Desk Grommets for Wire Management

Desk Grommets are wonderful tool for Wire Management as it manages so many wires without disturbing the beauty of the place, it is used. Grommet is actually a ring inserted into any surface through a hole so that wires can be passed through it. They can be made of plastic, rubber or metals and the surface can be anything like wood, glass, floor or fabric material. They come with collars on their both sides for grip from both sides of the surface on which it is inserted. Normal examples of grommets can be found in our shoes or fabric where it is used to reinforce the hole made in leather or fabric, they are smaller in sizes also called as eyelets.

In Wire Management Desk Grommet has much bigger role to play when cables of different type has to be passed through one side to other side of the surface. It serves the purposes like protecting the cables as well as managing many wires to come through a single outlets making the installation, operation and troubleshooting very convenient. The most common example of this can be found as Desk Grommets which are used on our working computer table where all the electrical wires, data cables, and telecommunication wires coming from the CPU connecting to devices put on the table top. Without grommets it gives very untidy look of loose wires coming from behind the table and also they are dangerous to handle.

When hole is made through the surface, there will be sharp edges which can spoil the cable and wire as the insulation can be damaged due to abrasion if wires are passed though it as such. Grommets provide protection to cables passing through it as it covers all the sharp edges of the hole made on the surface.  Plastic or plastic coated metals are used for grommets manufacturing to shield the outer surface of wires and cables from any physical damages. There are many types of desk grommets and are generally molded, available in different sizes and shapes for different type of Cable Management.

There are special type of strip grommet which can be used to create any shape by own.  Desk Grommets are most used type of grommets in furniture not only for handling computer cables and wires rather they can be used for any other electrical and electronic equipments. Desk Grommets comes with a casing which goes into the hole and one adjustable cover which is used to cover the hole. The cover is kept adjustable to accommodate the space to be covered left after used cables.

Different shapes available in market are like Round shaped and oval shaped and material used is normally plastic or epoxy coated metal. For wire management not only desk grommets are used but also Floor Access grommets are available for managing wires which are coming out from the floor. They are specially made as low profile to provide a smooth finish matching to floor with rotating type of cover to protect the wires.

There is some advanced type of grommets like Power Tap Grommets and Retractable Power and Communication Center which comes with some sockets molded in it making it easy and quick to connect any wires through it. Power Tap grommets come with power sockets and Ethernet or USB socket molded in it making it ready to use and a more flexible type of connection where there can be temporary connections are required.  Retractable grommets are excellent wire managers, designed vertically and can be retracted fully inside the table hiding power and data cables. The best part of these types of grommets is that they are easy to install as a unit and if a standard hole is there in the surface then no skilled person is required for its installation.

Cable Management Tools for Computer Networking

Cable Management is very important at every place we go but in case of handling Computer Networks, it has much more importance. Computer Network is a combination of different hardware components to interconnect a number of computers fro sharing information and resources. Any two computers connected to each other with any thing sharing through any channel will be called a computer network and this number can be any number of computer and other peripherals.

It can be a simple need in a house where one printing machine is shared by two computers kept in two rooms and those computers are connected through any channel so that both can access this common printer without physically going to Printer machine. This is the simplest example of sharing resources. Another example can be sharing the software between two persons working at same place, one computer with software installed and the other machine just using it without installing in second machine.

In both the case we are doing cost cutting on purchasing separate tools for each computers by taking computer networking as an alternative solution. Cable Management for such networking will be very simple as we need very basic components like a coaxial cable and cable connectors for connecting two computers and one printer which may be located at some distant places from each other. Software will be required in that case which will allow the two machines to communicate with each other normally known as Network Operating Software.

This example was just a simple network of two machines so we said it comfortably that cable management is too easy but just increase the numbers. Let us assume a network of 100 computers, one Projector, ten printers, five scanners, five cameras , fifty computers for simple data entry, ten computers for designing jobs, ten for programming and rest are for the purpose of official management. Besides these other normal facilities like telecommunication and internet connections, audio video cables and electrical power cables will also be required for such a set up and the actual Cable Management has to take place for such a big infrastructure. These all equipments may be installed on a single floor in close proximities or can be installed in different sections and one section can be far from the other section or even two or more floors are to be used.

Cable Management begins actually when the construction starts keeping in mind all of our present requirements as well as possible provisions for future extension in case of any addition of equipments. In parallel it has to be concerned with the troubleshooting, replacing or addition of new connections, providing sufficient protection to cables and wires. According to wiring standards, different treatments have to be given to cables carrying power from those carrying other signals. We need to identify all these sections and accordingly all the arrangements for wiring have to be designed.

For such big computer networks, generally there is a Client-Sever type of network where one or more than one Server Computers can be there and all the remaining networked computers are connected through each other through this server. This server can have all the information stored and other client computers can access from it. Server computers are much more sophisticated machines than normal used machines with much faster processors and storage capacity.

In Computer Networks, cable management has to be done in such a way that all the cables coming from it should reach the client computers considering the following points

• Server machines being very sophisticated and sensitive, they have to be kept in a very structured manner and the wires coming out from it has to be kept very neatly and tidily. Server enclosures racks are use to house them with proper ventilation and having cable slots for adding removing cables without disturbing servers.
• Length of cables should be minimum to avoid any data loss and also as cost factor
• Cables should not bend when travelling from one place to other place.
• It should not be exposed to open and it should not be affected by normal human traffic and human traffic should also not be disturbed by cables.
• Proper cover and protectors to be used for protecting them from damages
• To avoid the electromagnetic interferences power cables has not be laid with other data cables or they should not cross each other by any angle other than right angle.
• Coding of each cable for identification during installation or troubleshooting.

Looking at all these requirements we have the following tools for cable management for computer networks –
• Patch Cords Cat5E or Cat6 – Electrical or optical cable used to connect one computer to another for signal routing, different type of devices like router or switches also can be connected. Cat5E and Cat6 are the most common used type with a slight difference of speed and frequency.
• Networking Tools – Wire Stripper, Crimping Tools, Punch Down tools and network tester are the most common tools for networking.
• Patch Panels – Patch Panel is a panel of different networking ports contained together for routing cable to different devices. This panel makes the arrangement of different circuits by plugging or unplugging patch cords.
• RJ 45 Jacks and modular plugs – Modular connectors, for balancing signal transmission of insertion loss and crosstalk, can be combined with wall plates, surface boxes or patch panel.
• Neat Patch Cable Storage Manager – An ideal solution for bundling and storing a large amount of cables, used by different networks, into an organized and neat compartment.

• Junction boxes – Junction boxes are used where wire from different circuits are coming to one common point, can be concealed easily in wall with just the outer lid visible which can be opened anytime without disturbing the complete concealed wire.
• Wiring Ducts – Very flexible way of bundling and routing of loose wires, comes with fingered wall for taking any connection out without any complication.
• Wall Plates – wall plates can be taken as the final place of cables terminating at user end with a socket mounted on it, and patch cord be taken out from it by simply inserting the jack into it. Unplugging is also very simple.
• Velcro – Velcro is a temporary and instant solution for bundling cables generally used for conference rooms where the needs may be temporary as well as uncertain.
• Power tap Grommets – Basically a Grommet, with facility of power socket with the power panel is hidden behind a sliding latch. For use just slide the latch, insert the power plug and when work is over, pull the plug and slide the latch back.

Cable Protectors Cord Cover

If you are looking for cable and wire management for your home wiring, I think that the first thing you must be looking for protecting the cables from any type of external damages and at the same time protecting people from these wires. The wires have to be protected from dust, heat, friction, vibration, scratches, punctures and normal climatic effects. This is never possible to plan our all wires and cables concealing in the concrete or wooden surfaces as there may be frequent changes with new equipments or new settings. So there are so many wires which have to be managed with some flexible natured Cable Protectors.

Look at a few different situations when we need to hide the power cable going from power socket to a new wall mount TV set and we want it to do without disturbing the existing decoration of wall with conditions of no drilling and no repainting. This situation is more serious if we need to attach some audio video cables or adding any other devices. There will be so many of wires which can be hanging and visible also in some untidy manner. Another case will be like shifting your one of the study table or computer to your bedroom from any other room for some reasons and you can’t do a permanent wiring for this. One more case is like going for a new chandelier to be fit in your drawing room and a few decorative lamps you want to put on your study table or any other cabinet etc.

Imagine all these wires running open through the room disturbing the normal traffic as well as increasing chances of damage of wires. It can be more problematic at houses where kids and pets are there to do so many naughty acts. Pets have a tendency to chew wires as pass time activity that can be dangerous for the pet as well as the complete wiring system. So what we need is to cover all the wires and cables to protect them from any possible damages as well as making the out of reach of kids and pets. This is not only required for covering or protecting the wires rather it increases the life of our wiring system and reduces the maintenance costs also. Let us have a look for a few wonderful Do It Yourself type solutions as wire hider, cord cover or cable protector.

Cable Raceways – One of those very basic covers are known as cable raceways, comes with self adhesive Locking Channels which can be mounted very easily on any surfaces without any drilling. These can be used for multiple wires and are available in different sizes and further can be cut to produce any desired shape. Just we need to cut them to desired sizes, peel off the adhesive backing and put on the surface, put the wires in it, push the cover on it and it will be locked very safely concealing all the wires inside it. There are hinged type of cable raceways also available which is much easier to use. These can be painted to any colors very easily to match the color of the surface on which they are to be used.

Lamp and Chandelier Cord Covers – A beautiful Lamp Shade or  a chandelier used not for only lighting purpose rather for it’s beauty and so their accessories are also to be beautiful. It will be very unprofessional way to expose the normal power cable coming out of a beautiful carved lamp shade. This is going to spoil all the beauty. Same can be seen in case of a beautiful, delicate and costly chandelier. In such cases we need to have some special type of cable covers which are not only useful for protection but at the same time they can add or at least match to the product. Special purpose designer cord covers are available in market which are made of Dupioni silk, are the ideal way to hide those messy, ugly wires that spoils the beauty of such products.

Sidewinder Cable Protector – Another special purpose,  Sidewinder cable covers are available that can bend or curve as per our routing requirement such as going around corners to fit  the layouts of any room.   This comes with a unique feature that the wire can be inside and the whole bundle of wire can be looped so that it can be moved as such to any other places and ready to use for a special type of equipment.

 Wire looms – A wire protector that provides an efficient solution to store long wires. In terms of efficiency and protection from scratches to punctures, from vibration to friction wire loom is the product for you. Wire loom is perfect for wrapping up and organizing your cables in a safe and tidy manner. Why to create a mesh of numerous tangled wires and cables, when you can achieve it through one single neat and organized cable bundle.

Spiral Wraps – Spiral wraps are used  to provide insulation as well as abrasion protection to the wires. Bundling of wire is made much easier with the help of spiral wraps and they can be reused or reapplied with much easiness.  Spiral wraps are ideal for use on long wires.

Velcro Hook and Loop Fasteners

In my last blog I mentioned the qualities of cable ties and their numerous day to day applications. Only one shortcoming could be found with those cable ties that they were for one time use only. We need them for so many applications where it has to be reused also and for that purpose we have a product named Hook and Loop Fastener with a much commonly known brand name as Velcro®.  These Velcro® straps or Hook and Loop Fasteners, it is easy to use, safe, and maintenance free with a nominal decline in effectiveness even after many fastening and un-fastenings making it reusable.

Normal Hook-and-loop fasteners consist of two parts, two lineal fabric attached to the opposing sides to be fastened. One surface has tiny hooks while the opposite surface has smaller and “hairier” loops. When the two surfaces are pressed together, hooks catch in the loops and both surfaces fasten temporarily. For un-fastening it, these two surfaces can be pulled apart simply. It is such a strong fastener that even a square piece of 2 inch can support approx 80 Kgs of weight.

Due to its ease of use, these Velcro® Hook and Loop fasteners are useful for every possible application where temporary fastening is required. When I quote every possible application, I mean it. Look around yourself and you will find it everywhere. Traditional zips replaced by Velcro® in our cloths, shoe laces are replaced by Velcro®, adjustable compartments in Bags and other luggage units like briefcases, for holding carpets together, floor tiles, diapers and so many in normal day to day applications. Cloths and shoes using Velcro® fasteners are very useful for physically challenged people, elderly persons and children as they are easy to use as well as maintenance free too.

These Velcro® Hook and Loop fasteners are not used in these day to day applications only rather they are used in areas like medical, space shuttle, Astronaut’s space suit, Defense Forces, Heavy Duty for Industrial application. For Armed forces, a different version of Velcro® is also available, which does not make that usual noise when nu-fastening.

Hook and Loop Wraps are the optimal solution to cable and item management, providing with a method to secure and identify contents quickly, while also ensuring easy access for re-work and maintenance. A flexible and versatile cable management product used for many diverse applications such as: fiber optics, cord and cable management, home theatre, data cables, telecom, sporting goods, packaging, medical devices, in-plant maintenance, and appliances.

Interestingly, the idea of Velcro® was originated by observing seeds of Burdock, which due to its so many miniature hooks on it, sticks with any of cloth or fur coming in contact with it. The idea initiated with this observation and after so many trials and modifications, its commercial version was made available to the world.

Cable Ties

One fine day I just tried to look around for those most versatile and useful things in our day to day life which are not visible but their contribution towards arranging our life can not be ignored. I tried for all type of those not-so-important looking things very minutely. Starting from my computer table in my study room to Bedroom, Living room to garage, kitchen to toilet, from home to office – I searched for  every other activity. Interestingly one thing I found which was still ignored by most of us – Cable Ties. I found it everywhere playing equally important role whether Industrial or house hold applications, indoor or outdoor.

With this observation I started gathering information regarding cable ties and found amazing variety and wide application of these cable ties. The most common applications for cable ties is supporting and holding cables, wires, and other objects in place using virgin nylon resins in the manufacturing of most types of cable ties to ensure strength, reliability and durability.

In its most general form a cable tie consists of a nylon strip with a geared rack with one ratchet cased in an open case at one end. Once the cable tie inserted through the open case past the ratchet, the ratchet assures that this can not be pulled back through and only tightening of cable ties is possible. Thus a loop is formed and it can be used for holding a bunch of several wire cables. A tensioning device is also used like Cable Tie Gun which can apply a particular degree of tension and may cut the remaining, extra tail.

Normal cable ties are known as one time use device as it is destroyed by cutting them to open once they are tightened. Sometime, if required to open the same for reusing, it is possible to release the ratchet from rack with help of any sleek screw driver. Not only this, there are reusable cable ties also which are known as Velcro cable ties and these can be opened and reused many times. Inside a desktop computer or printers, cable ties are used to hold the cables inside it and outside same cable ties can be used for arranging our different wires coming out of different gadgets.

Cable ties have unlimited applications such as in households, offices, manufacturing industries, automobile industries, marine industries, electronic industries and many more. We can see these cable ties used for any temporary locking system even like at Airports. Even at few places it is used as a temporary handcuff by policemen. It can be used for wired fencing, holding the branches of small plants in gardens, for cabling of audio video equipments at home and office, Packaging industry, transportation and what not.

Looking at the variety of cable ties there are so many depending upon the application. Stainless Steel Cable Ties are particularly useful in applications where corrosion, vibration, general weathering, radiation and temperature extremes are a concern. Stainless Steel Cable Ties can be installed indoors, outdoors, or underground if necessary. Stainless Steel Cable Ties are particularly useful in applications where corrosion, vibration, general weathering, radiation and temperature extremes are a concern.

Metal detectable cable ties using Nylon material blended with iron, providing magnetic properties throughout cable ties comply with the food, beverage and pharmaceutical safety standards and so they are used in specific industry.

This range goes up to Tefzel cable ties- most ideal for applications requiring resistance to environmental stresses such as chemical attack,  ultraviolet radiation and extreme temperatures for use in nuclear power facilities and chemical processing plants.