Silicone Cables: Silicone Encased Cables Make Military Robots More Reliable

April 1, 2012

Cicoil’s highly flexible and durable flat silicone cables are being used on unmanned ground based military robotic vehicles that require absolute reliability in mission critical and extreme environment conditions. Unlike bulky and stiffer round cables, flat silicone cables provide space and weight savings, enhanced flexibility, greater current carrying capacity, reduced skewing effects and better electrical characteristics.

Cicoil utilizes a process of encapsulating conductors in silicone that renders them unaffected by exposure to severe vibration, G-forces, shaking motion, abrasion, water, coarse sand, extreme temperatures (-65°C to +260°C), flames and harsh weather conditions. This specialized silicone jacket functions as a shock absorbing material, completely surrounding and supporting each individual component. Unlike PVC, Polyurethane or Teflon jacketed cables, the silicone cable does not require a clamping system because the conductors cannot creep out of the silicone encasing them.

Each Cicoil cable can incorporate a variety of elements including power conductors, shielded single conductors & signal pairs for superior EMI/RFI suppression, video and coax conductors, and other design elements like Cicoil's patented StripMount™ fastening strip, all in a single compact cable design. The cables are available in continuous lengths, they can be cut to order, or even ordered as assemblies, complete with connectors, 100% tested and inspected.