What products and services does TE Wire & Cable offer?
TE Wire has been known as a master of temperature sensing and specialty wire and cable since it was first founded in 1941 during WWII. We participate in three main areas of wire and cable: aerospace/composite, OEM, and metallurgy. TE Wire & Cable maintains an in-house laboratory directly certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) allowing it to calibrate its own wire, which, in turn provides a higher quality product with lower cost and improved efficiency. TE Wire is a Marmon Wire & Cable/Berkshire Hathaway company.
Calibration temperature capabilities include cryogenic -320 degrees F (-196 degrees C) and at any point in a range from a low temperature of -110 degrees F (-79 degrees C) through an upper temperature of 2,400 degrees F (1,316 degrees C). TE Wire & Cable’s Calibration Laboratory is ISO9001-2008 certified and ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited. It conforms to MIL STD 45662A, ANSI/NCSL-Z540, AMS2750, ASTM E220, ISO/IEC Guide 25, ASTM E207, and others. Products can be supplied to meet BAC5621, ANSI MC 96.1, and other customer unique accuracy requirements.
What is TE Wire & Cable doing to advance the heat-treating industry?
We’re very proud to announce our latest partnership with Cambridge Enterprises, CCPI-Ltd, and ISOMIL to develop and manufacture a low drift dual wall mineral insulated cable that reduces drift by over 80 percent. This dual wall, low-drift type K and type N mineral insulated (MI) thermocouple cable design was developed to improve temperature measurement accuracy, extend thermocouple life, and significantly enhance drift characteristics.
The new low-drift thermocouple cable design was developed for high temperature thermocouple applications and thermocouple installations that require longer use at higher temperatures. The technology will be of particular interest to those involved in aerospace/aircraft manufacturing for measuring jet engine temperatures and for metallurgy applications like heat treatment.
What are some of TE Wire & Cable’s proudest moments?
Many of the company’s proudest moments have occurred in times of great innovation and collaborative partnerships. We work with and sell to the best in the industry, which makes it very exciting to work at TE Wire.
One great example is our patented, AccuClave® thermocouple assemblies for composites manufacturing operations using large autoclaves. Designed to reduce or completely eliminate the numerous problems associated with hand-made TC cables (i.e., vacuum leaks, reversed polarity, loose connections, and the need for stripping insulation at the vacuum seal, to name a few) this innovative product line is used around the world by many aviation/aerospace manufacturers to monitor composite curing and composite repair. The product family includes extension cables, multiple-circuit cables, and a flat thermocouple for composites repairs with minimal mark-off. All AccuClave products include our easy-to-use TRAC thermocouple traceability, which is a tremendous help in simplifying NADCAP audits.
I’m confident in saying the AccuClave products are the best pre-made thermocouples in the aerospace industry. We’re proud to say that every 787 flying today had our product touch it.
What sets TE Wire & Cable apart when it comes to what you can offer a customer?
We provide our customers with the highest quality products in temperature measurement available today at a competitive price. Beyond that, we go the extra mile to help provide customers with the assurance that they’re selecting the right thermocouple solution for their specific applications. Collectively, the TE Wire team has an incredible knowledge base regarding thermocouple applications that is truly hard to match in our industry. Some of our people have been with us for over 30 to 40 years, helping customers solve their most unique heat-treatment and temperature-measurement challenge.
Where do you see TE Wire & Cable in 10 years? In 20?
I believe that TE Wire will become a much more dominant player in the temperature sensing market and sensing in general. There will be additions to our current product lines as well as new and innovative products to be developed for the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 spaces in the years to come. TE Wire recognizes the importance of the budding IoT industry and that there is a future for itself with this kind of innovation.
Published in the April 2018 Issue of Thermal Processing Magazine