In the world of industrial Ethernet and building automation, there is a bountiful opportunity for very harsh environments and challenging installation situations. In these cases, industrial Ethernet rated cables are often used. These ruggedized Ethernet cables tend to have additional shielding thickness, thick and hard outer jackets, strain relief members built in, and other protections for the delicate copper wiring often carrying gigabits of data worth of busy electrons. Generally, all of these protection measures do enhance the ruggedness of these cables, but also often result in much stiffer cables with a limited bend radii.
In many industrial implementations as well as building automation, medical facilities, educational institutions, large public venues, and public transit installations, stiff cables with limited bend radii are difficult, and in some cases, impossible to run by data infrastructure installation technicians. Even rugged and stiff Ethernet cables have a limit to the forces they can endure or bend before degrading or being destroyed, and installers can damage these cables during installation. This is why there is a need and benefit for flexible, and ultra-flexible, Ethernet cables that also provide the necessary shielding and ruggedness that typical industrial Ethernet cables offer.
Where rugged and stiff Ethernet cables are designed to be installed and resist any motion, flexible Ethernet cables are rated to undergo a significant number of flexing cycles, known as flex-life. The flex-life of many flexible Ethernet cables can range to the hundreds of thousands, or even tens of millions. Moreover, flexible industrial Ethernet cables also often have a much tighter bend radius than typical industrial Ethernet cable, which may be down below 100 millimeters. These flexible and ultra-flexible Ethernet cables are ideal for installations with very confined spaces, multiple tight bends in the routing process, and even for motion applications, such as industrial robotics or with mobile machinery.
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