wiredInUSA June 2019

Fire safety cable Prysmian Group has launched a UK- manufactured Draka UC400 23 Category 6 U/UTP LSHF D64 Cca data cable. The cable has been developed by Prysmian’s multimedia solutions department to comply with the construction products regulation (CPR) to Euroclass Cca S1A D1 A1 fire performance rating. CPR requires third party testing of cables for heat-energy content, plus spread of fire, smoke, acidity, heat emission and droplet formation (burning drops of plastic that spread fire), to ensure they meet the fire performance requirements laid out in EN 50575. To meet these stringent fire safety tests, the existing Draka Cat6 U/UTP Eca cable needed to be redesigned. An example of the challenges for manufacturers has been to balance the volume of air spaces within the cable, necessary to achieve Category 6 transmission characteristics, while minimizing the potential for the air to help propagate the fire spread. Prysmian Group invested considerable resources in developing a new Cat 6 U/UTP Cca cable that meets both criteria: high data transmission levels are maintained and the cable is genuinely CPR Cca rating compliant. This has been achieved through a range of material engineering

developments, optimization of the cable construction design, and fine tuning of the manufacturing processes. The new cable remains compact, with a diameter of just 5.9mm, and a high degree of flexibility for easy installation. Draka believes there is no visible difference, or difference in handling performance, to its existing high-density Eca rated cables. RF partners Elkem Inchas entered intoapartnershipwith Schlenk Metal Foils to produce RF shielding materials with higher flexibility, reduced thickness, greater width, and extended lifetime compared to traditionally rolled silvered copper. Partnering with Schlenk, a specialist in rolled metal foils technology, Elkem, which provides specialized electroplating, can now offer advanced RF shielding based on silver-plated copper foil. “The products created from our partnership will enable cable manufacturers to design thinner conductors, with higher aspect ratios, that are also more flexible and durable,” said Schlenk’s sales manager, Thorben Beckmann.

wiredInUSA - June 2019

40