Are Your Patch Cables Really Up to the Job?

Patch cables – you plug them in, the LED lights up and everything is OK. Right?

‘Maybe’ is as good as it gets if you are using typical, commercial grade, ‘budget’ patch leads. Although they may have Cat5e or similar printed on them, often the only way they will ever deliver that performance is in laboratory conditions. Buying low cost patch leads may save you a few pounds on your project, but at what cost to the project quality?

In a typical industrial panel environment with electrical noise, vibration and installation around tight bends, etc. data transmission rates will often fall dramatically below those stated. Unfortunately, you will never know unless you have access to some pretty sophisticated test equipment, which of course, most of us do not.

Your Cat 5 issues could be multiplied for Cat6

Cat5 or Cat5e is now the baseline for Industrial Ethernet systems. However, many designers are now looking to Cat6 levels due to the amount of data that the cables need to carry and any problems that you may experience with Cat5 installations will be multiplied for Cat6. Additionally machines may need robust cables that are resistant to oil and mechanical damage, and superflexible or robotic ethernet cables are also becoming more commonly used with distributed I/O and vision systems.

Lutze has all this covered, with their range of overall screened Cat5e patch leads and individual-pair screened Cat6 patch leads. They all feature fully shielded connectors to maintain EMC screening, making them suitable for even the 'noisiest' control panels. Ethernet cables suitable for robotic, superflexible or machine frame wiring are also available, together with connectors, panel entry points and other networking components.

How can you get hold of Lutze high quality patch cables?

You will find these high quality Lutze Cat5e and Cat 6 patch cables on page 240 of the LC Automation 2012 product catalogue, which you can download on the right. Alternatively, if you would like to receive a printed copy of the catalogue e-mail marketing@lca.co.uk with your business mailing address (UK business users only) and we will put a copy in the post to you.