Crimping compacted conductors

[workbelt12]

Hi - how does everyone get on crimping these compacted conductors. they are way smaller diameter than standard
equivalent size. Icould get a 25mmlugonto a 35mm conductor. whats best practise?

 

[HandySparks]

No idea what you're on about. Do you have a picture, description or link?

 

[Anthony S]

Hi - how does everyone get on crimping these compacted conductors. they are way smaller diameter than standard
equivalent size. Icould get a 25mmlugonto a 35mm conductor. whats best practise?

Where's about are you using these conductors ?

 

[snowhead]

I could get a 25mm lug onto a 35mm conductor. whats best practice?

You've answered your own question.

 

[Darkwood]

Do you mean tri-rated ?... never heard the term compacted conductors - copper used in electrics is as compact as it gets, you cannot make it smaller, if you mean the various arrangements of the core 'solid, strandard and tri-rated' as well as shaped conductors in larger SWA's that benefit the cable by reducing its O/D as well as saving on material.

Please be more specific, your slang is not recognised industry terminology.

 

[Pete999]

Could you please cascade the information you have amassed down the chain, we can the apply some lateral thinking to your question, failing that we could hold a conference and determine our thoughts.

 

[Sintra]

If it's fine stranded (tri rated) conductors you're talking about then there are specific flanged lugs used to suit this cable.

 

[snowhead]

failing that we could hold a Seance and determine your thoughts.

I corrected that for you.

 

[workbelt12]

A compacted conductor has a reduced o/d for same csa. Therefore a cable lug is very loosei prior to crimping, when using a hex die crimper are lugs on tight enough ?
These cables are vey common, the larger the size the more apparent the difference.

 

[shanky887614]

A compacted conductor has a reduced o/d for same csa. Therefore a cable lug is very loosei prior to crimping, when using a hex die crimper are lugs on tight enough ?
These cables are vey common, the larger the size the more apparent the difference.

there is no such thing as a compacted conductor, post a link to the cable.

it will be tri-rated

 

[Andy78]

A compacted conductor has a reduced o/d for same csa. Therefore a cable lug is very loosei prior to crimping, when using a hex die crimper are lugs on tight enough ?
These cables are vey common, the larger the size the more apparent the difference.

We still don't know whether you mean coarse stranded shaped conductors or fine stranded tri rated conductors, or something else.
The only advice I can give you is to follow the regs, good practice, and your training to provide a mechanically and electrically sound joint suitable for the purpose it is to be used for.

 

[shanky887614]

i think work belt has been drinking.

a 2.5 cable will always be 2.5 no matter what kind of cable it is if you work it out properly

 

[Pete999]

I corrected that for you.

Oh ta for that

 

[Darkwood]

It sounds like you mean shaped conductors 'a common term' like you get in SWA... more an overall triangle shape as oppose to a circular, regardless of the shape etc they still have the same csa but the triangle arrangment usually takes more lug space ironically than a circular formation and can requires to be adjusted to a more circular arrangement to get them in the lug.

I'm, like others are still confused to your use of the word compacted...

PS ...seen your link now ...I call these shaped conductors and you should be able to get the correct lug for them from the same supplier you got the cable, the hole will be smaller but the lug outer diameter will still fit the correct crimp dye.

Swapping lugs till they seem to fit may give a poor crimp without you realising and the lug would also indicate the cable was sized smaller csa than it actually is.

 

[Silly Sausage]

Hi - how does everyone get on crimping these compacted conductors. they are way smaller diameter than standard
equivalent size. Icould get a 25mmlugonto a 35mm conductor. whats best practise?

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Klauke Textron: blue connection - the solution for compacted conductors

http://www.klauke.com/blue-connection/assets/files/Klauke-blue-connection-en.pdf

Page 7 shows compacted conductors.

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[Marvo]

Yeah, compacted strand is a standard wire construction but it's not very common to come across this type of wire in general electrical work.

 

[happysteve]

The PDF that Archy links to above (from a manufacturer selling lugs specifically for these "compacted conductors") says (p6):

Modern compacted conductors are much thinner than their comparable predecessors. So nowadays, cable manufacturers can often save on sheathing and insulation. This difference is not always obvious at first glance. But it does mean that tubular cable lugs and connectors that look as if they fit have too much play and can no longer be crimped as required. In the past, you have only been able to reliably avert this safety risk using additional sleeves on compacted conductors.
​

Perhaps the last sentence answers the original poster's question - use sleeves.

 

[Darkwood]

I was going to post the exact same thing.. but got sidetracked, strange the OP brings up an issue then links us a site that gives the answers and explanation. :juggle2:

 

[davesparks]

there is no such thing as a compacted conductor, post a link to the cable.

it will be tri-rated

There is, if you look at 10mm singles for example the individual strands are round, wheras 10mm SWA cores will have shaped strands which interlock closer with less spaces between them. Thus compacted conductors are made.

 

[Marvo]

I think the standard copper SWA cables are more compressed strands than true compacted.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Agreed - don't use undersize lugs. The tube is designed to deform by a certain amount during crimping and an excess cross-section of copper will prevent this, leading to a weak crimp. In theory the crimping compacts the conductor completely no matter how it starts out, so a lug of the correct CSA may work on a compacted conductor so long it remains properly centralised, but that is uncertain. Hence, the cable-specific crimps are best.

 

[ElectroChem]

The way I've been taught is that if you have a compacted/shaped conductor, use the right lug and crimp. The contact should be OK as Lucien said. If need be, then swap one die for the next size down and re-crimp. For triangular Al cables, DON'T just jam them in whatever round lug fits, they need a matching lug that is then indent crimped.

 

[Bobster]

The way I've been taught is that if you have a compacted/shaped conductor, use the right lug and crimp. The contact should be OK as Lucien said. If need be, then swap one die for the next size down and re-crimp. For triangular Al cables, DON'T just jam them in whatever round lug fits, they need a matching lug that is then indent crimped.

I wouldn't ever consider doing this, you risk deforming the lug and ending up with a poor joint.

 

[ElectroChem]

I wouldn't ever consider doing this, you risk deforming the lug and ending up with a poor joint.

My bad, I got confused with the technique for using an over-sized lug on large flexible cable.

 

[workbelt12]

I was hoping for educated replies. If you Google 'Compacted Conductors' before making uninformed
replies you could possibly learn about issue. Then post meaningful & helpful replies

 

[workbelt12]

Thanks for all replies

 

[Darkwood]

I was hoping for educated replies. If you Google 'Compacted Conductors' before making uninformed
replies you could possibly learn about issue. Then post meaningful & helpful replies

This is an Electricians Forum and you posted a question more suited to Electrical Engineering, the use of these cables is outside the scope of most members on here and those that may have come across them would use the term Shaped conductors, now looking into it it seems this is more common for the big heavy cabling associated with large LV supplies or HV where saving on materials can mean many thousands if using a lot of it.
You have chosen a question that overlaps two bounderies of electrical work thus the original confusion, if I post any number of questions both an Electricians Forum and an Engineering Forum I would in some cases expect 2 contradicting answers due to the nature of differing terminologies and practices.

Yes your question was a good one and you provided a link which I asked for, but I was writing my post as your posted a link before I requested it...just forum timing and order of posts.

Please don't take the confusion and replies as uninformed babble it was just one of those questions that caught us off guard, even me who is industrial, I still know these cables as shaped conductors and was taught that way, if other sectors call them different then fair do.