SPECIAL FEATURE fibre optic & copper cabling
Boxing clever ?
Nick Andrews , brand manager at connectivity supply specialist , Comtec , considers the evolution of the humble cable box
All cable boxes are the same , right ? Wrong . We are all familiar with the standard 305m box of cable , but how many of us actually take the time to think about the construction of the box and how much difference that makes to our everyday jobs ?
For many years now we have been used to getting our cable in a Reelex box where the cable is wound using a licenced technique that enables it to be drawn from the centre of the coil without the need for a reel or spindle . This clever idea makes for simple , low cost packaging that has a number of benefits : Very little waste to dispose of , just a biodegradable cardboard carton Easy shipping and stacking thanks to the regular , flat sided dimensions Easy handling as the full carton typically weighs only around 10kg Easy pulling in of multiple cables at the same time
However , as is always the way in life , there have to be some negatives to balance out the positives and I am sure that all of us , at one time or another , will have experienced one or more ( or all !) of the Following . Cables that snag , twist or even ‘ knot ’ inside the boxes , issues that are more commonly seen in recently started boxes where the cables are relatively tightly wound Handles that rip when the boxes are lifted Boxes that fall apart when they are accidentally left out in a shower of rain
Manufacturers have tried many different ways in which to improve the design of the basic Reelex box , including stapling or taping seams and joints and adding extra layers of cardboard to the handle
Area , but the issues of snagging , twisting and knotting have never been fully overcome . Some manufacturers have tried to get around this by winding the cable on to a reel and placing this inside a box , thus maintaining most of the benefits of a Reelex box but , at the same time , creating a new problem in that there are now at least two different types of waste to dispose of , the reel and the cardboard carton . Additionally , not all reels are as robust as they should be and many have been known to collapse or fall apart , leaving the installer with a mess of cable that is almost impossible to use .
Well now there ’ s a new box on the block and it ’ s called Reelex II . From the makers of the original Reelex , comes a new technique for winding cable that builds on the key benefits of the old technique , but aims to overcome the problems of snagging , twisting and knotting . Reelex II involves winding the cable in a larger diameter coil and then feeding it out of the box through a larger diameter funnel and aperture . These enable the cable to run more freely out of the box with much less likelihood of it kinking or looping over itself inside the box .
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