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Centaur cable accessories and saddles manufactured by Ellis have begun to be installed in National Grid’s London Power Tunnels project.

The cable saddles, which are being used to secure high voltage (HV) cables throughout 32km of tunnels under London, were specified in 2012 in a record £1.5million order for the Yorkshire-based cable cleat manufacturer.

Richard Shaw, managing director of Ellis, said: “While it’s always great to secure a new specification, especially such a large one, it’s even more rewarding seeing the product installed and being used for the purpose for which it was designed.”

In the case of the London Power Tunnels, Ellis secured the specification from Südkabel – the German manufacturers of the cables being installed in the National Grid tunnels – as a result of a design that saw them deliver a product that overcame a serious safety issue surrounding the restraint of HV cables up to 400kV with a diameter range of 100 to 160mm.

HV Cleating Standards

“At the time we designed Centaur neither the British nor European Standards took into account cleats on HV cables of this size,” explained Richard. “This meant those specifying for such jobs were very much in the hands of the manufacturers, who in most cases simply provided warranties for their products.”

“The problem with this was that none of the products available had been short circuit tested, and so the warranties were based purely on calculations and mechanical tests. As such there was no proof the saddle cleats being used would withstand the most testing elements of the job they’d been specified for.”

Rigorous Testing

Before launch, Ellis put its new heavy-duty extruded aluminium product through the most rigorous of testing procedures. Using cable manufactured by ABB in Sweden, the company shipped the Centaur cable saddles and ABB cable to the Netherlands where they were tested to 163 kA peak and 63 kA RMS for one second, in both 3 phase and phase to phase fault scenarios.

“We invested well over £100,000 in designing, developing, testing and bringing Centaur to market,” added Richard. “At the time this was the largest amount we’d ever invested in one new product, but we did so with confidence that it had the potential to solve a major safety issue and fill a gap in a growing market sector – a confidence that was quickly proven to be well-placed.”

ETS Cable Components are UK distributors of Ellis cable cleats, for more information on the Centaur range or to place a quote, please contact our Sales Team.

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Held at Earls Courts 2, the annual InfraRail exhibition opens it’s doors to the railway infrastructure industry on 20th May. Providing a unique opportunity for the rail market to connection in one place, against a backdrop of business generation, discussion and innovation.

Featuring a myriad of exhibitors, product demonstrations, keynote speakers and seminars, if you have any industry in the rail industry, you’ll be spoilt for choice. With so much going on it can be hard to decide who to see, where to be and when to be there.

Therefore, we’ve picked out where our suppliers will be exhibiting so you can easily find them when at the exhibition.

Achilles Information – Stand D22

Achilles works on behalf of buying organisations to collect, validate and maintain essential data about suppliers. Achilles Link-up is the UK rail industry supplier registration and qualification scheme used extensively by procurement, engineering, safety and quality professionals to source and manage suppliers in an EU compliant way. ETS are a registered memeber of the Link-Up scheme.

Cembre – Stand D51

Cembre, the electrical connection and tooling specialist can be found at Stand D51. They will be showing off their rail & sleeper drills, impact wrenches, trolleys and pandrol clip machines, electrical connection and tooling systems.

Flexicon – Stand E46

A market leading UK manufacturer of both metallic and non-metallic cable protection solutions. Common uses of Flexicon flexible conduits include protection of critical power and data cables in rolling stock and infrastructure applications. All Flexicon’s products are tested and approved to the latest standards.

Hellermann Tyton – Stand B27

Hellermann Tyton, a leading manufacturer of fastening, fixing and cable protection components, will be using InfraRail as a showcase for their ability to provide cable management solutions for the rail industry.

Lucy Zodion – Stand F51

Lucy Zodion is a leader in the design and manufacturer of pre-wired and customised feeder pillers and distribution panels to the UK rail industry. Suitable to withstand a variety of hostile climatic conditions for extended periods of time, virtually maintenance free.

Pfisterer – Stand F61

A leading name in electrical engineering, Pfisterer’s product range includes electrification equipment, switchgear equipment, connectors and trackside power supply equipment.

If you’re yet to register for your ticket you can do so here for free, pre-registering allows you to save £20 compared to buying a ticket on the door.