Plastic Coated Cables
Plastic coated cables and plastic coated wire rope are used
more in consumer applications than heavy industrial wire rope and aircraft
cables. Plastic coating gives cables broader application capabilities, as it
makes wire rope and cables more resistant to wear and safer to handle. Coated
cables often have more resistance to wear and abuse than non-coated cables.
Both easier to handle by hand and more aesthetically pleasing, plastic coated
cables are used in fitness equipment, sailing, towing, theater rigging,
electrical wiring, outdoor construction and other consumer industry
applications.
Fabricated from steel, stainless steel or galvanized steel,
plastic coated cables are typically coated in either nylon or vinyl (PVC),
although polyethylene coatings are applied for electrical insulation and
polypropylene coating is used when chemical resistance is required. Vinyl
coating is the most common, since it is by far the most cost-effective;
although vinyl coated cables do not have optimal abrasion and fatigue
resistance, they have better flexibility and UV light resistance than nylon
coated cables. Nylon cables have excellent impact, abrasion, wear and acid
resistance, although the nylon coating degrades quickly under UV light. For
this reason, nylon coated cables are used in high-impact indoor applications
such as exercise equipment, while vinyl coated cables are more commonly used
outdoors. Aircraft cables are occasionally coated with black powdercoating for low-visibility
in theater rigging applications.