The Ultimate Buyer's Guide for Purchasing Control Cable Supplier

17 Mar.,2025

 

Electrical Wire and Cable Buying Guide - Lowe's

Armor-Clad (AC) Cable: AC cable includes THHN-insulated conductors with 16-gauge aluminum bond wire placed inside the armor to act as a grounding conductor.

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Automotive Cable: This is a general-purpose thermoplastic (GPT) wire, also referred to as primary wire. Normal applications are within motor vehicles with limited exposure to fluids, physical wear and abuse.

Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC) Cable: BNC cables are small, quick-connect/disconnect radio frequency connectors used for coaxial cables.

Category Cable: This is used for systems and data networking systems. Cat 5e is the most common variety of category cable that's used for computer networking on internet service installations. The conductor pairs are twisted together to prevent cross-talk and interference from other paired conductors in the cable, as well as external interference. The higher the megahertz (MHz) capability, the more twists per foot.

Coaxial Cable: This is a metallic cable that carries television and video signals. It connects to video equipment and features a central conductor with a dielectric insulator, metallic shield and plastic jacket.

Doorbell Wire: Doorbell wire is used to connect a wired doorbell or video doorbell to a home's electrical system. 18-gauge wire is the variety most often used.

Dual Armored Cable: This is a durable cable that offers protection without employing electrical conduit, elbows, offsets (which can be expensive) or conduit couplings. For areas where the cable may be exposed to moisture, metal-clad armor prevents corrosion. 

Flexible Cord: Typically used for industrial machinery, washing machines and large appliances, portable tools, equipment, and extension or power cords, flexible/power cord has its own naming convention based on a letter code, with a common option being SJEOOW.

  • S: service cord (when not followed by a J, V or P; also indicates a rating of 600 volts)
  • J: junior service cord, 300 volts
  • T: thermoplastic
  • E: elastomer, thermoplastic that looks and feels like rubber
  • O: oil-resistant outer jacket
  • OO: oil-resistant outer jacket and oil-resistant insulation
  • P: parallel cord (light duty, flat)
  • V: vacuum cleaner cord (light duty, round)
  • W: sunlight- and moisture-resistant

Lamp Cord: Used with lamps, small appliances, radios and other similar products that don't exceed 300 volts, lamp cord is available between 18- and 12-gauge sizes in a variety of colors. 

Landscape Lighting Low-Voltage (LV) Cable: This underground cable is suitable for outdoor accent lighting, landscape lighting and security lighting. Applications shouldn't exceed 150 volts. It's used for direct burial, is suitable for sunlight and is available between 16- and 8-gauge sizes.

Metal-Clad (MC) Cable: MC cable is used heavily in commercial electrical work, for running through concrete or in other commercial environments. Individual THHN wire conductors are run through an aluminum interlocked armor. It includes a grounding wire.

Mobile Home Feeder: This connects a mobile home to a supply of electricity where permanent wiring is required, and it's suitable for direct burial and underground service entrance cable. It includes four RHH or RHW-2 conductors, with a white stripe for neutral and a green ground conductor. It's sunlight-resistant.

Network and Data Cable: This comes in three types ' fiber-optic, twisted-pair and coaxial cable ' and is used to connect multiple networking devices or computers in a network.

NM-B: This is a non-metallic sheathed cable that's used as a residential building wire for branch circuits for outlets, lighting and other residential applications. NM-B is available between 14 AWG and 6 AWG with two or three conductors.

Preassembled Whips: These are pre-cut lengths of armored cable designed to increase jobsite productivity. Assembly comes with pre-stripped THHN conductors and pre-installed zinc die-cast, snap-in fittings.

Residential Grounding Wire: This is bare copper wire that's available in 4-, 6- and 8-gauge solid and stranded construction. It's used to ground the residential electrical system, usually at the meter before it enters the dwelling. It's also used for grounding the perimeter surface around pools.

Service Entrance Cable: This includes individual conductors rated XHHW-2 or THHN/THWN and feeds power from a main breaker to a subpanel. It can be exposed to direct sunlight and used in wet or dry locations.

  • SE-R: Twisted together with a bare ground, SE-R is used to bring service from the panel to other panels in multiple-unit dwellings and in SE-U purposes.
  • SE-U: Bare conductor strands are helically wound about the two paralleled insulated conductors. It's used for single-family residential buildings to convey power from the service drop to the meter base and from the meter base to the distribution panel board.

Speaker Wire: Made of copper and designed to transport a low-voltage electrical current, speaker wire has a variety of wiring uses, including doorbells, thermostats, home security sensors, landscape lighting and other low-current systems. 

Sprinkler Wire: Multi-conductor sprinkler wire is suitable for direct burial on applications up to 30 volts. It's used in central controls for underground sprinkler systems and is available in 18-gauge construction with up to 25 conductors.

Submersible Pump Cable: This includes THWN copper conductors that are heat-, moisture-, oil- and gasoline-resistant. It's suitable for temperatures below 75 degrees Celsius with two or three conductors. It's used for power and circuits for submersible pump systems.

Thermostat Wire: Used in heating and air conditioning systems, along with bell and alarm systems, thermostat wire is available in 20- or 18-gauge sizes with up to 10 conductors.

Underground (UF-B) Wire: A copper wire used for underground purposes, including direct burial, it comes in a gray jacket and can be used for deck lighting, outdoor water features, landscape lighting and air conditioner compressors.

Underground Residential Distribution (URD) Cable: Used for secondary distribution and underground service applications at 600 volts or less, it's suitable for direct burial or placement in ducts. It's acceptable in wet locations in triplex or quadruplex. Conductors are stranded, compressed aluminum. The neutral conductor has a yellow, triple-extruded stripe.

When completing an electrical project, it's important to have the right tools and safety equipment to get the job done. Check out some of the most common tools for an electricians tool box.

Boxes and Covers: These are used to house outlets and adapters for operating lights, ceiling fans, kitchen appliances, etc.

Circuit Breakers and Fuses: These are two devices for preventing an electrical current from causing damage by overloading or shorting a circuit. Breakers and fuses interrupt the current during an overload or short and are housed in a breaker box or fuse box. Homes built after the s typically use circuit breakers rather than fuses.

Electrical Tape: Used for repairing electrical cords or insulating a wire, electrical tape is typically black. It can be used to identify wires and should be stretched as you apply it for better adherence.

Electrical Testers: Checking a circuit to make sure it isn't live can be a life-saving decision. An electrical tester will quickly inform you if you're working with live cables or not.

Outlets and Adapters: When wires are connected to an outlet or adapter, it allows the electrical current to power anything plugged into it, such as a kitchen appliance.

Plugs and Connectors: These are usually run from an appliance or a power cord and are plugged into an outlet on the wall. They allow an appliance to receive power from an outlet.

Wire Connectors: These connect two wires together with a connector: The exposed end of each wire is put into the connector and twisted so that they're connected. Check out our DIY Basics video: How Do I Connect Two Wires?

Wire/Cable Cutters: This tool is used to cut directly through wire and cable. There are a variety of cutters for different jobs, so check that you're using the appropriate one, whether you're cutting through copper wire or a network cable.

Wire Strippers: This device removes the plastic casing to expose the bare wire underneath. Most strippers offer multiple slots for a variety of wire sizes, while some have an adjustment dial to set the correct size. Simply insert a wire into the correct sized slot, twist and pull it through.

[Guide] Electrical Cable & Wire Selection for Industrial Use - Simcona

Choosing the right industrial cables and wires is a major factor in optimizing electrical product design. While advanced technology and intricate layouts are important, the quality of the materials themselves can significantly impact performance.

With a vast array of options available, browsing a manufacturer's e-store can be overwhelming. This cable selection guide offers valuable insights to help simplify your decision-making and find the best fit for your needs.

8 Cable Selection Guidelines

Following these eight electrical wire/cable guidelines will help you meet your unique requirements, down to the smallest detail:

  1. Mechanical durability
  2. Electrical performance
  3. Flexibility
  4. Heat, flame, & cold resistance
  5. Corrosion resistance
  6. Processability
  7. Price
  8. Availability

1. Mechanical Durability

Several elements of a wire assembly influence its strength, starting with its size and protective layers.

The gauge of an industrial cable refers to its thickness. Today's customers are demanding smaller and smaller designs, which makes the physical side of cable performance a little harder to manage. A thinner cable is easier to sever or smash but there are ways to add protection:

Jacketing/
Insulation to Try

Armoring to Try

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Conductor to Try

Filler
to Try

Crush resistance

Polyethylene, Neoprene, nylon, thermoplastic rubber

Steel

Steel

Steel

Cut-through resistance

Nylon, TPE,
fluoropolymers, XLPE

Steel 

Nickel-plated

Polyimide tape

Avoid jacketing and insulation with weak mechanical properties if your cables are at risk of being stepped on, run over, or cut. Materials to stay away from include:

  • PVC
  • Thermoplastic rubber (for cut-through resistance)
  • Paper (for filler)

2. Length

In a 'normal' situation (no chemical fire, unexpected submerging, etc.), there are two main factors in a cable's electrical performance: length and shielding.

Size requirements are different from at home, where 'How long?' might be your only question. For the factory floor, there are entire electric cable guides dedicated to sizing best practices.

Gauge matters too, as thicker cables generally have lower resistance and can handle higher electrical loads across longer distances. Consider the current requirements of your application and select a gauge that can safely carry it without overheating or losing voltage. 

Length is still important too, but for more than just physical spacing of its connection points. A cable's signal decreases as it travels, making excessively long cables a poor fit for applications that need low losses.

Oversized cable is also a waste of money, so only buy what you need. That said, if your assembly might change in location or expand in function later, include some slack and perhaps a service loop

Shielding, meanwhile, is a feature dedicated specifically to preserving a cable's ability to carry current.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is the enemy of electrical cabling, as it causes cross-talk (noise) and signal degradation. Shielding is a conductive layer that minimizes EMI by acting as a barrier. It may prove a more cost-effective design, as it helps you run farther with less cable before the signal degrades.

Take note of your project's end-use location and whether nearby objects will play nicely with each other. If you've got 20 induction heating machines or automated conveyors in one room, dialing in a specific frequency will be challenging due to cable cross-talk. If you're spec'ing cables for traffic signals, there's no need for shielding because only air will surround them.

3. Flexibility

Your needs in this department are highly dependent on the cable's intended use.

Benefits of a flexible industrial cable include:

  • Fits in tighter spaces
  • Less likely to snap
  • Easier to use

Consider the flexibility requirements of your equipment, because not all connections need to or should be flexible.

A flexible cable would make sense for a robotic arm that rotates all day. A semi-rigid cable is easy to configure to your desired shape while maintaining its set, making it useful in metal-bending operations. A rigid cable is usually the top performer in high-power applications, like computer setups. They also cost less (usually), so it may be worth going that route if cable flexibility is irrelevant to your project.

A cable's shielding (if any) is the biggest factor in its flexibility, with spiral shields the most flexible. Jacketing and insulation materials matter too, with thermoset and rubber types offering the most flexibility. Last and probably least important is the conductor type, of which stranded conductors are the most flexible.

Certain cables contain filler materials to improve flexibility:

  • Cotton
  • Aramid fiber
  • Paper (note this is flexible, but has a short flex life)

4. Heat, Flame, & Cold Resistance

Some types of electrical wires and cables can endure high heat, some thrive in freezing temperatures, and a few excel at both. Meanwhile, some cables are popular because they don't emit toxins while burning, while others are popular because they're not flammable to begin with.

Choose cables with temperature ratings and fire reactivity appropriate for your application.

  • High temperatures ' A poorly rated cable will turn to mush, causing mechanical issues, conductor overheating, and insulation breakdown. 
  • Flames ' UL rates cables for circuit integrity during a fire, as well as any smoke, toxic fumes, or corrosives produced when burning.
  • Cold temperatures ' Certain materials become brittle, lose flexibility, or otherwise degrade.

Cable jacketing and wire insulation choices are the #1 factor of success or failure relative to heat and cold:

Hazard Good Examples Bad Examples

Heat
''

Silicone, fiberglass, PVDF,
FEP (Teflon), PFA

PVC, Neoprene, SBR

Flame
'

Thermoset materials, CEP (thermoplastic), FEP (Teflon), (PVDF), silicone

Polyethylene, PVC

Cold
''

Thermoplastic elastomer (Santoprene),
PTFE, EPR, PFA, silicone

PVC, polyurethane, polyethylene, rubber

'Highly resistant' is a relative term, so consult with your cable and wire distributor to best balance needs with budget. What's 'highly resistant' in an indoor appliance may not suffice for a military submarine.

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