How to Label your Networking Cables in the Right Way

How to Label your Networking Cables in the Right Way! During operation and during installation work, many electricians and amateurs encounter the difficulty of determining the characteristics of cable and wire products, their purpose by external signs. For most professionals, this only requires the labeling of wires and cables, by which they can immediately tell what is inside and how it is connected. In order to understand this issue with the same ease, it is necessary to familiarise yourself with the existing notation. The ​data cabling installation​ costs depend on the various factors while labeling the wires.

Labelling Purpose

This process can significantly simplify electrical work, planned or emergency repairs, maintenance of facilities and cable lines during operation. Another functional purpose is to reduce the likelihood of emergencies and the accompanying injury to workers.

Most newcomers, for the first time confronted with the very notion of marking, are wondering what the letters and numbers in its composition mean. Despite the great diversity of both domestic and foreign products, cable marking contains information about:

Core material and their quantity: In most cases, current-carrying elements are made of copper or aluminium with monolithic or multicore conductors, but there are also specific models with steel or composite conductors; Type of Insulation: ​It provides information on what the insulation shell is made of, both the cores themselves and other layers in the cable (rubber, polyvinyl chloride, fluoroplastic and others.); Section of conductors: It indicates the area of current-carrying elements in a cross-section, which determines the resistance to electric current and varies from 0.35 to 240 mm 2; Nominal Electrical Values: It may contain the value of the operating voltage for which the insulation is designed, in the markings the most common values are 0.23; 0.4; 6; 10; 35 kV; Scopes:​ It indicates resistance to aggressive environmental influences; Design Features: ​In the labeling, it indicates the presence of additional elements or the use of specific technologies in the manufacture; Degree of Flexibility: It indicates how well this cable model can bend, the flexibility of the core in the marking can be indicated by numbers from 1 to 6, where 1 is the least flexible and 6 is the most flexible mark.

Thanks to the above separation, from the marking you can immediately determine what is in front of you (cable, wire or cord), and also establish its role in a particular electrical installation. To do this, we will analyse the marking options for the most common brands used in domestic devices and the principle of their preparation.