATING: process by which a thin uniform layer of tin is applied to copper or other materials, Two types of process : electrolytic or by bath,

    TINSEL CONDUCTOR: stranded conductor in which each strand is very thin copper ribbon spirally wrapped around a textile yarn.

    TITLE: quotient expressed in percent of silver, tin or nickel masses by a silver plated, nickel plated or tinned conductor.

    TPC: (Tin Plated Copper) symbol designating a tin plated copper conductor.

    TRIAXIAL CABLE: cable made of three concentric conductors.

    TRUE CONCENTRIC:  (aly conductor) a single conductor made of a central core surrounded by one or more layers of helically laid wires. Each of these succeeding layers is applied with an opposite direction of twist.

    TWIST PIN CONTACT: male micro-D contact made up of 10 strands of beryllium-copper and copper alloy twisted together, welded then bumped.

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    U.N.E: Spain Standardization Union.

    U.T.E: Technical Union of electricity. French Organization for the publications of standards for the electric field.

    UHF: (Ultra-High-Frequency) frequency from 300 up to 3000 MHz.

    UL: (Underwriters Laboratoiries Inc.) American organization founded in 1894, sponsored by the National Board of Fire Underwriters and chartered as a non profit organization,

    UL RECOGNIZED: a product that has been tested and approved to Underwriters Laboratories Standards and Styles.

    UNIDIRECTIONAL CONCENTRIC: conductor constructed with a central core surrounded by more than one layer of helicaly laid wires. All layers having a common lay direction with an increase in length of lay for each successive layer.

    UNILAY CONDUCTOR: an inner strand surrounded by one or more concentric layers of helically wound, strands in a fixed geometrical arrangement with the direction and length of lay the same for each layer.

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    V.D.E: (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker) German Standardization Organization.

    V.H.F: (Very High Frequency) Frequency from 30 up to 300 MHz.

    VELOCITY OF PROPAGATION: velocity of propagation, commonly called velocity, is the ratio of the speed of the flow of an electric current in an insulated cable to the speed of light. All insulated cables have this ratio and it is expressed in percentage.

    VIBRAFLAME®: range of cables designed to resist extreme temperatures ranging from 196°C to + 1565°C. Axon’ registered trademark.

    VITAX™: flexible fluoroelastomer cables. Axon’ trademark.

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    W: letter typical of a whole family of wires and cables used in wire wrapping.

    WI-FI: WI-FI is a technology for wireless local network (WLAN). It is based on the international IEEE 802.11 (ISO/IEC 8802-11) .. More generally, 3 technologies can be used for data wireless transmission : Bluetooth®, WiFi and DECT.

    WRAPPING: process to connect rapidilly an insulated wire on a pin with a special tool, a single conductor coiled helically round a pin with a square or restangular section. The turns are joined.

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    Z: letter typical of a whole family of hook-up wires insulated with ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE).

    ZL: hook-up wires insulated ETFE with an operating voltage equal to 600 Volts AC (light weight).

    ZN: hook-up wires insulated ETFE with an operating voltage equal to 600 Volts AC (meduim weight).

    ZZ: hook-up wires insulated ETFE with an operating voltage equal to 1000 Volts AC.