Design Trends in Wire and Cable Management Systems
Information Technology Spurs New Solutions


The single largest trend affecting wire and cable management systems is the explosive growth of information technology and the increased reliance of businesses and institutions on high-performance datacomm cabling. Many leading manufacturers now report that more than half of their market for raceways and other systems is for datacomm applications. As a result, manufacturers are developing new products and system enhancements that are taking these systems well beyond their humble origins.

Wire and cable management systems date practically to the dawn of the electrical age, when someone needed to run wire where concealing it was impractical, such as a brick wall. The solution was the raceway: a narrow metal channel that enabled wire to be run across rather than behind a surface. While this development expanded wiring capability, it also contributed to the view that raceways were something of a last resort, to be installed only when there was no other way to get wire where it was needed.
This restrictive view has changed with the development of new wire and cable management solutions.

Design objectives

The rapid development of communications technology shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. What’s more, people are working in ways -- and spaces -- that were unimaginable just a few years ago. As a result, a building’s wire and cable distribution system must be able to be easily upgraded, reconfigured, and relocated. Wire and cable management systems provide facilities with both operational and systems flexibility. Operation flexibility encompasses day-to-day issues such as changing employee teams and the growing use of integrated, multifunctional spaces. Systems flexibility, on the other hand, enables a facility to accommodate new or expanded technologies over the life of the building. These requirements are equally valid in new structures, where architects and engineers seek to design in maximum flexibility, as well as in existing buildings where the emphasis is on retrofits that enhance flexibility.

Another key design objective is enhanced aesthetics. In the early days of the datacomm revolution, many facility managers were willing to sacrifice aesthetics because the benefits of local area networks and other communications systems were so great. More recently, however, an aesthetically pleasing work environment has become a high priority.

A related development that has impacted the design of wire and cable management systems is the well-documented trend toward electrical contractors installing low-voltage systems alongside their former bread-and-butter electrical work. Not only are these contractors learning a new discipline, they are also facing increased pressure brought on by compressed, fast-track construction schedules. Many of the newer wire and cable management solutions have been engineered to provide tangible benefits to contractors and system installers.

Design responses
High-performance cable

The trend toward high-performance Category 5 and fiber optic cabling impacts the design of wire and cable management systems in several ways. Chief among these is the need to ensure the integrity of data transmission by maintaining the specified cable bend radius. In response, The Wiremold Company has developed specialized fittings for raceways and other wire and cable management systems that maintain a 2-inch cable bend radius and prevent damage and loss of cable effectiveness.

While new wire and cable management systems are being designed to meet the requirements of high-performance cable, there are thousands of miles of installed raceway that cannot accept Category 5 and fiber optic cable due to tight corners. The design response to this situation has been to develop retrofit cable bend fittings that install into existing raceways and allow them to accept high-performance cable.

The growth of premises wiring and the trend toward routing these cabling systems in wire management systems has also created a need for a wider array of communication interfaces. Easily interchangeable inserts and a common interface simplify original installation and later alteration of high-performance copper and fiber optic cable. These device plates install into metallic and nonmetallic raceway systems, vertical poles, and a wide range of surface and flush mount boxes.

Flexibility

The general categories of wire and cable management systems -- overhead, perimeter, infloor, and underfloor -- have not changed, but manufacturers are developing products and systems that enhance building flexibility and result in lower life cycle costs. For example, high-capacity, multichannel raceways accommodate the larger number of cables required for a modern workstation while maintaining the flexibility versus in-wall wiring that is the hallmark of the perimeter raceway. Some other recent design innovations include:

Cable tray systems that can be easily maneuvered around building obstructions. These systems are especially important in retrofit applications where wire and cable management must compete for scarce plenum space.
Infloor cellular and duct systems -- ducts, junctions, presets, and activations -- have been redesigned to increase capacity and flexibility.
Service activation fittings that offer both electric power and increased Category 5 and fiber optic cabling capacity.
Aesthetics

Today’s wire and cable management systems are designed to be aesthetically pleasing as well as functional. New generation nonmetallic raceways feature eye-pleasing profiles and are available in a wide range of colors. Specialized materials such as stainless steel, a wide range of color options, and device plates that hide cover seams have improved the aesthetics of metal raceways. System components that are commonly used together, such as raceways and information outlets, are color matched and manufactured for a seamless look.

The push for improved aesthetics is also seen in systems that offer flush and recessed activations that are very nearly invisible. Poke-thru devices, for example, offer receptacles and datacomm ports in unobtrusive flush profiles. High-capacity service activations accommodate more outlets, making them less obtrusive than older, low-capacity fittings.

Installer benefits

Manufacturers of wire and cable management systems are responding to the migration of electrical contractors into low-voltage work by developing fully integrated systems -- so-called end-to-end cabling -- that incorporate connection hardware at the wiring closet and the workstation, as well as flexible, accessible wire and cable management systems. Integrated activation modules, face plates, and mounting bezels offer installation techniques, including snap-in components, that ease the transition into a new wiring discipline.

Electrical contractors and cabling installers are also facing increasing pressure from fast track construction schedules that radically compress the time available for installation. In respond to this trend, manufacturers are expanding the offering of products that help to reduce installation time.

Conclusions

Manufacturers have responded to the growing importance of information technology with wire and cable management solutions that:

Accommodate any and all datacomm cabling that would normally be installed from a telecommunications closet to a workstation.
Ensure maximum operational and systems flexibility.
Enhance workplace aesthetics.
Provide tangible benefits for installers.
Much of the impetus for new wire and cable management products and systems continues to be driven by the need to effectively manage increasingly complex datacomm requirements in business and institutional environments where flexibility is a paramount concern.