Cut and Strip: Tips to Prepare Jacketed Aircraft Cable for Assemblies

As you know, Loos & Company manufactures plastic jacketed aircraft cable. Jacketing aircraft cable can provide added cable smoothness in cycling applications, extra corrosion resistance in extreme environments, and added fatigue life if necessary. Jacketed aircraft cable is often used in making cable assemblies, be it for exercise equipment, mooring cables, aircraft flight controls, or any other application where the added benefits of the plastic jacketing can be of use.

When making assemblies with jacketed aircraft cable, it’s very important that the cable be cut using the proper equipment. Tools designed to shear cut aircraft cable and tools that are properly maintained will insure that the internal wires are cut as evenly as possible, avoiding ripped jackets and jagged edges. Well performed cuts reduce the risk of personal injury and make the actual assembly manufacturing process go much smoother. We recommend Felco Cutting tools, which can be purchased through the Loos Cableware Division in Naples, FL.

It’s also necessary that the jacket be stripped off of the cable for the application of fittings. To get the maximum strength from a cable assembly, there needs to be direct contact between the hardware and the strands in the cable. Swaging fittings over the jacket creates a situation in which the strength of the assembly is dictated by the strength of the jacket alone. And plastic is not nearly as strong as steel!

We perform the cutting and stripping operation for all the aircraft cable assemblies we build here at Loos & Company. We also supply customers with lengths of cable that have been cut to length and stripped of the jacket material for assembly at their location.

If you have any questions about the process, or any other aspect of aircraft cable assemblies, feel free to contact a Loos & Company product manager. We’ll be happy to assist you in any way that we can.