Navigating Fixtures and Fittings when Cable Routing

While cable rods make the process of cable routing much more efficient, there are still many issues faced by electricians. C.K tools identified these key problems:

Flexibility

A 20-30mm gap can be extremely challenging to navigate, especially when blindly fishing for cables in cavities. While many rods eventually find their destination, electricians regularly find that the cable is not in the direct line of the gap. Standard rods that claim to feature high tensile strength struggle to fit in these gaps and cannot bend to reach their destination, leaving electricians with a tough task ahead and quite often, their rods snapping and getting left behind in the fixtures.

Splintering

Every tradesman is well acquainted with cable routing and the subsequent risks of snagging and painful splinters. Pushing and pulling cable rods across rough surfaces causes friction, which can damage the rods and result in splintering. While it’s common to find a set of cable rods wrapped in electrical tape in an electrician’s arsenal to decrease the risk of splintering, bulky tape simply reduces accessibility to smaller holes.

Strength

The tensile strength of cable rods is hugely important when routing cables. Attempting to pull a trapped cable using force can result in rods snapping and disconnecting, losing expensive equipment in the fixtures. Electricians require rods with connectors strong enough to manage the routine task of cable routing and the industry’s standard does not currently stack up to the needs of the user.

Creating a solution

Utilising this insight, C.K tools developed the most advanced cable rod to date, the C.K MightyRods PRO, which is designed specifically to combat these issues, tackling the consequences of friction, including splintering and snapping.

C.K tools introduced SplinterSHIELD, Europe’s first 100 per cent splinter proof material that protects the rods’ fibreglass core. This significant advancement in cable rod technology helps to prevent harmful and painful splintering, removing the need for quick fixes, such as tape, that prevents the rods from working to their full potential.

C.K tools also found that variety is key when electricians are undertaking cable routing. To provide tradesmen with the choice of multiple degrees of rigidity for different applications, the MightyRods PRO is available in a 7mm rigid rod for overhead use, a 6mm flexible rod for most everyday applications, and a 4mm super-flexible rod.

With flexibility the key to success with cable routing, C.K tools introduced the super-flexible 1m SPIRA-FLEX rod, perfect for accessing tight corners, bends or obstacles.  Manufactured from an advanced Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material with a helical profile, the SPIRA-FLEX rod reduces friction as it rides across surfaces, making the act of pulling and pushing a run of rods far easier, particularly in conduits or trunking where there is cabling already in situ.

To support the need for strength when cable routing, the C.K MightyRods PRO boasts an unsurpassed tensile strength of 275kg, which can support the weight of a grand piano! Ensuring that there are no weak links when supporting this kind of weight, the rods are reinforced by triple fixed zinc-plated steel connectors, a feature that eliminates weak joints between rods and allows the product to be used to its full potential without fear of disconnection.