What Are Cable Assemblies?

Val Chepurny / October 25, 2024

What Are Cable Assemblies?

Cable assemblies are bundles of wires or cables combined into a single unit with connectors on each end. They enable the transmission of power, data, or signals between devices, ensuring seamless communication across various systems. We design interconnects and assemblies to meet specific requirements and provide a reliable, organized, and durable solution across industries, including healthcare.

Each cable assembly is custom-built for its intended environment, with critical factors such as length, flexibility, durability, and resistance to water, heat, and corrosion considered. Customizing these features is essential, especially in healthcare, where medical devices are subjected to intense conditions during patient care, whether in the hectic environment of an operating room or literally inside the human body.

Understanding Cable Assemblies: The Foundation of Connectivity

In today’s interconnected world, cable assemblies play a pivotal role in enabling efficient and reliable data transmission. At Onanon, we bill ourselves as a leading medical cable assembly manufacturer – we specialize in creating custom solutions tailored to meet the unique demands of medical devices. Our commitment to quality and innovation ensures that the medical cable assemblies we build deliver seamless connectivity for life-saving applications.

Cable Assembly rendering

What Are Medical Cable Assemblies, and What Makes Them Unique?

Medical cable assemblies are specifically designed to meet the rigorous requirements of healthcare environments – after all, lives depend on it. These assemblies must be highly durable, flexible, and resistant to contaminants such as fluids, dust, and chemicals commonly encountered in medical settings. As a trusted medical cable assembly manufacturer, Onanon has extensive experience in developing solutions that meet the exacting standards of medical devices, ensuring the reliability and safety of every medical cable assembly we produce.

After working with medical device manufacturers and other OEMs for decades, we understand that simplicity is best. Our ability to condense assemblies and redesign devices to remove parts makes the medical environment safer. Over these decades we have ensured the reliability of our products time and time again. Our customers always return when they need other cables or connectors for their medical devices redesigned.

Cable Assembly

Cable Assembly Durability Testing

At Onanon, we understand the critical role that medical interconnects play in patient well-being. Our customers trust the performance and durability of our products because every cable assembly we manufacture undergoes rigorous testing and validation. Whether ensuring a device remains securely attached during a procedure or confirming that a cable assembly can function in wet or harsh environments, our testing processes guarantee that our products are ready for real-world use in critical environments.

These are some of the tests we put our medical assemblies through:

1) Cycle Testing

2) Flex Testing

3) Tensile Testing

4) Drop Testing

5) IP Testing (Ingress Protection Testing)

6) Flammability Testing

Types of Cable Assemblies

Power Cable Assemblies: Used to deliver electrical power to devices, essential in both industrial and medical equipment.

Data Cable Assemblies: Enable the transmission of data, critical in telecommunications and medical diagnostic devices.

RF Cable Assemblies: Designed for high-frequency signal transmission, often used in specialized communication systems and medical technologies.

Fiber Optic Cable Assemblies: Transmit data using light, ideal for high-speed and secure data transfer in medical, and industrial environments.

Magnetic Cable Assemblies: Used especially in the medical field to ensure self-mating connection and custom weight disconnection. Magnetic interconnects are placed at the end of assemblies. Learn more about MagConnect®: https://onanon.com/onanons-magnetic-connector-magconnect/

Custom Cable Assemblies: Tailored to the specific needs of the customer, custom medical assemblies are essential in healthcare where unique environmental factors, such as sterilization, come into play.

As a leading medical cable assembly manufacturer, Onanon specializes in creating custom solutions for a wide range of medical devices, from diagnostic tools to surgical equipment. Our expertise allows us to design custom medical cable assemblies that meet the precise needs of the world’s leading medical OEMs, ensuring reliability and safety in even the most demanding environments. We work directly with our customers to understand the purpose of the device and meet their needs.

Onanon also specializes in MagConnect® or our self-mating magnetic connector. It helps to create a safer environment given its ability to release when pulled on. This is especially important in a medical or industrial setting where there is dangerous and expensive equipment. Tripping on a cable could potentially damage the equipment, hurt the person or both. Onanon created a solution to mitigate this risk.

The Importance of Cable Assemblies

Medical cable assemblies are critical for several reasons:

– Organization: Proper cable management reduces the risk of disconnections or malfunctions during medical procedures.

– Durability: High-quality products are designed to withstand wear and tear, environmental exposure, and physical stress. This ensures longevity and reliability in medical devices.

– Customization: Every healthcare device has unique requirements. Onanon’s custom cable assemblies are tailored to meet these needs, whether for surgical devices, patient monitoring systems, or diagnostic equipment. At Onanon, we are regularly asked to provide custom solutions, such as adding features like LEDs or EEPROMs to a medical cable assembly.

The Future of Medical Cable Assemblies

As healthcare technology advances, the demand for high-performance medical cable assemblies will only increase. Innovations such as miniaturization, faster data transmission, and enhanced durability are shaping the future of cable assembly design. At Onanon, driven by our “GSD” (“Get Stuff Done”) mantra, we are continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible. We develop next-generation solutions that meet the evolving needs of the healthcare industry.

Medical cable assemblies are a vital yet often overlooked component of modern healthcare technology. They ensure the smooth transmission of power and data in medical devices, enabling them to function effectively and safely. As a trusted medical cable assembly manufacturer, Onanon remains committed to delivering innovative, reliable solutions that meet the unique demands of the healthcare industry.