News
Published: 6th March, 2009
Press Release
ELLIS PATENTS SETS NEW STANDARDS
The UK’s leading dedicated cable cleat manufacturer, Ellis Patents has raised the industry bar by developing a range of extruded aluminium saddle cleats designed specifically to restrain high voltage cables up to 400kV with a diameter range of 100 to 160mm.
The Centaur range of heavy-duty extruded aluminium saddle cleats was designed specifically to fill a gap in the market that managing director, Richard Shaw, felt presented serious safety risks.
“At present neither the British nor European Standards take into account cleats on cables of this size,” he explained. “As a result, those specifying for such jobs are very much in the hands of the manufacturers, who in most cases simply provide warranties for their products.
“The problem with this arrangement is that none of the limited number of products currently available have been short circuit tested, meaning the warranties are based purely on calculations and mechanical tests. As a result, there is no proof the saddle cleats being used will be able to withstand the most testing elements of the job they’ve been bought for.”
Ellis Patents has rectified this issue by putting the Centaur cleat through the most rigorous of testing procedures. Using cable manufactured by ABB in Sweden, the company shipped its Centaur saddle cleats to the Netherlands where the product was tested to 163 kA peak and 63 kA RMS for one second, in both 3 phase and phase to phase fault scenarios.
“The importance of cable cleats has long been underestimated and when you consider their value doesn’t really come to the fore until they are exposed to short circuit conditions it’s easy to see why,” added Richard. “Having already been put through, and passed, the most aggressive of testing procedures, the Centaur range provides the kind of peace of mind that manufacturer warrantied products simply can’t deliver.”
Remarkably, for what had previously been deemed specialist products, the Centaur range has been put into standard production by Ellis Patents and is available now. Ellis Patents designed and manufactured the new range wholly at its North Yorkshire headquarters,
To find out more about Ellis Patents’ Centaur range, visit www.ellispatents.co.uk or call 01944 758395.
Photographs: Testing times – Ellis Patents Centaur range of saddle cleats is put through its paces in the Netherlands
Video: A CD showing more detail on the Short Circuit Testing is available from our sales office.