Design Guidelines

• Frequency of use.
• Maximum electrical limits - insertion loss, VSWR, phase match tolerance in degrees.
• Connector style(s) required.
• Cable type.
• Details of the bend configuration - this can be provided by a sketch, drawing with orthogonal views, xyz table, or 3D model.
• Details of any required marking.

The cost of your semi-rigid assembly will be affected by the complexity of the finished part. By using the guidelines below, you can keep this cost minimized.

• Use of one bend radius throughout the part.
• No bend angles in excess of 180 degrees.
• Avoid having bends in close proximity to one another.
• Allow as much straight length behind connectors as possible.
• Keep mechanical tolerances as liberal as possible (Storm standard is +/- 0.030").

To achieve the best electrical performance from your semi-rigid cable assembly

• Use the least number of bends possible.
• Use the largest bend radius possible.

Many cable assembly configurations require a layer of heat shrinkable tubing over some portion of the of its formed length. When this insulating layer covers most of the developed length, our operators shrink the tubing over the entire length of the unbent cable stock. The cable is then bent and the layer of tubing is trimmed to the appropriate dimension with a special hand trim tool.

If tubing is necessary over the majority of the cable length, consider the following guidelines:

• Don't position the tubing ends near a bend. It makes trimming more difficult.
• Extend the tubing into the final straight lengths on both ends of the cable assembly.
• Provide sufficient clearance between the tubing and the connectors.
• Allow as liberal a tolerance on the tubing end position as possible