Cable accessories come in a wide variety of types, each with its own characteristics and limitations, and generally cannot be substituted for one another. The common types are as follows:
Wrapped type: Cable accessories made by wrapping the cable with self-adhesive rubber tape on site are called wrapped cable accessories. These accessories are easy to loosen, have poor fire resistance, and short lifespan;
Pouring type: These accessories are made by pouring thermosetting resin on site. The selected materials include epoxy resin, polyurethane, acrylic resin, etc. The fatal flaw of this type of accessory is that it is easy to generate bubbles during curing;
Molding type: This type is mainly used for intermediate cable connections. It is molded and heated on site to integrate with the cable. The manufacturing process of this accessory is complex and time-consuming, and it is not suitable for terminal joints;
Cold shrink type: This type is made by pre-expanding elastomers such as silicone rubber and EPDM rubber in the factory and adding plastic support strips. During on-site construction, the support strips are removed so that the pipe shrinks onto the cable under the inherent elastic effect of the rubber to make cable accessories. This type of accessory is most suitable for construction sites where open flame heating is not allowed, such as mines and petrochemical plants;
Heat shrink type: This type is made by making rubber-plastic alloy with "shape memory effect" Different components are heat-shrinkable onto the cable on-site. This accessory is lightweight, easy to install, reliable, and inexpensive.
Prefabricated: Different components are injected into silicone rubber, vulcanized in one step, retaining only the contact interface, and inserted into the cable during on-site construction. This construction process minimizes unpredictable adverse factors in the environment, thus this accessory has enormous potential value and represents the future direction of cross-linked cable accessories. However, its manufacturing technology is highly complex, involving multiple disciplines and industries. Prefabricated accessories still use heat-shrinkable materials for installation below the cable's three-way junction and shielding, thus it is actually a combination of prefabricated and heat-shrinkable types.
