Madhgur Aggarwal, Managing Director at Nanganwala Impex (I) Pvt Ltd talks about how to select the right cables for welding.
What to select• Select size based on current rating and length of cables to be installed• Opt for ISI marked welding cables which are black in colour• Optimum conductor area for optimum power consumption• Good quality cables sustains welding quality by maintaining arc strength• Select the right cable of current rating for effective consumption of consumables like welding electrodes• Welding cables should be flexible for better ease of handling and reduce the strain on the cable• Use the correct rated HOFR compound of 90-degree rating for reducing the loss due to temperature withstanding capacity of insulation or sheath• Shop floor areas are generally full of oil, grease etc which can be handled only by the cables of good quality HOFR compounds• HOFR compound does not support flame propagation• Compound of good quality cables should sustain the spatter of welding• Roll length should be accurate• No of strands in the conductor throughout the cables should be consistent.
What not to select• Many times voltage drop due to lengths are ignored which results in non- performance• ISI does not allow non-black cables. Do not select cables other than black• Non-standard cables with high resistance lead to high electrical loss throughout the life• High current loss also results in loss of arc strength which reduce the flux penetration in the weld area, resulting in to poor quality welding• Low quality or underrated cables result in wastage of consumables like welding electrode• Low quality cables are less flexible• Low temperature rating compounds reduce the cables service life• Low quality compounds deteriorates due to incompatibility and low resistance of oil and grease• Low quality compounds are easily burnable• Low quality compounds deteriorates fast when contacts the spatter• Do not allow less number of strands than the specified tolerance limit, in the cable. Some supplies less strands in the centre of the cable to save metal.
Authored by__
Madhgur Aggarwal
Managing DirectorNanganwala Impex (I) Pvt Ltd