Umbilical Cables for Pipe Inspection Equipment

Ultrasonic non-destructive testing solutions were the topic of the most recent challenge for CTL Manufacturing engineers.

A UK producer of ultrasonic scanners for corrosion mapping, weld testing and pipe crack detection recently approached CTL to enquire about the assembly of complex cables to fit their equipment.

The current umbilical cables have an unusual and complex structure, comprising coaxial cables, pneumatic tubes and multicore cables to link the scanners’ control systems. They can also be up to 50 metres in length, which produces its own challenges and therefore, the layout and structure of the cables required simplifying.

Each umbilical cable had to be flexible, durable and capable of withstanding harsh environmental conditions for use in the marine offshore and nuclear industries. Furthermore, every cable had to be manufactured in a single continuous length and to a specific structure to suit the scanning equipment, instigating CTL’s choice to build the cables by hand for accuracy.

CTL’s expertise enabled the simple development of a process for hand building the 10 to 50 meter length cables with the exact component layouts that were required. The cables were successfully built within a week of receiving the order to meet the customer’s stringent timescales. CTL have been asked to build more in the near future, when engineers will also be sourcing the components to offer the customer competitive pricing.

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