Cable lacing is a method for tying
wiring harnessA cable harness, also known as a wire harness, cable assembly, wiring assembly or wiring loom,is a string of cables and/or wires which transmit informational signals or operating currents...
es and cable looms, traditionally used in
telecommunicationTelecommunication is transmission over a distance for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, this may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums, semaphore, flags or heliograph. In modern times, telecommunication typically involves the use of electronic devices such as the telephone,...
, naval, and aerospace applications. This old
cable managementCable management refers to an important step during the installation of building services and the subsequent installation of equipment providing means to tidily secure electrical, data, and other cables...
technique, taught to generations of linemen, is still used in some modern applications since it does not create obstructions along the length of the cable, avoiding the handling problems of cables groomed by plastic or
velcroVelcro is a brand name of fabric hook-and-loop fasteners. It consists of two layers: a "hook" side, which is a piece of fabric covered with tiny hooks, and a "loop" side, which is covered with even smaller and "hairier" loops. When the two sides are pressed together, the hooks catch in the loops...
cable tieA cable tie is a type of fastener, especially for binding several electronic cables or wires together and to organize cables and wires.- Design and use :In its most popular form, a cable tie consists of a sturdy Nylon tape...
s.
Cable lacing uses a thin cord, traditionally made of waxed
linenLinen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
, to bind together a group of cables using a series of running
lockstitchA lockstitch is the most common mechanical stitch made by a sewing machine.-Description:The lockstitch uses two threads, an upper and a lower. The upper thread runs from a spool kept on a spindle on top of or next to the machine, through a tension mechanism, a take-up arm, and finally through the...
es.
Cable lacing is a method for tying
wiring harnessA cable harness, also known as a wire harness, cable assembly, wiring assembly or wiring loom,is a string of cables and/or wires which transmit informational signals or operating currents...
es and cable looms, traditionally used in
telecommunicationTelecommunication is transmission over a distance for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, this may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums, semaphore, flags or heliograph. In modern times, telecommunication typically involves the use of electronic devices such as the telephone,...
, naval, and aerospace applications. This old
cable managementCable management refers to an important step during the installation of building services and the subsequent installation of equipment providing means to tidily secure electrical, data, and other cables...
technique, taught to generations of linemen, is still used in some modern applications since it does not create obstructions along the length of the cable, avoiding the handling problems of cables groomed by plastic or
velcroVelcro is a brand name of fabric hook-and-loop fasteners. It consists of two layers: a "hook" side, which is a piece of fabric covered with tiny hooks, and a "loop" side, which is covered with even smaller and "hairier" loops. When the two sides are pressed together, the hooks catch in the loops...
cable tieA cable tie is a type of fastener, especially for binding several electronic cables or wires together and to organize cables and wires.- Design and use :In its most popular form, a cable tie consists of a sturdy Nylon tape...
s.
Cable lacing uses a thin cord, traditionally made of waxed
linenLinen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
, to bind together a group of cables using a series of running
lockstitchA lockstitch is the most common mechanical stitch made by a sewing machine.-Description:The lockstitch uses two threads, an upper and a lower. The upper thread runs from a spool kept on a spindle on top of or next to the machine, through a tension mechanism, a take-up arm, and finally through the...
es. Flat lacing tapes made of modern materials such as
NylonNylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides and first produced on February 28, 1935 by Wallace Carothers at DuPont...
,
PolyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
, Teflon,
FiberglassFiberglass, , is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting composite material, properly known as fiber-reinforced polymer or glass-reinforced plastic , is called "fiberglass" in popular usage...
, and
NomexNomex is a registered trademark for flame resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967.- Properties:...
are also available with a variety of coatings to improve knot holding.
Styles
The lacing begins and ends with a
whippingA whipping knot or whipping is a binding of twine around the end of a rope to prevent the fibres of the rope from unravelling.When a rope is cut, there is a natural tendency for the cut end to fray. A whipping is one way to try to prevent this, by applying multiple turns of twine tightly around...
or other knot to secure the free ends. Wraps are spaced relative to the overall harness diameter to maintain the wiring in a tight, neat bundle, and the ends are then neatly trimmed. In addition to continuous or running lacing, there are a variety of lacing patterns used in different circumstances. In some cases stand-alone knots called
spot ties are also used. For lashing large cables and cable bundles to support structures in telecommunications applications, there are two named cable lacing styles: the "Chicago stitch" and "
Kansas CityKansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. It is one of two county seats of Jackson County, the other being Independence, just to the city's east...
stitch".
Some organizations have in-house standards to which cable lacing must conform, for example
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
specifies their cable lacing techniques in chapter 9 of NASA-STD-8739.4.
External links