email | print

High Performance Wire and Cable Section

The NEMA High Performance Wire and Cable Section develops technical standards and guidelines in four areas:

• Aerospace  
• Electronics/communication  
• Premise wiring  
• Shipboard

The section also works to influence government affairs and trade issues, and has the capability to collect market statistics and develop marketing programs along industry product lines.

Specific technical activities include:

• EAW– Electronic Appliance Wires -  NEMA WC 73  
• Aerospace  – Maintains a number of NEMA Standards amongst each the most popular are HP 3 and HP 4, WC 27500. The Committee is also looking to transport other mil specs into voluntary NEMA Standards.
• Premise Wiring – ANSI/NEMA WC 66, the first category 6 and 7 cable standard approved as an American National Standard; NEMA WC 63.1-Coaxial Cable Standard and others. 
• Shipboard – NEMA is working with NAVSEA to update documents that eventually will be transferred to NEMA as voluntary standards.  

The Section maintains a liaison with American National Standards Institute (ANSI), American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), Building Industry Consulting Services Inc. (BICSI), Council for Harmonization of Electrotechnical Standards of the Nations of the Americas (CANENA), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), Defense Industry Supply Center, Naval Air Warfare Center, Naval Air Sea Command, Society Aeronautical Engineers, Telecommunications Industry Association and UL. 

Scope

• Wires and cables, produced to both domestic and international standards and specifications, which are used primarily with devices which produce, transmit, receive, detect, distribute, control, record, or modify electrical signals and power.  
• Specifically included  are insulated signal and communications wire and cable, including voice and data types used for internal premises wiring, and such products as coaxial cable, microphone cable, hookup wire, appliance wiring material, multiconductor electronic cable, flat cable, motor lead wire, power-limited circuit cable, CATV drop and trunk lines, thermocouple wire, shipboard, airframe, automotive, and transit wire and cable.  
• Excluded are exterior telephone (distribution) cables and other wire and cable types, which are specifically included in the scope of any other NEMA product section.

Click here for detailed product scope information.

Technical Activities

Standards play a vital part in the design, production, and distribution of products destined for both national and international commerce. Sound technical standards benefit the user, as well as the manufacturer, by improving safety, bringing about economies in product, eliminating misunderstandings between manufacturer and purchaser, and assisting the purchaser in selecting and obtaining the proper product for his particular need.

NEMA devotes much of its time, effort, and resources to voluntary standardization activities.  Many NEMA standards are approved as American National Standards under the procedures of the American National Standards Institute.

1. The High Performance Wire and Cable section technical activity is performed by 4 technical committees:
-  Aerospace Wires and Cables
-  Shipboard Wires and Cables
-  Electronic Appliance Wires (EAW)
-  Premise Wires and Cables – communication cables.

The meetings are attended by a substantial number of invited guests from the major jacket materials and core cable industries as well as NAVY representatives and large military contractors.  For the commercial oriented activities of the last two committees National Recognized Testing Laboratories representatives attend meetings regularly.

2.  Standards the section is responsible for, by technical committee, include:

-  Aerospace
Develops and maintains voluntary NEMA Standards that evolved from military specs or were developed at the military requests. Relevant standards in the Committee purview are:

•     WC 27500 ANSI/NEMA Standard for Aerospace and Industrial Electrical Cable
•  HP 3     ANSI/NEMA Standard for Electrical & Electronic PTFE Insulated High Temperature Hook-Up Wire Types 600 V, EE 1000 V, ET 250 V
•  HP 4     ANSI/NEMA Standard for Electrical & Electronic FEP Insulated High Temperature Hook-up Wire, Types K, KK and KT
•  WC 52  NEMA Standard for High Temperature & Electronic Insulated Wire - Impulse Dielectric Testing
•  WC 56  NEMA Standard for High Temperature & Electronic Insulated Wire- Impulse Dielectric Testing
•  WC 62  NEMA Standard for Repeated Spark/Impulse Dielectric Testing
•  WC 65  NEMA Standard for A Reasoned Approach to Solving Solderability Problems with Tin-Coated Nickel-Coated Stranded Conductors in High Performance Wire & Cable Applications 
•  WC 67  NEMA /ANSI Standard for Uninsulated Conductors Used in Electrical & Electronic Applications
•  WC 72.  NEMA Standard for Continuity of Testing for Electrical Conductors
  
  

Currently the Aerospace Committee is in the final stages of approval for the following documents:

• HP5      Electrical and Electronic Crosslinked, Modified Polyethylene (XLPE), Insulated, 125°C Hook-Up Wire, Types L, LL, and LX
• HP6      Electrical and Electronic Silicone and Silicone Braided Insulated, 150°C and 200°C Hook-Up Wire, Types S, SS, and SSB Braided
• HP7      Electrical and Electronic PVC, and PVC/Nylon, and PE/Nylon 150ºC Hook-Up Wire, Types B, C, D, BNJ, CNJ, and DNJ, and Type J 75ºC
• HP8      Electrical and Electronic Crosslinked, Modified Low Smoke Polyolefin (XLPO) Insulated 90°C, 105°C and 125°C hook-up wire types LS, ZHDM, ZHDH, ZH, ZHX

The committee started also to work on converting to a voluntary NEMA standard the Mil-DTL-55021 specification on Electrical, Shielded Singles, Shielded and Jacketed Singles, Twisted Pairs and Triples, Internal Hookup Cable: Types X and XX Electrical, Shielded Singles, Shielded and Jacked Singles, Twisted 2 –5 Conductors Shielded, Shielded and Jacketed Internal Cable: Type 1 and Type 2.

-  Shipboard -
The technical committee is presently in charge of:

• WC 61 Standard for Transfer Impedance Testing

The Committee is also very active in helping NAVSEA improve its mil specs.
Presently targeted are a number of documents such as
MIL-DTL-24640
MIL-DTL-24643 – The committee proposed replacing /59 with three documents /59 /60 and /61, respectively type LSC5FS cables, type LSC5 and LSC5W and typeLSC5P, LSC5POS and LSC5POSR.  Navy approved the drafts created by the TC in 2005.
Members have also provided extensive input for other slant sheets such as /63/ 64 as well as /62 Profibus, /65 coax, etc.
MIL-DTL-915.

-  Electronic Appliance Wires (EAW)
The committee is responsible for:

• WC 73      Standard for Wire Selection Guidelines for Wires Rated at 200-450^ºC
•  HP 100     Standard for High Temperature Instrumentation and Control Cables

-  Premise Wires and Cables
Standards in purview of this committee are:

• WC 63.1   NEMA Performance Standard For Twisted Pair Premise Voice And Data Communications Cables
• WC 63.2   ANSI / NEMA Performance Standard for Coaxial Premise Data Communications Cables
• WC 66      ANSI / NEMA Performance Standard For Category 6 And Category 7 100 Ohm Shielded And Unshielded Twisted Pair Cables

4.  The Appliance Wire committee is very involved in the standardization activities of UL 758 as well as its Canadian counterpart CSA 220.2.  Presently members started an effort to harmonize the two documents.

5.  The Premise Wire committee has embarked on a harmonization project with the Insulated Cables Engineering Association relative to Cat 6 and Cat 7 cables.  The result will be two ANSI approved joint documents covering these increasingly popular communication cable categories.
The Premise Wire committee has also a close liaison with BICSI to ensure proper installation of cables.  Committee members also have interests in National Electric Code (NEC) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 90A (Air conditioning) especially related to limited combustible cables.  NEMA direct representatives in these bodies are helping members convey their opinions to these regulatory bodies.
The Electronic Appliance Wire Committee has a similar relationship with NFPA 79 (Industrial Machinery).

The Technical Project Manager for the 7HW Section is
Eric Schweitzer
Eric.Schweitzer@nema.org
703 841 3276

Government Affairs

Through NEMA, the section develops industry positions on legislative and regulatory initiatives that may affect member products, markets, and customers.   NEMA's work has resulted in contributions to public policy development and in promoting competitiveness, technological progress, and public safety.  On the Government Affairs homepage members can search for and e-mail federal representatives to convey opinions regarding energy policy or other issues related to the electroindustry.

NEMA Government Affairs provides specific services to its members and information in the areas of Environment, Health & Safety; Energy; and International Trade & Commerce. 

Market Economics

Through NEMA, member companies are able to develop and implement tailored, industry-specific market and statistical programs that benefit participating companies. Reports may include:

• Product orders and sales         
• Market forecasting         
• Shipments by trading areas         
• Channels of distribution         
• Financial and operating ratios         
• Wages and benefits         
• Foreign trade

The association also conducts economic analyses on the impact of legislation and regulations on member products, and monitors and reports on key industry market indicators. All programs comply with NEMA statistical confidentiality policies. For more information, please see Business & Economy.

Membership              

Membership in NEMA is open to any firm actively engaged in the manufacture in North America of a product within the NEMA scope and for sale in the open market.   Membership of foreign firms is subject to product section policies and NEMA Board of Governors approval.

NEMA operates on a fee-for-service basis. Each product section establishes its projects and activities and approves an annual operating budget.

For more information on joining NEMA or this section, please see the membership center.

 
Related Standards:

	Electrical and Electronic Silicone and Silicone-Braided Insulated Hook-Up Wire Types S (600 V), ZHS (600 V), SS (1000 V), ZHSS (1000 V), and SSB Braid...
	Performance Standard for Coaxial Premise Data Communications Cables
	Standard for Uninsulated Conductors Used in Electrical and Electronic Applications