Why sort cable by family first
Cable buyers often meet the same product under several names: a Chinese type code such as YJV, a European designation such as H07V-R, a US type such as THHN, or a marketplace title that mixes all three. The name matters less than the construction behind it. Strandquay sorts the range into three families because each family is made in different clusters, tested in different ways and packed differently. Power and special cables come mainly from Yixing and Guanlin in Jiangsu, Ningjin in Hebei and Wuwei in Anhui; optical fibre and fibre cable from Wuhan Optics Valley and Qidu in Wujiang; LAN cable and cords from Humen in Dongguan. Knowing the family tells the desk which partner plants to shortlist before any detail is discussed.
The 16 lines below each have a page with a numbered cross-section, the layer options that can be customised and the usual packing. Power and building figures are reference models from a partner plant catalogue; fibre and data figures are reference constructions from public datasheets. They are starting points for a spec sheet, not measured values for your order.
The sixteen lines at a glance
| Family | Line | Reference construction | Main standard route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power and energy | LV XLPE power cable | 0.6/1 kV Cu/XLPE/PVC 4x25 mm2 | IEC 60502-1 |
| Power and energy | MV power cable | 8.7/15 kV Cu/XLPE/CTS/PVC 3x95 mm2 | IEC 60502-2 |
| Power and energy | Armoured cable | 0.6/1 kV Cu/XLPE/STA/PVC 4x35 mm2 | IEC 60502-1, BS 5467, BS 6724 |
| Power and energy | Aluminium power cable | 0.6/1 kV Al/XLPE/PVC 4x95 mm2 | IEC 60502-1, IEC 60228 |
| Power and energy | Fire-resistant and LSZH cable | 0.6/1 kV Cu/Mica/XLPE/LSZH 4x25 mm2 | IEC 60331, BS 6387, BS 8519 |
| Power and energy | Solar PV cable | H1Z2Z2-K 1x4 mm2, DC 1.5 kV | EN 50618, IEC 62930, UL 4703 |
| Building and control | Building wire | 450/750 V PVC single core 2.5 mm2 | IEC 60227, UL 83, TIS 11 |
| Building and control | Flexible cord | 300/500 V 3x1.5 mm2 PVC cord | IEC 60227, IEC 60245 |
| Building and control | Control cable | 450/750 V Cu/PVC/PVC 7x1.5 mm2 | Per market standard |
| Building and control | Instrumentation cable | 450/750 V Cu/PVC/braid/PVC 4x1.5 mm2 | Per market standard |
| Fibre and data | Optical fibre | G.652.D single-mode, 125 um cladding | ITU-T G.652.D, G.657 |
| Fibre and data | Indoor fibre cable | 12-core tight-buffered, 0.9 mm buffers | Telcordia GR-409, EN 50575, NEC 770 |
| Fibre and data | Outdoor fibre cable | GYTS 24-core loose tube, PSP | Telcordia GR-20 |
| Fibre and data | ADSS aerial cable | 24-core ADSS, 100 m span class | IEEE 1222, IEC 60794-4-20 |
| Fibre and data | FTTH drop and patch cords | GJXFH flat drop 2.0x3.0 mm | G.657, IEC 61753-1 |
| Fibre and data | LAN and coax cable | Cat6 U/UTP 23 AWG 4-pair | TIA-568, NEC 800 |
Power and energy cables
The power and energy family carries power from transformers and inverters to boards and loads. Low voltage XLPE cable at 0.6/1 kV is the workhorse; medium voltage cable adds semiconductive screens and a copper tape screen, with IEC 60502-2 classes from 3.6/6 to 18/30 kV. Armour is added for burial and mechanical protection: steel wire for multicore cable, aluminium wire for AC single core, steel tape where the standard allows it. Aluminium conductors cut weight and cost on large feeders. Fire-resistant cable is tested for circuit integrity in a fire to IEC 60331 or BS 6387 per test report, which is a different property from flame retardance or a CPR class. Solar PV cable is a single-core DC cable with tinned Class 5 copper and cross-linked halogen-free insulation and sheath.
Building and control cables
The building and control family covers wiring inside buildings and plants. Building wire is single-core PVC insulated conductor pulled into conduit, sold under IEC 60227 designations in most markets, as THHN/THWN-2 or XHHW-2 in the US and to TIS 11 in Thailand. Flexible cords connect appliances and portable equipment and use Class 5 conductors. Control cable carries signals and small loads between panels and field devices, with numbered cores; instrumentation cable adds a tape and braid screen to protect low-level signals from interference.
Fibre and data cables
The fibre and data family starts with the fibre itself: G.652.D single-mode for most networks, bend-insensitive G.657 for drops and indoor routes, and OM3, OM4 or OM5 multimode inside data centres. Indoor cable uses tight buffers and aramid yarn under a PVC or LSZH jacket; outdoor cable uses gel-filled loose tubes, a central strength member and a PE sheath; ADSS hangs between poles on its own aramid strength; FTTH drop cable takes the fibre into the premises. LAN cable and coax complete the family; category cable requires solid copper conductors.
How to brief a type you cannot find here
- Give the designation and standard from the drawing or tender, for example BS 6724 or EN 50618, rather than a marketing name.
- State voltage, cores and cross-section, or fibre count and fibre type for optical cable.
- Name the installation: conduit, tray, direct burial, aerial span, data hall or plenum.
- Add the market, because the same construction may need a CPR class, a UL listing or a TIS licence depending on where it is installed.
The desk turns that brief into a spec sheet and matches plants that make the construction; the power cable buying guide and the fibre optic buying guide list the fields to fix. Typical minimums are on MOQ and lead time.