welding wire rope together brands

A proper welding cable is as important as other parts of the welding system, such as the welder or a welding gun. The welding cable is responsible for the overall application of the welding rig as it carries a very high current from the welder to the welding gun.

If there is even a little bit of disturbance in the welding cable, you will not be able to weld properly. Also, a weaker cable might cause hazardous accidents that result in fatal injury. Here are some important properties of an ideal welding cable:

Safety parameters:As mentioned earlier, you will need a strong and durable cable while working with a high capacity welding machine. We will suggest you get a cable with the highest temperature resistance and current-carrying capacity so that it does not get damaged over time.

Current capacity:Various welding jobs require varying current for correct results. To make sure your cable is capable of all jobs, you need to get a high capacity cable so that it does not fail you when you wish to work on heavier jobs.

Today, we are bringing you the best welding cables that you can buy right now. As there are a lot of options available in the market, you might get confused about which cable is best for you. Also, if you are buying just a welding cable, it is possible that your current cable is damaged and needs a replacement as soon as possible. Hence, make sure you read the article carefully because we can guarantee you that we will be clearing all of your doubts regarding welding cables and help you to get the best cable available for your system.You can also find a dedicated “Buying Guide” later in the article that you must follow before making a decision.

In the 1st place, we have the most reliable option from our picks for the best welding cable that is the TEMCo WC0012. It is a 50 feet long cable that is capable of carrying up to 600 volts power. Although, even with such high capacity, it has a temperature resistance ranging from -58°F all the way up to +221°F. It is a very flexible cable due to the rugged EPDM jacket on top. Therefore, you can rely on the flexibility factor of the cable and rest assured that it won’t break easily.

Our 2nd pick for the best welding cables is the TYUMEN 100FT 16 Gauge 2pin 2 Color Red Black Cable. It can be an ideal option for you if you are looking for a welding cable with the least expensive price tag. Even though it’s very cheap, you will still get a 100-foot long cable with a voltage carrying capacity of 24 volts. It is a true 16 American wire gauge cable that can be used as an extension for an LED strip without any problem.

In the 3rd position, we have a pure copper cable from WindyNation. The WNI 1/0 AWG 1/0 Gauge 5 Feet Black Battery Welding Pure Copper Ultra-Flexible Cable gives you a large variety of gauges, color variants, and lengths to choose from. With any choice, you will be getting 5 pieces of 5/16 inch STUD copper cable lugs, 5 pieces of ⅜ inch  STUD copper cable lugs, and an extra 3 feet long black heat shrink tubing included in the package.

Next up, we have an 8 AWG copper clad aluminum cable from GS Power. This is a CCA red or black bonded cable that can be either used separately or bonded together to use for higher voltage applications. Either way, you will be getting 100 feet cable in the package where 50 feet cable is red, and 50 feet cable is black. Pulling apart the cables is also a very easy task as they are not hard bonded in the packaging.

These cables are automotive-grade with a GPT PVC insulation on top to prevent oil or gas damage from the outside. The inside part of the cable is also highly resilient to damage as it has a high-temperature range from -40 degree F all the way up to +176 degree F. As you can separate the cables, it stands as a perfect option for radio, stereo, home theaters, and robotic applications. Bound together, you can get a high voltage capacity of 600 volts that will be necessary for welding.

Here is another WindyNation welding cable at a very reasonable price tag. It is a 10 feet long variant with similarly strong power capacity that is up to 600 volts. All other attributes are similar to previously mentioned WindyNation cables, such as high-grade EPDM insulation jackets and superior resistance to cuts, tears, abrasion, and moisture damage. The inner copper cable also has a very high stranding ratio.

In the end, we have a premium welding cable from EWCS. It is a comparatively shorter cable on our list, which is just 10 feet. But, it still has a high voltage capacity of 600 volts. Apart from that, you will get a very decent build quality on these cables as they are sunlight resistant, water-resistant, and highly flexible even though it is a 30 gauge copper stranding cable.

If you have read about each of the cable variants mentioned above, you should be able to distinguish between various options considering their various properties. As we have mentioned each product along with its best features, it should be very easy for you to prioritize what features you need the most.

But it gets a little complicated as the requirement of each feature depends largely upon the applications. Therefore, we are presenting this buying guide that includes all of the necessary information, which is essential to know before buying a welding cable. Make sure you read the buying guide completely so that you are not left with any second doubts about your choice.

The voltage capacity of the welding cable is one of the most important aspects and must be checked thoroughly before buying a cable. While using the cable with a welder, you need it to carry a certain amount of current so that the welding gun gets proper input, and welding can be done.

This will not be possible if the capacity of your welder and the welding cable mismatch. If you have a high capacity welder, you will need a high capacity cable to use the machine at its full potential.

AWG stands for American wire gauge. If you look at all of the options mentioned above, you will find a certain gauge rating on every cable. This rating is available for almost all electrical cables available in the USA.

Similar to the gauge of the cable, the nominal diameter of the cable is also a very important factor of a welding cable. Thicker cables have a larger current carrying capacity as they provide a larger cross-sectional area that does not heat up easily.

While buying a welding cable, you need to consider multiple factors as a welding cable is a very important part of the welding system. To make the selection procedure easier for you, we have already shortlisted the best products amongst all and presented them along with their details in the article.

Firstly, we will suggest TEMCo WC0012 welding cable as it is the most reliable option you can possibly get from our list. TEMCo separately mentioned that it would accept any sort of damaged cable, whether it’s due to mishandling or any other reason. You can get a free repair or replacement, which is great. It is a 50 feet long cable that can carry up to 600 volts power, which is very good.

Although, if you use your machine for distant welding and generally for lower power applications, then GS Power 8 AWG can be the perfect choice for you. It is a 12 volts cable which is around 100 feet long, making it the longest cable available in the market. Although, you will be getting 2 different cables that are 50 feet each so you can use 1 out of those 2 as well.

Lastly, we will recommend TYUMEN 100FT 16 Gauge 2pin 2 Color Red Black Cable as a go-to option if you are on a tight budget. This welding cable marks the least expensive price tag on our list while providing you with a 100 feet long welding cable. This is a great option if you want to wire for your electrical LED lights as it supported up to 24 volts power capacity.

Direct Wire & Cable began in 1984 with the goal of bringing exceptional value to welding distributors. Their staff is dedicated to producing the best quality, innovative products, offering the best service available, and the best prices on wire and cable. They provide “Everything Cable”, not just battery, power, and welding cable, but the accessories and welding ends you need. Buy from the innovator, not the imitators.

In our This vs That series, we"re comparing (and contrasting) two seemingly similar products. A lot of products seem the same at first glance but can greatly affect the outcome of your next application. Today, we"re comparing Class K and Class M Welding Cables. They"re very similar products, so how do you know which is best for your next application? Let"s find out!

Class K Welding Cable is considered the standard welding cable. It features a singular stranded bare copper conductor made up of 30 AWG strands. Like all welding cables, class K also features a thermoset jacket. Most Class K cables feature Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Rubber (EPDM) jacketing. They are also most commonly available in red or black jackets. These cables are ideal for use in secondary voltage resistance welding leads and power supply applications not exceeding 600V AC. It is also suitable for use as a battery cable.

Class M Welding Cable is the more flexible, more durable welding cable. It features also features a singular fully annealed stranded bare copper conductor, but it is made up of 34 AWG strands. This cable"s smaller strands and higher strand count are what make it more flexible. Class M cables have thermoset jacketing as well, either EPDM or Neoprene. General Cable, a major supplier of these welding cables, makes theirs with Super Vu-Tron jacketing. These jackets are almost always orange to indicate a tougher construction, as well as for safety reasons.

This type of welding cable is also UL/CSA listed. They are suitable for use as battery cable, in secondary voltage resistance welding leads, and in power supply applications. However, sizes 1/0 AWG to 500 MCM may also be installed in conduit or trays in power supplies, hoists, cranes, and other applications that do not exceed 600V.

The main difference between these welding cables is in their stranding. Since Class M Welding Cable has smaller gauge strands, it is much more flexible. Class M Welding Cable also has a thicker jacket, which makes it more durable and allows it to have a higher ampacity than Class K. The last major difference between these two types of cable is their price. Since Class M Cable requires more copper and more jacketing material, it tends to be more expensive.

Allied Wire and Cable carries an extensive stock of Class K Welding Cable and General Cable Class M Welding Cable. To learn more about Welding Cable, you can read our Welding Cable FAQs and our Welding Cable Specifications Article. Have more questions? Contact us today!

Welding two ropes together is common in the steel industry. If properly done, welding may develop sufficient strength to complete the rope installation. However, the welded portion of the rope is rather stiff, and the welded steel wire material may become brittle. Since the welded portion has to pass over sheaves, there is the danger that the weld may break.

If installing Python® wire rope as well as all non-rotating types we do not recommend the welding procedure. Welding might damage the seizings and the rope may unravel getting damaged beyond repair.

A common method for heavy crane rope installations. A steel sleeve only slightly larger than the rope diameter is swaged on to the rope end and a small auxiliary cable protrudes from the sleeve. Either, the old rope is furnished also with a becket loop, or the old rope will be connected to the becket loop with a cable grip.

Non-rotating rope must be installed with a swivel between old and new ropes. The old rope may have developed torque during it’s working life and we must ensure that this torque is not transferred to the new rope.

Python® types Multi and Super 8 may be installed with a swivel. In fact, if you have to change either of these constructions for a 6-strand rope, particularly when this rope has a different lay direction, a swivel is of definite benefit.

Python® Power 9 and Python® Ultra must not be installed with a swivel. Doing so will unlay the rope and damage it beyond repair. Use two cable grips and connect them with an auxiliary cable.

When using cable grips, the end of the grips have to be tightly seized on to the rope body to prevent accidental slip-out of the rope. Alternately, you may wrap the grip end with a strong reinforced industrial strength adhesive tape.

In stricter senses, the term wire rope refers to a diameter larger than 9.5 mm (3⁄8 in), with smaller gauges designated cable or cords.wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes.

Historically, wire rope evolved from wrought iron chains, which had a record of mechanical failure. While flaws in chain links or solid steel bars can lead to catastrophic failure, flaws in the wires making up a steel cable are less critical as the other wires easily take up the load. While friction between the individual wires and strands causes wear over the life of the rope, it also helps to compensate for minor failures in the short run.

Wire ropes were developed starting with mining hoist applications in the 1830s. Wire ropes are used dynamically for lifting and hoisting in cranes and elevators, and for transmission of mechanical power. Wire rope is also used to transmit force in mechanisms, such as a Bowden cable or the control surfaces of an airplane connected to levers and pedals in the cockpit. Only aircraft cables have WSC (wire strand core). Also, aircraft cables are available in smaller diameters than wire rope. For example, aircraft cables are available in 1.2 mm (3⁄64 in) diameter while most wire ropes begin at a 6.4 mm (1⁄4 in) diameter.suspension bridges or as guy wires to support towers. An aerial tramway relies on wire rope to support and move cargo overhead.

Modern wire rope was invented by the German mining engineer Wilhelm Albert in the years between 1831 and 1834 for use in mining in the Harz Mountains in Clausthal, Lower Saxony, Germany.chains, such as had been used before.

Wilhelm Albert"s first ropes consisted of three strands consisting of four wires each. In 1840, Scotsman Robert Stirling Newall improved the process further.John A. Roebling, starting in 1841suspension bridge building. Roebling introduced a number of innovations in the design, materials and manufacture of wire rope. Ever with an ear to technology developments in mining and railroading, Josiah White and Erskine Hazard, principal ownersLehigh Coal & Navigation Company (LC&N Co.) — as they had with the first blast furnaces in the Lehigh Valley — built a Wire Rope factory in Mauch Chunk,Pennsylvania in 1848, which provided lift cables for the Ashley Planes project, then the back track planes of the Summit Hill & Mauch Chunk Railroad, improving its attractiveness as a premier tourism destination, and vastly improving the throughput of the coal capacity since return of cars dropped from nearly four hours to less than 20 minutes. The decades were witness to a burgeoning increase in deep shaft mining in both Europe and North America as surface mineral deposits were exhausted and miners had to chase layers along inclined layers. The era was early in railroad development and steam engines lacked sufficient tractive effort to climb steep slopes, so incline plane railways were common. This pushed development of cable hoists rapidly in the United States as surface deposits in the Anthracite Coal Region north and south dove deeper every year, and even the rich deposits in the Panther Creek Valley required LC&N Co. to drive their first shafts into lower slopes beginning Lansford and its Schuylkill County twin-town Coaldale.

The German engineering firm of Adolf Bleichert & Co. was founded in 1874 and began to build bicable aerial tramways for mining in the Ruhr Valley. With important patents, and dozens of working systems in Europe, Bleichert dominated the global industry, later licensing its designs and manufacturing techniques to Trenton Iron Works, New Jersey, USA which built systems across America. Adolf Bleichert & Co. went on to build hundreds of aerial tramways around the world: from Alaska to Argentina, Australia and Spitsbergen. The Bleichert company also built hundreds of aerial tramways for both the Imperial German Army and the Wehrmacht.

In the last half of the 19th century, wire rope systems were used as a means of transmitting mechanical powercable cars. Wire rope systems cost one-tenth as much and had lower friction losses than line shafts. Because of these advantages, wire rope systems were used to transmit power for a distance of a few miles or kilometers.

Steel wires for wire ropes are normally made of non-alloy carbon steel with a carbon content of 0.4 to 0.95%. The very high strength of the rope wires enables wire ropes to support large tensile forces and to run over sheaves with relatively small diameters.

In the mostly used parallel lay strands, the lay length of all the wire layers is equal and the wires of any two superimposed layers are parallel, resulting in linear contact. The wire of the outer layer is supported by two wires of the inner layer. These wires are neighbors along the whole length of the strand. Parallel lay strands are made in one operation. The endurance of wire ropes with this kind of strand is always much greater than of those (seldom used) with cross lay strands. Parallel lay strands with two wire layers have the construction Filler, Seale or Warrington.

In principle, spiral ropes are round strands as they have an assembly of layers of wires laid helically over a centre with at least one layer of wires being laid in the opposite direction to that of the outer layer. Spiral ropes can be dimensioned in such a way that they are non-rotating which means that under tension the rope torque is nearly zero. The open spiral rope consists only of round wires. The half-locked coil rope and the full-locked coil rope always have a centre made of round wires. The locked coil ropes have one or more outer layers of profile wires. They have the advantage that their construction prevents the penetration of dirt and water to a greater extent and it also protects them from loss of lubricant. In addition, they have one further very important advantage as the ends of a broken outer wire cannot leave the rope if it has the proper dimensions.

Stranded ropes are an assembly of several strands laid helically in one or more layers around a core. This core can be one of three types. The first is a fiber core, made up of synthetic material or natural fibers like sisal. Synthetic fibers are stronger and more uniform but cannot absorb much lubricant. Natural fibers can absorb up to 15% of their weight in lubricant and so protect the inner wires much better from corrosion than synthetic fibers do. Fiber cores are the most flexible and elastic, but have the downside of getting crushed easily. The second type, wire strand core, is made up of one additional strand of wire, and is typically used for suspension. The third type is independent wire rope core (IWRC), which is the most durable in all types of environments.ordinary lay rope if the lay direction of the wires in the outer strands is in the opposite direction to the lay of the outer strands themselves. If both the wires in the outer strands and the outer strands themselves have the same lay direction, the rope is called a lang lay rope (from Dutch langslag contrary to kruisslag,Regular lay means the individual wires were wrapped around the centers in one direction and the strands were wrapped around the core in the opposite direction.

Multi-strand ropes are all more or less resistant to rotation and have at least two layers of strands laid helically around a centre. The direction of the outer strands is opposite to that of the underlying strand layers. Ropes with three strand layers can be nearly non-rotating. Ropes with two strand layers are mostly only low-rotating.

Stationary ropes, stay ropes (spiral ropes, mostly full-locked) have to carry tensile forces and are therefore mainly loaded by static and fluctuating tensile stresses. Ropes used for suspension are often called cables.

Track ropes (full locked ropes) have to act as rails for the rollers of cabins or other loads in aerial ropeways and cable cranes. In contrast to running ropes, track ropes do not take on the curvature of the rollers. Under the roller force, a so-called free bending radius of the rope occurs. This radius increases (and the bending stresses decrease) with the tensile force and decreases with the roller force.

Wire rope slings (stranded ropes) are used to harness various kinds of goods. These slings are stressed by the tensile forces but first of all by bending stresses when bent over the more or less sharp edges of the goods.

Technical regulations apply to the design of rope drives for cranes, elevators, rope ways and mining installations. Factors that are considered in design include:

Donandt force (yielding tensile force for a given bending diameter ratio D/d) - strict limit. The nominal rope tensile force S must be smaller than the Donandt force SD1.

The wire ropes are stressed by fluctuating forces, by wear, by corrosion and in seldom cases by extreme forces. The rope life is finite and the safety is only ensured by inspection for the detection of wire breaks on a reference rope length, of cross-section loss, as well as other failures so that the wire rope can be replaced before a dangerous situation occurs. Installations should be designed to facilitate the inspection of the wire ropes.

Lifting installations for passenger transportation require that a combination of several methods should be used to prevent a car from plunging downwards. Elevators must have redundant bearing ropes and a safety gear. Ropeways and mine hoistings must be permanently supervised by a responsible manager and the rope must be inspected by a magnetic method capable of detecting inner wire breaks.

The end of a wire rope tends to fray readily, and cannot be easily connected to plant and equipment. There are different ways of securing the ends of wire ropes to prevent fraying. The common and useful type of end fitting for a wire rope is to turn the end back to form a loop. The loose end is then fixed back on the wire rope. Termination efficiencies vary from about 70% for a Flemish eye alone; to nearly 90% for a Flemish eye and splice; to 100% for potted ends and swagings.

When the wire rope is terminated with a loop, there is a risk that it will bend too tightly, especially when the loop is connected to a device that concentrates the load on a relatively small area. A thimble can be installed inside the loop to preserve the natural shape of the loop, and protect the cable from pinching and abrading on the inside of the loop. The use of thimbles in loops is industry best practice. The thimble prevents the load from coming into direct contact with the wires.

A wire rope clip, sometimes called a clamp, is used to fix the loose end of the loop back to the wire rope. It usually consists of a U-bolt, a forged saddle, and two nuts. The two layers of wire rope are placed in the U-bolt. The saddle is then fitted to the bolt over the ropes (the saddle includes two holes to fit to the U-bolt). The nuts secure the arrangement in place. Two or more clips are usually used to terminate a wire rope depending on the diameter. As many as eight may be needed for a 2 in (50.8 mm) diameter rope.

The mnemonic "never saddle a dead horse" means that when installing clips, the saddle portion of the assembly is placed on the load-bearing or "live" side, not on the non-load-bearing or "dead" side of the cable. This is to protect the live or stress-bearing end of the rope against crushing and abuse. The flat bearing seat and extended prongs of the body are designed to protect the rope and are always placed against the live end.

An eye splice may be used to terminate the loose end of a wire rope when forming a loop. The strands of the end of a wire rope are unwound a certain distance, then bent around so that the end of the unwrapped length forms an eye. The unwrapped strands are then plaited back into the wire rope, forming the loop, or an eye, called an eye splice.

A Flemish eye, or Dutch Splice, involves unwrapping three strands (the strands need to be next to each other, not alternates) of the wire and keeping them off to one side. The remaining strands are bent around, until the end of the wire meets the "V" where the unwrapping finished, to form the eye. The strands kept to one side are now re-wrapped by wrapping from the end of the wire back to the "V" of the eye. These strands are effectively rewrapped along the wire in the opposite direction to their original lay. When this type of rope splice is used specifically on wire rope, it is called a "Molly Hogan", and, by some, a "Dutch" eye instead of a "Flemish" eye.

Swaging is a method of wire rope termination that refers to the installation technique. The purpose of swaging wire rope fittings is to connect two wire rope ends together, or to otherwise terminate one end of wire rope to something else. A mechanical or hydraulic swager is used to compress and deform the fitting, creating a permanent connection. Threaded studs, ferrules, sockets, and sleeves are examples of different swaged terminations.

A wedge socket termination is useful when the fitting needs to be replaced frequently. For example, if the end of a wire rope is in a high-wear region, the rope may be periodically trimmed, requiring the termination hardware to be removed and reapplied. An example of this is on the ends of the drag ropes on a dragline. The end loop of the wire rope enters a tapered opening in the socket, wrapped around a separate component called the wedge. The arrangement is knocked in place, and load gradually eased onto the rope. As the load increases on the wire rope, the wedge become more secure, gripping the rope tighter.

Poured sockets are used to make a high strength, permanent termination; they are created by inserting the wire rope into the narrow end of a conical cavity which is oriented in-line with the intended direction of strain. The individual wires are splayed out inside the cone or "capel", and the cone is then filled with molten lead-antimony-tin (Pb80Sb15Sn5) solder or "white metal capping",zincpolyester resin compound.

Donald Sayenga. "Modern History of Wire Rope". History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy (atlantic-cable.com). Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.