Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.
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62 International Door & Operator Industry™ SUMMARY OF PROBLEMS & TIPS FOR AVOIDING THESE PROBLEMS: The most common reasons for premature cable failure include: 1. Using cable that is damaged during installation; and 2. Damaging the cable while fabricating the cable assembly in the feld; 3. Using bulk cable or cable assembly of substandard quality. Cable Damaged During Installation: We have discussed a number of ways cable can be damaged during installation. Cable damaged during installation often will work when frst installed. However we now know cable damaged during installation will prematurely fail. Accordingly, do not use cable that has been damaged during installation. Think of it this way. Let's say you drain all of the oil from your car's engine. Even if you do not put oil back in the engine, you may still be able to still drive the car down the street. However, you know the engine will prematurely fail if you continue to drive the car with no oil. The same goes for cable. If the cable is damaged during installation, don't use it, because you now know it will prematurely fail. Damaging the Cable while Fabricating the Cable Assembly in the Field: There are even more problems to watch out for when you fabricate your own cable assemblies in the feld, just ask "Bob." You can minimize these risks by carefully following proper procedures for fabricating cable assemblies in the feld. Alternatively, you can eliminate these risks by using pre-made cable assemblies produced by a qualifed cable assembly manufacturer. Furthermore, use of pre-made assemblies will also signifcantly reduce your labor cost for such a service call. The use of pre-made assemblies is gaining in popularity compared to fabricating cable assemblies in the feld. The pre-made assemblies save time and avoid the risks associated with fabricating cable assemblies in the feld. Carrying a variety of pre-made cable assemblies may at frst seem costly when compared to a reel of bulk cable. However, you can reduce the number of pre-made assemblies kept on hand by purchasing cable assemblies with "foating stops." Such assemblies come with a machine swaged loop on one end and "foating-stops" on the other end (see Figure 8). These types of pre-made assemblies permit you to simply hand swage the "foating-stop" at the necessary length and cut off the excess cable. Because the foating stop is already on the cable, you do not need to worry about frayed ends being bent back into the stop. To help keep you organized, you can even purchase these assemblies packaged in labeled poly bags. Bulk Cable or Cable Assembly of Substandard Quality: Just like any other commodity there is a difference in quality of material and workmanship. The same is true with bulk cable and cable assemblies. Bulk cable of substandard quality is generally caused by the use of inferior raw materials and/ or improper manufacturing processes. Bulk cable involves a complex multistep manufacturing process, accordingly there are number of critical steps that can lead to problems. An example of some of these critical manufacturing processes include heat treating of the wire, galvanizing, pre-forming, stranding, and closing of wires and strands. Bulk cable of substandard quality will have a diminished cycle life, is more prone to broken wires and premature failure. In general, bulk cable produced in South Korea is of higher quality (and higher price) and lasts longer than bulk cable produced in China. Something as simple as reeling bulk cable on a reel improperly can put a reverse bend in the cable and cause problems. Similarly there are differences in the quality provided by cable assembly manufacturers. The quality of the bulk cable used is an obvious key factor. Another important quality factor is the type of equipment used and the manufacturing controls used in the cable assembly factory. Cable assemblies fabricated in the USA are generally of higher quality than those fabricated in China. Summary: When purchasing bulk cable, I would strongly encourage you to check to see in what country the cable was produced (South Korea or China). There is defective and inferior cable on the market. Likewise, In the case of pre-made cable assemblies, fnd out which country produced the bulk cable that was used, and also fnd out in which country the assembly was fabricated (USA or China). Obtaining this information will help you to determine what level of quality you are getting. In closing, I would like to thank Murphy Industries out of Marion Ohio for their valuable information that they supplied for the creation of this article. Figure 8 - Floating Stops Gary Lombard is spokesman for Denco Marketing Co. located in Millersburg, OH. Denco is a supplier to the door and gate industry. Gary also serves as general manager of the Denver branch of D.H. Pace Door Services. He may be reached for comment at (303) 356-1763 or gary.lombard@dhpace.com. Photos and illustrations provided by Murphy Industries, Marion, Ohio. TECHNICAL (continued from page 60) 1/24/14 10:54 AM