Simply put, cable assemblies are wires and cables bundled together with the aim of saving space. Such bundling also makes it easier to track wires and cables that run through various devices. Some of the companies that can benefit from cable assembly include; consumer electronics, industrial designers, automobiles, and healthcare.
There are two types of cable assemblies; standard and custom. Standard cable assemblies are those that are mass-produced from a template. As such, they are standardized for various electrical tasks. Custom assemblies are those that are built specifically for a purpose or a client. They often provide features such as extra insulation and special materials that are not available in standard assemblies.
Choosing a cable assembly manufacturer
Meridian Cable owns and operates manufacturing facilities in both the U.S. and China. For over 20 years, we’ve been helping electrical engineers outsource cable assembly manufacturing and we’ve learned a few things:
Language Barrier
Even though most cable assembly manufacturers usually have English speaking staff, if English is not their first language, there is every chance that they may not fully understand the instructions given to them. Dialog over phone or email may also be problematic making communication difficult.
Meridian eliminates this issue since we have staff in both the US and China who have worked together for over 20 years. We’ve have established a communications structure to accelerate the process and eliminate typical language barriers.
Industry and Product Knowledge
You also need to evaluate your requirements. If you have never designed a custom cable assembly, you should work with a manufacturer who has the experience on staff to understand your specific needs and the ability to match a solution with a proven manufacturing process.
Do they manufacture custom cable assemblies?
A true custom cable company should be able to design AND extrude the raw cable in addition to adding connectors, grommets or assemblies. If not, then you better find a different cable assembly manufacturer.
Track Record and Product Quality
Finally, consider the manufacturer’s ability to develop quality products over and over again. Read customer reviews and client feedback to ascertain this. Ask if they are ISO-9001 certified since this will show they have an established quality system.
Conclusion
Only until all these factors are considered can you expect to find a worthy cable assembly manufacturer. For more than 25 years, Meridian Cable has been designing and manufacturing cable assemblies across many industries, from broadcasting and telecommunications to retail security and industrial controls. Our expertise lies in custom solutions—in fact, more than 70 percent of the products we produce, we design. We excel at product start up, from qualification samples to prototype runs to full pre-production testing and finally volume manufacturing.