Securing Low Voltage Wires With Compression

What is the width and depth of the groove? What are the operating conditions (temperature & presence of oil etc.)?

Zip strips? Or a bar pressing down on the cables, with the bar secured in place using zip strips?

I have no idea what standards you must comply with, but here are a few ideas:

I would not compress the wire. However, mill a groove into the raceway that is wider than the wire and deeper than the wire depth + the width of the grove.

Drop the wire into the grove and tuck a length of rubber rope over it to secure the wire.

I use the same stuff you buy at the hardware store for securing screen material into aluminum frames. Select a size that is just larger than the wire's diameter (they make sizes from 3/32" and up) and make the groove width so that the rubber rope just squeezes in with a bit of force. You can use the same tool they use to fix screens to drive the rubber rope into the groove.

You can add a bit of silicone sealant if you are paranoid about it coming out. I use this same method for routing the wires for a throttle grip down the throttle arm of one of our UAV flight controls for the military and have had no issues with it at all, but your requirements may be different.

A more robust method is to buy some aluminum tubing that you can thread the wire though and secure the tubing to the metal raceway with pins, epoxy, or even a spot weld.

Lastly, if you want to do a little more machine work, but avoid epoxy and welding, mill a groove and make an aluminum plate that screws in with flat head machine screws as a cover plate.

If you want a more serious solution, then we need to know more information such as prints of the components and what environment and codes or certification standards you must meet.

You have a stiff challenge ahead of you. Wire insulation diameters have a HUGE tollerance (Like +/- 15%) and compression for total length means huge efforts to insert the largest diameter into a slot small enough to hold the smallest.

Your slots should have local thinning to capture the insulation. Maybe three sets along the length you wish to retain, but could be more depending on relative vibration and such once the wires are installed. We used "V" shapes and "D" shapes in plastic. Both are machineable if the cutter is narrower than the final trench and you cut the path along one side and then back the other.

Another option is to incorporate a "zig-zag" in the trench. The stiffness of the copper and insulation again create local pressure points where the wire changes direction providing a friction capture. This could be cut in a single pass.

There are other more complicated options that would seem overkill in this application.

In a past life, we used compression to capture and hold automotive wires in place for thousands of applications. From single wires through to bundled multiple wire sets.

Hope this helps. If you need more detail, I'll be watching the thread for a few days.

Hi there try Super glue or a product called:- Loctite ® 7452™ Tak Pak, it's designed for this very task.

regards, cryogen

What about a cover plate secured with countersunk screws?

Potting compound

You have received an innovative selection of solutions to your problem. Just remember that compressive stress on certain wire insulations can result in cold flow and eventual electrical failure. A tragic Apollo accident ocurred as a result of this effect.

Gaffer's Tape with no grooves or Gaffer's Tape with larger grooves. You can easily replace and not have any stress on your wire at all.

I've done a lot of low voltage wiring for audio in studios and Gaffer's Tape works like a charm, is easy to dispence, easy to handle, and reliable under moderate temperatures.

Tucson Don,

Lets go simple, poor a thin layer of epoxy over the leads to secure them.

J. Conway

Mill a slot say .085 wide x .125 deep, then run a .100 dia spherical burr through to undercut (similar to cutting a "T -slot")

The spherical burrs are common in dentistry, and come in HSS and carbide

The wire is then only 'ovalised' during installing, otherwise free to resolve any stresses, but will not escape.

If you find the burrs too fragile, then scale up the width to suit end mills and use a filler, like PVC tube, to keep the wire in one side of the undercut.