Five "knowledge points" about semi-rigid cables(2)

3. Shaping and maintaining shape

For this type of cable assembly, in order to fit into the designed system, it often needs to be accurately molded into various shapes. As the name implies, a semi-rigid coaxial cable is a cable that has sufficient rigidity to maintain its shape and is sufficiently flexible to be bent by hand. Molding a semi-rigid cable into the required shape is a risky task. In order to prevent damage to the outer pipe wall, special tools should be used to bend or shape the cable. In addition, once this type of cable is molded into a specific shape, it is extremely difficult to change its shape again. This is because the shape change often causes damage to the outer conductor, resulting in fine lines in the outer wall, which ultimately affects the electrical performance of the flexible cable assembly. Therefore, although such coaxial cables made of aluminum and soft copper are easy to shape and bend manually, in order to minimize the risk of cable damage, it is still recommended to use special tools for such operations.

Although plastic or semi-flexible coaxial cables are often classified as semi-rigid coaxial cables, they are actually another type of commonly used coaxial cables that are different from semi-rigid coaxial cables. The moldable semi-rigid coaxial cable uses a spirally wound conductive foil covered with a tin-filled outer braid, so its outer conductor is somewhat softer than a solid metal outer conductor. Although the moldable semi-rigid coaxial cable can be used as a substitute for the semi-rigid coaxial cable, its shape shaping is usually done by hand and can only maintain a rough shape, which is not comparable to the shape stability of a standard semi-rigid coaxial cable. Since complex routing and assembly drawings are not required for general installation, such more flexible cable alternatives have become extremely popular. This type of hand-made plastic cable not only allows its length to be increased in small increments, but it can also be molded into the desired shape when the product is assembled. In addition, the plastic cable also has the advantages of a semi-rigid coaxial cable with electrical properties close to a solid outer wall, lower production cost, and optional sheath material.

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1.Five "knowledge points" about semi-rigid cables(1)

2. Five "knowledge points" about semi-rigid cables(3)