A perforated cable tray offers a good option for arranging and mounting electric cables within an industrial facility, although choosing a good one cannot be accomplished simply by considering its cost and size. There are several criteria that need to be considered before purchasing a perforated cable tray, which include the material, the maximum load that it can withstand, tray width, working conditions, cable type, installation needs, and supplier support.
What Is a Perforated Cable Tray?
The perforated cable tray is the cable management system which consists of the perforations of regular intervals in the bottom portion along with the side rails.
Perforated cable trays are usually employed for control and instrumentation cables and other electrical wirings at manufacturing plants, commercial structures, and industrial buildings. These cable trays may also be chosen for proper application of power cables depending upon the loading capacity and size of the tray.
When dealing with chemical and pharmaceutical plants in Gujarat, there needs to be an emphasis on material selection due to humidity and chemical exposure in addition to the outdoor exposure.
7 Factors to Check Before Buying a Perforated Cable Tray
Choose the Right Material for Your Industrial Environment
The type of material used for the tray will have a direct impact on its longevity, maintenance needs, and suitability for the chosen installation site.
For instance, a tray that is installed within a dry electrical room will have different considerations compared to a tray that is exposed to chemical fumes or wet conditions.
For chemical and pharmaceutical factories at Ankleshwar, Bharuch, and Vadodara, FRP perforated cable trays might be considered if metallic trays may have problems with corrosion.
Nevertheless, this material cannot be used for all purposes. Before making a purchase, make sure that it meets the criteria concerning its temperature, fire, mechanical, UV, and chemical resistance.
Get acquainted with the variety of FRP cable trays by Transpower Technologies.
Verify Load Capacity and Support Spacing
Load carrying is among the most crucial considerations in selecting a perforated cable tray. Insufficiently sized tray or poor support of the installation may cause overloading of the tray and damage of the supports, as well as difficulties with future cable installation.
Calculate the required load of cables based on their types, number, and their weight data provided by manufacturers. Besides, consider the weight of the tray itself, selected support span, and extra loads allowed within the system design.
For instance, a tray with several heavy cables should be considered differently than a tray with a few instrument cables.
Do not choose the tray based on its width only. Consult the manufacturer regarding the allowable load or safe working load (SWL) at selected support span. Verify that the whole installation will be sufficient for your load requirement.
Select the Correct Tray Width and Side-Rail Height
The tray should be able to support the number of cables required without congestion and maintenance difficulty.
Perforated Cable Tray offered by TransPower Technologies has various sizes, starting from 50 mm up to 600 mm width with customizable lengths. The right size would depend on the cable bundles, diameter of the cables, layout and specifications.
Before finalizing the size, make sure you have your cable schedule ready and also calculate the available tray area. Consider any required spacing between the cables, bends, branches and expansion needs.
While selecting the narrowest possible tray size may lower the initial investment cost, installing additional cables may become difficult. Conversely, selecting an excessively wide tray may result in higher cost and unnecessary use of the installation space.
The right choice lies in between cable loading capacity, safety, accessibility and available space.
Check Corrosion Resistance and Chemical Compatibility
Cable trays used industrially often face varying conditions in one industrial plant. Conditions in indoor electrical rooms, utility rooms, rooftop installations, and chemical processing areas may be quite varied and thus the materials required will also vary.
In case of chemical plants in and around Ankleshwar and Bharuch, evaluate the exposure of acids, alkalis, solvents, moisture, and cleaning agents prior to selection of a suitable cable tray.
In the case of metal trays, ensure proper coating for the particular application. In case of FRP trays, ensure proper compatibility with the particular chemicals and temperature conditions.
The evaluation may assist in reducing early deterioration and thus avoid premature replacement of the products. Even the cable trays that claim to be corrosion resistant should be evaluated according to site conditions.
Match the Tray to the Cable Type and Application
All cable routing does not have identical needs. There are situations where instrumentation and control cables will be segregated from power cables.
The use of perforated cable trays is normally recommended for control and instrumentation works since its design facilitates proper cable arrangement as well as heat dissipation. Nevertheless, the final decision will depend on cable specifications and the overall electrical design of the works.
Find out if the project needs power, control, instrumentation or communication cables to be run separately. Ensure that there is compliance with the relevant electrical codes regarding cable segregation, EMC (electromagnetic interference), earthing and bonding.
In case the installation involves heavy cable loads over long distances, evaluate the proposed perforated cable tray against a suitable ladder cable tray. The best one will be determined by various factors such as the cable load, support spacing, ventilation, exposure and accessibility.
Evaluate Installation, Fittings, and Future Maintenance
Cable trays are just a component of the entire support system. The installation may also involve other items like bends, tees, reducers, couplers, brackets, support channels, and the appropriate fasteners.
Make sure that the accessories needed are suitable for the material and size of the cable tray. Make sure you examine the proposed layout for any change in direction, change in elevation, walls penetration, and accessibility to equipment that needs servicing.
The support spacing should comply with the manufacturer’s recommendations and load requirements. Engineers should also plan for any future addition of cables rather than planning only for the existing installation.
Proper cable tray design will allow easy inspection and cable identification by maintenance personnel. Good design will also minimize modifications when there is an expansion or additional equipment added to the plant.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Perforated Cable Tray
Sometimes, even an appropriate product can lead to complications, especially where the procurement stage is done without considering the installation factors. Always avoid selecting a tray based on cost, the assumption that all material behaves the same way under corrosion, or the load bearing ability of the tray at the actual span distance.
A very common error is to neglect the need to add cable in the future. Once the tray system has been installed, increasing its capacity will result in more support systems or even replacement of part of the tray system.
One should always verify the technical specifications against the cable schedule of the project.
Conclusion
Selecting a perforated cable tray requires consideration of more than just the dimensions and cost. The compatibility of material, weight of the load, size of the cable tray, type of cables, and installation process will affect the functionality of the resulting cable management system.
When installing cable trays for industries such as chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, and others in Gujarat, making sure that these seven considerations are fulfilled prior to the purchase can go a long way toward avoiding avoidable problems during installation and maintenance.
If you require cable management products for an industrial project, please contact Transpower Technologies, Makarpura GIDC, Vadodara. It offers an array of FRP cable tray products.
