Method for forming a sheathed electrical cable

Abstract

A sheathed electromechanical cable comprises an insulated core and a plurality of strain members in the form of wires or fibers of high tensile strength, sandwiched between the sheath and the core. The sheath is made of a formable material of high tensile strength and which, in combination with the strain members, directly resists tensile and flexion stresses on the cable. The strain members are supplied to the core along a predetermined, converging path and are disposed in uniformly spaced, annular relation relative to the core and brought into snug engagement therewith by drawing through a die, the latter being associated with an extruder device for applying the sheath material around the exposed surface of the strain members. The extrusion period is short and is followed by a quench. The insulated core is composed of a single or a plurality of discrete conductors, with or without individual insulation, and surrounded by a dielectric. In an alternate form of the invention, the strain members constitute the cable core and a jacket of insulating material is extruded about the core. Subsequently, at least one electrical conductor is disposed exteriorly of the jacketed core and which conductor, in turn, may be covered with a wrapping or the like, to maintain the conductor in place on the cable.