EN
Cable Clamp and Cleat - Cable Retention Rated for Short-Circuit Force
Cable clamps and cleats for LV switchgear and cabinets. Single, trefoil and multi-cable, steel and polymer, short-circuit rated. Sized to actual cable OD.
- Overview
- Applications
- Technical Data
- Services
- Quality Control
- Recommended Products
Cable Clamp and Cleat - Cable Retention Rated for Short-Circuit Force
cable clamp holds terminated cables so that their weight does not hang on the terminals, and so that they stay in place during a fault. Both jobs are routinely underestimated, and both produce failures that are expensive and easy to prevent.
TWO SEPARATE JOBS, TWO SEPARATE FAILURES
The first job is static. A run of 240 mm2 cable entering from below is heavy, and if it is not clamped its weight pulls on the lug and the terminal. Over a few years of thermal cycling the joint loosens, heats, and eventually fails - a defect that thermography finds if anyone is looking and a fire finds if nobody is.
The second job is dynamic and it is the one people forget. During a short circuit, parallel cables experience the same electromagnetic repulsion as busbars. Single-core cables in a high fault-level installation will move violently. Unclamped or under-clamped cables whip, damage their own insulation and each other's, and can turn a single-phase fault into a three-phase one. A cable cleat on a single-core run is not tidiness - it is fault containment.
TREFOIL IS A SPECIFICATION, NOT A LAYOUT PREFERENCE
Single-core cables should be run in trefoil and cleated in trefoil. It minimises the net magnetic field, balances the force between the three cores, and reduces induced current in surrounding steelwork. Flat-formation single cores clamped by a generic saddle is one of the more common defects we see in locally built installations at high fault levels.
SIZE TO THE CABLE, NOT TO THE DRAWING NUMBER
A clamp that is oversized does not grip and a clamp that is undersized crushes the insulation. Both are common when someone orders by cable cross-section without checking the actual outside diameter, which varies significantly between cable types and manufacturers. We supply the OD range for every clamp size so you order against a measured number.
WHAT WE SUPPLY
Single-cable saddles, trefoil cleats, multi-cable clamps and cable entry retention bars, in zinc-plated steel, stainless steel and polymer, across the standard OD range, with the short-circuit rating and installation spacing stated.
PRIMARY APPLICATIONS
- Incoming and outgoing cable retention in GGD, GCK, GCS, MNS and XL-21 cabinets.
- Cable entry retention at the gland plate of JXF distribution boxes and feeder pillars.
- Single-core cable cleating in trefoil on high fault-level transformer LV connections.
- Cable tray and ladder retention in switchrooms and cable basements.
- Motor cable retention at the drive and starter end.
- Generator connection cable retention.
- Solar PV DC and AC cable retention in combiner and inverter enclosures.
- Retrofit cable management on ageing installations.
WHERE IT IS MOST OFTEN DONE BADLY
Transformer LV connections. This is the highest fault-level point in the whole installation, the cables are large single cores, and they are frequently clamped with whatever saddle was available. If single-core cables anywhere in the installation deserve properly rated trefoil cleats at calculated spacing, it is here.
REGIONAL FIT
- Middle East: high ambient means cable and clamp both run hot; polymer clamps must retain grip at sustained elevated temperature rather than creeping. UV-stable material for any outdoor or partially exposed run.
- Africa: mining and industrial installations with vibration, plus coastal corrosion. Stainless steel clamps justify their cost on coastal and process sites.
- Russia and CIS: low-temperature embrittlement of polymer clamps is a genuine failure mode; specify the cold-climate grade or steel.
- Eastern Europe: CE marked installations to EN 61439, with short-circuit force on cable terminations considered in the design verification.
NOT SUITABLE FOR
Busbar support - use the Busbar Holder and Busbar Insulator, which are rated for a different force regime. Load-bearing cable suspension beyond the stated rating.
TECHNICAL DATA - Cable Clamp and Cleat
Compliance: IEC 61439-1, IEC 61914 (cable cleats), IEC 60529
| Category | Item | Parameter Details |
| TYPES | Single-cable saddle | for individual cable retention |
| Trefoil cleat | for three single-core cables in trefoil formation | |
| Multi-cable clamp | for grouped cables on a common bar | |
| Cable entry retention bar | full-width bar across the gland plate | |
| Quick-fit polymer clamp | for smaller control and auxiliary cables | |
| CABLE SIZE RANGE | Cable outside diameter | 5 - 130 mm across the range |
| Ordering note | order by measured cable outside diameter, not by conductor cross-section, since OD varies between cable types and makers | |
| Trefoil cleat range | 20 - 90 mm per core | |
| MATERIALS | Zinc-plated steel | general indoor use |
| Stainless steel 304 / 316 | coastal, process, marine and outdoor use | |
| Polymer | flame-retardant, UV-stabilised grade for lighter cables | |
| Liner | elastomer or polymer liner to protect cable sheath from point loading | |
| Fixings | zinc-plated or stainless steel to match the clamp body | |
| SHORT-CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE | Standard compliance | Cleats rated for peak short-circuit current per IEC 61914 |
| Peak withstand | rating stated per cleat type and cable configuration | |
| Installation spacing | maximum spacing table supplied against prospective peak fault current and cable configuration | |
| Recommendation | Trefoil formation strongly recommended for single-core runs at high fault level | |
| MECHANICAL | Static load rating | stated per clamp type |
| Clamping force | sufficient to prevent axial movement without crushing the sheath | |
| Installation torque | stated on the drawing | |
| Vibration suitability | suitable for industrial and mining installations | |
| ENVIRONMENT | Operating temperature | -40 C to +105 C for steel, -25 C to +90 C for polymer |
| Cold climate option | Cold-climate polymer grade available for Russia and CIS | |
| Relative humidity | up to 95% | |
| Salt spray | 96 h on zinc plating, 1000 h on stainless, unlimited in normal service for 316 | |
| UV performance | stabilised grades for outdoor and partially exposed installation | |
| INSTALLATION | Mounting | bolted to frame, gland plate, cable tray or a dedicated retention bar |
| Cable sheath protection | liner supplied where the clamp bears directly on the cable sheath | |
| Earthing note | metallic clamps do not substitute for a cable armour earth connection |
OPTIONS
Stainless steel construction | cold-climate polymer grade | custom OD ranges
Extended spacing bars | insulated clamps for single-core runs where eddy current
in steelwork is a concern | OEM branding and private-label packaging
THE PARTS YOU CANNOT RELIABLY BUY LOCALLY
Ask any panel builder in our markets what actually holds up a production batch and it is rarely the breaker. It is the busbar support that arrived cracked, the clamp that does not fit the bar size on the drawing, the handle that has no matching lock, the hinge that does not carry a loaded door. We manufacture over 2,000 of these components ourselves, with 38+ patents behind them, precisely because the open market does not supply them consistently.
1. FULL-RANGE SUPPLY FROM ONE SOURCE
Insulators, busbar holders, cable clamps, hinges, locks, handles, operating mechanisms, isolating contacts, mounting rails and cabinet hardware - one supplier, one packing list, one container. You stop chasing eight vendors for one cabinet.
2. DIMENSIONAL DATA AND FIT-UP DRAWINGS
Every part ships with a dimensioned drawing, bar or panel compatibility table, torque figure and material specification. Your designer can lay out the busbar chamber without ordering samples first.
3. MATCHED SYSTEMS, NOT LOOSE ITEMS
Insulators, holders and clamps are designed as a system with a stated peak withstand rating. Mixing brands is how a busbar chamber that looked fine on paper fails a short-circuit test. Specify the set and the fault rating is a design value, not a hope.
4. CUSTOM AND OEM PARTS
Non-standard sizes, alternative thread forms, brand-marked parts and private-label packaging. Tooling development for volume customers, with drawings held under NDA.
5. STOCK, MOQ AND CONSOLIDATION
Low minimum order quantities on standard items so a distributor can hold a working stock rather than a warehouse. Consolidated loading with cabinets, drawers and devices in one shipment.
6. MATERIAL AND COMPLIANCE DOCUMENTATION
Material certificates, flammability and tracking-index data for insulating parts, plating thickness reports for conductive parts, RoHS declarations, and the component evidence your IEC 61439 verification file needs.
7. AFTER-SALES
24-hour technical response. Free replacement for any part that fails on dimensional or material grounds. Parts kept to the same drawing revision so a repair in year five still fits.
8. COMMERCIAL TERMS
FOB, CFR, CIF, DDP, Ex-Works. Trade Assurance, T/T, L/C. Samples supplied for fit-up verification before volume.
QUALITY CONTROL - THE SMALL PARTS THAT DECIDE WHETHER A BOARD PASSES
Component-level defects are cheap to prevent and expensive to discover. A cracked insulator, an under-plated contact or a clamp that is 2 mm out of tolerance does not show up in the workshop; it shows up during the dielectric test, or during a short circuit. Incoming and in-process inspection is therefore applied to every batch.
MATERIAL CONTROL
1. Raw material verified against certificate on receipt - polymer grade, copper purity, steel grade and thickness.
2. Insulating materials qualified for flammability rating, comparative tracking index and dielectric strength; flame-retardant grades confirmed by batch documentation.
3. Metal parts checked for grade, thickness and surface condition before forming.
DIMENSIONAL CONTROL
4. First-article inspection on every tool and every production run, with a full dimensional report against the drawing.
5. In-process sampling to the agreed AQL, with critical dimensions measured on calibrated gauges.
6. Thread quality and insert pull-out force checked on threaded and insert-moulded parts.
7. Fit-up verification against the mating part - a holder is checked with the actual bar section, not only against a number on a drawing.
PERFORMANCE TESTING
8. Insulating parts: power-frequency withstand voltage, insulation resistance, mechanical bending and cantilever load, and thermal cycling on batch samples.
9. Conductive parts: plating thickness by coating gauge, adhesion, contact resistance, and temperature rise at rated current.
10. Mechanical parts: operating force, endurance cycling, and load test on hinges, locks and clamps.
11. Corrosion: salt spray testing on plated and coated parts, with hours to first defect recorded.
12. Environment: humidity and heat ageing on samples, relevant to Gulf and tropical African installations.
APPEARANCE AND PACKING
13. Visual inspection for cracks, voids, flash, burrs, plating defects and colour consistency.
14. Marking legibility and correctness.
15. Quantity, packing integrity and part-number labelling verified before the carton is sealed.
DOCUMENTATION AND SYSTEM
Material certificates, dimensional reports, test records and RoHS declarations supplied on request and formatted for inclusion in your IEC 61439 verification file. ISO 9001 quality management with recorded, root-caused and closed non-conformances. Samples supplied for your own fit-up verification before volume; third-party inspection by SGS, BV, TUV or Intertek accepted.
