Control Cables for Print Heads

An industrial digital imaging company approached CTL Manufacturing when the print heads that they design and manufacture required improvement.

The project involved producing a series of control cables for the print heads that would be durable and reliable.

The units control systems were linked via bespoke umbilical cables comprising an intricate layout of pneumatic tubes and multicore cables. These were up to 8 meters in length and had to be flexible, IP rated for protection from regular stringent cleansing procedures, and resistant to the chemical environments the cables would be housed in.

CTL’s challenge was to re-design the cables to incorporate a fan unit and ancillary brackets, plus performing laser marking of the cables within a very short development window.

Engineers at CTL have a wealth of combined experience and skills in building complex cable assemblies. They were able to develop a process for hand building the umbilical cables, which would offer greater accuracy of the component layout and enable simpler management of the 8 metre length.

In addition, the cables were built within a controlled and exacting NPI structure with PPAP documentation.