Hi I have been in the electrical contracting industry all my working life 40 years and became a member of the NICEIC in 2006. During this time I have come across many problems within installation work does this sound familiar.
Have you ever like I have on numerous occasions been installing armoured cable and had difficulty tightening the gland body and locknut together onto the enclosure whereby you start to tighten the gland body and the locknut continually slips around and around on the inside of the enclosure . Then you try and get a second spanner or grips to hold the locknut which is very awkward and manufacturers make the locknuts so thin these days its almost impossible to grip, you eventually get the gland and locknut as tight as you can and then continue to make the armoured cable off into the gland, you begin to tighten the nut onto the armouring and everything starts to turn the gland and now the cable, its the last thing you want.When this happens its very frustrating and time consuming. There are two things you can do, you can resort to using an old screwdriver and try to hammer the locknut tight not very professional and could cause some damage if using a plastic enclosure, or take it all apart and start again not very good if you have got a long piece of cable going through the gland and you have got to try and get them tight again.
We all know how important it is to achieve good continuity between the armour and the gland especially if the armour is acting as the CPC which is acceptable in most cases an example being a TP+N+E using 4 core cable. I have found a solution for this problem its the TME 20 G. Its a type of bracket which fits between the inside of the enclosure and the locknut, there is no extra drilling involved you drill your 20 mm and 6mm holes as normal insert the gland body with the earth tag through the 20mm hole you've drilled put the TME 20 G over the thread on the inside points facing the locknut then loosely put on your locknut ,line up the 6mm holes on the earth tag, enclosure and TME 20 G insert the 6mm hexagon bolt and washer into the 6mm hole then the square washer and 6mm flange nut on to the hexagon bolt inside. You can then hand tighten the gland body then use your spanner to pinch it up as tight as is required no messing with the two spanners just one on the outside of the enclosure its simple its tight and is definately not going to spin. If you take a minute to think its almost the same as you would normally assemble an armoured cable gland the only extra part is the TME 20 G bracket.
The TME 20 G also provides a convenient connection for your circuit protective conductor where you can insert the bare conductor directly under the square washer or use a ring terminal blue or yellow 6mm or a crimped lug up to 16-6. Once again only one spanner required to tighten this connection again from the outside of the enclosure as the serrated flange nut holds its self once hand tight.
The TME 20 G comes in a pack of two of each of the following - 20mm brackets[GS], square washers[GS], serrated flange nuts[BZP], 6mm x 16mm hexagon bolts[BZP], and 6mm form A washers[BZP].
The TME 20 G is made from galvanised steel and another advantage is when using plastic enclosures, the 20mm bracket provides extra mechanical strength around the gland and under earth tag and the connection for the CPC ensures good continuity.
When using two glands side by side with one 6mm hole for the earth tag the TME 20.1 G can be used it is assembled the same way on the second gland as above for the TME 20 G but the end with the 6mm hole is flat and sits between the inside of the enclosure and the U shaped end of the TME 20 G on the first gland. I have attached some images to make it easier to understand how it all goes together.
The TME will eventually be available up to 75mm that is TME 20 G, TME 25 G up to TME 75 G and a brass version will be available TME 20 B and so on.
For any of you who may be interested, as things progress I will provide more information as this product will be available to purchase on line and over the trade counter later this year.
Best regards
Steve Jones
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Have you ever like I have on numerous occasions been installing armoured cable and had difficulty tightening the gland body and locknut together onto the enclosure whereby you start to tighten the gland body and the locknut continually slips around and around on the inside of the enclosure . Then you try and get a second spanner or grips to hold the locknut which is very awkward and manufacturers make the locknuts so thin these days its almost impossible to grip, you eventually get the gland and locknut as tight as you can and then continue to make the armoured cable off into the gland, you begin to tighten the nut onto the armouring and everything starts to turn the gland and now the cable, its the last thing you want.When this happens its very frustrating and time consuming. There are two things you can do, you can resort to using an old screwdriver and try to hammer the locknut tight not very professional and could cause some damage if using a plastic enclosure, or take it all apart and start again not very good if you have got a long piece of cable going through the gland and you have got to try and get them tight again.
We all know how important it is to achieve good continuity between the armour and the gland especially if the armour is acting as the CPC which is acceptable in most cases an example being a TP+N+E using 4 core cable. I have found a solution for this problem its the TME 20 G. Its a type of bracket which fits between the inside of the enclosure and the locknut, there is no extra drilling involved you drill your 20 mm and 6mm holes as normal insert the gland body with the earth tag through the 20mm hole you've drilled put the TME 20 G over the thread on the inside points facing the locknut then loosely put on your locknut ,line up the 6mm holes on the earth tag, enclosure and TME 20 G insert the 6mm hexagon bolt and washer into the 6mm hole then the square washer and 6mm flange nut on to the hexagon bolt inside. You can then hand tighten the gland body then use your spanner to pinch it up as tight as is required no messing with the two spanners just one on the outside of the enclosure its simple its tight and is definately not going to spin. If you take a minute to think its almost the same as you would normally assemble an armoured cable gland the only extra part is the TME 20 G bracket.
The TME 20 G also provides a convenient connection for your circuit protective conductor where you can insert the bare conductor directly under the square washer or use a ring terminal blue or yellow 6mm or a crimped lug up to 16-6. Once again only one spanner required to tighten this connection again from the outside of the enclosure as the serrated flange nut holds its self once hand tight.
The TME 20 G comes in a pack of two of each of the following - 20mm brackets[GS], square washers[GS], serrated flange nuts[BZP], 6mm x 16mm hexagon bolts[BZP], and 6mm form A washers[BZP].
The TME 20 G is made from galvanised steel and another advantage is when using plastic enclosures, the 20mm bracket provides extra mechanical strength around the gland and under earth tag and the connection for the CPC ensures good continuity.
When using two glands side by side with one 6mm hole for the earth tag the TME 20.1 G can be used it is assembled the same way on the second gland as above for the TME 20 G but the end with the 6mm hole is flat and sits between the inside of the enclosure and the U shaped end of the TME 20 G on the first gland. I have attached some images to make it easier to understand how it all goes together.
The TME will eventually be available up to 75mm that is TME 20 G, TME 25 G up to TME 75 G and a brass version will be available TME 20 B and so on.
For any of you who may be interested, as things progress I will provide more information as this product will be available to purchase on line and over the trade counter later this year.
Best regards
Steve Jones
