Cable support systems market: development in all directions

A. G. Barskov The

construction boom that swept the country and the increased importance of communication infrastructures determine the growing interest in modern systems for organizing cable routes.

When assessing the market size of cable support systems, Andrey Semenov, Development Director of IT-SKS, refers to the latest BSRIA survey, according to which the total capacity of the Russian SCS market is approximately $ 100 million. Considering the fact that additional components, the lion's share of which are cable support structures cost about the same as elements for transmitting electrical and optical information signals, an IT Co. specialist estimates the market capacity of cable support structures at the same $ 100 million.

At the same time, Andrey Semenov emphasizes that the market of products for the construction of cable routes itself is divided into several segments and the use of cable support systems for laying SCS cables does not take its most significant place. In addition to SCS, power cables, cables of engineering systems, television surveillance systems, industrial automation of security and fire alarms, etc. are laid in cable trays and channels.

Boris Okurenkov, Product Manager of the Moscow office of Schneider Electric, believes that the volume of the Russian market for products for building cable routes is much larger - about 120 million euros. In his opinion, cable channels are still the main solution for laying cable routes and installing SCS in office buildings, but more and more customers are choosing solutions with laying communications in a concrete floor and under a raised floor using floor hatches for connecting workplaces. The growing popularity of open-plan offices is forcing the use of solutions based on service racks (columns). In trunk installations, the share of ladders in the total volume of steel cable trays is growing.

According to Ecoplast specialists, the market for cable support systems in 2007 grew by 30-40% and similar growth rates will continue in the near future. Alexey Artemov, General Director of Ekoplast, explains the steady growth of this market by such factors as the relative stability of the political and economic situation in the country, the overall growth of the economy, production and construction, an increase in the number of reconstructed and constructed new facilities (and, therefore, their engineering systems ).
  
Sergey Soloviev from OBO Bettermann associates the rapid development of the market of products for the construction of cable routes, first of all, with the rapid pace of construction of both residential and service and entertainment facilities, as well as with the development of industry, which requires the reconstruction and expansion of old production buildings. According to him, in the construction of large shopping centers, metal perforated trays are mainly used, and during the reconstruction of industrial facilities - ladder-type trays and reinforced trays to cover large distances (the span between the supports is more than 6 m). Wire trays are becoming more and more widespread when laying SCS, as well as in the food industry - where disinfection of the cable route is required.In the construction of office and exhibition centers, cable ducts made of plastic are still popular, but more and more systems for underground cable laying (hatches in the floor) are used both in concrete flooded and raised floors.

LANmaster believes that the development of the market for products for the construction of cable routes, in addition to the increase in the pace of construction and automation of production, as well as the general growth of the economy, is also influenced by the development of data processing centers (DPC). At these sites, specialized solutions are required for laying cables under raised floors, in conditions of high cable densities and special temperature conditions. Also, when building data centers, cable support systems for optical cable should be more widely used.

Made in Russia

Currently, the ratio between imported and domestic cable support systems is changing towards the latter. So, according to the data provided by the Ecoplast company, in 2004 the volume of the cable channels market amounted to about 10 thousand, and domestic production - 5 thousand, but already in 2007 these figures were 22 and 17 thousand, respectively, those. - the import component decreased from 50 to 23%.

In addition to the fact that the share of standard cable-bearing products (pipes, trays, cable channels, etc.) of domestic production is growing on the market, new domestic products are also appearing, which were previously supplied only from abroad. Examples of such solutions are undoubtedly the systems of floor hatches, electrical columns and mini-columns, as well as smooth and corrugated halogen-free cable pipes.
   According to Aleksey Artemov, leading domestic manufacturers, such as Ekoplast and ZAO DKS, try to provide the consumer with a full range of cable support systems and connection points: pipe systems for cable routing with accessories and fasteners, a wide range of cable channels, wiring products directly for connecting equipment, floor hatches, columns, metal trays. This approach is convenient because installers, installation organizations and consumers have the opportunity to purchase all the necessary cable support equipment in one place, in one company. Financial issues are also important in this case (a larger volume of purchases means a big discount),convenience of logistics and availability of goods in the warehouse - when ordering products from European manufacturers, waiting times can be up to one and a half months.

“Large Russian manufacturers are not only gaining weight and are able to significantly squeeze foreign companies, but in the near future they will be able to successfully enter international markets,” says Alexander Ivashkov, DKS PR manager. “The times of total imports are over. earlier, only the simplest and most demanded products were produced in Russia, but today there are already several fairly large manufacturing companies operating on the domestic market of cable support systems, offering a wide range of high-quality products. " Ten years ago, the DKS company produced only flexible corrugated pipes for electrical wiring, and now its range includes many cable support systems: based on metal and wire trays, plastic and aluminum cable ducts,various pipes for electrical wiring and other products (more than 5 thousand items in total).

According to the data provided by Alexander Ivashkov, today the share of imports is less than 30% of cable support systems, and the annual growth in sales of DKS products is about 50%. “We are growing faster than the market, and our share in it is increasing precisely due to the displacement of imported products, which with the same quality are more expensive and less accessible to the Russian consumer,” he says.

Pavel Utochkin, Marketing Director of Sonet Technologies, notes the rapid growth in demand for Evanter wire trays. This year, company executives plan to increase sales of these trays three and a half times. They are produced in Belarus, but on the same European machines that foreign manufacturers also use, which guarantees their high quality and a much more attractive price. The ability to maintain the low cost of Evanter cable support systems is also due to the fact that only a small number of basic accessories are produced for them. Where special accessories are needed, for example, to install the system under a raised floor, Sonet specialists use foreign-made trays.

Trends

The development of cable support systems is inevitably influenced by such trends in the field of cabling systems as the increase in the size (diameter) of high-performance copper cables and the increasing use of optical cables and components in projects, as well as the growing demand for solutions for data centers and facilities with a cable system under raised floor.

Increasing the size of copper cables

The emergence of Category 6A solutions, especially larger unshielded cables, will inevitably require the use of oversized cable support systems. And this trend is taken into account by most manufacturers of such systems. Thus, LANmaster is currently working on a new line of plastic cable ducts 100 x 60 mm with the possibility of installing dividing partitions, and are also considering the possibility of expanding the range of products by means of ducts with a width of over 100 mm. The new OptiLine 45 cable duct system from Schneider Electric has a special two-piece duct with an enlarged compartment for low-current cables.

Sergey Soloviev from OBO Bettermann, in addition to increasing the diameter and weight of cables, notes an increase in their number due to the saturation of modern buildings with high-performance equipment and systems. All this leads to the need to use cable trays and channels of a reinforced structure and a much larger cross-section. These products include OBO Bettermann's WKLG ladders with wall heights up to 200 mm, SKS and SKSU trays with wall heights up to 110 mm, and large-section boxes GEK and WDK with dimensions up to 100 x 230 mm.

According to Andrey Semenov, at present the overwhelming majority of projects are implemented on the basis of unshielded element base of category 5 or 6. Due to the fact that both cables are close in terms of their weight and dimensions, there are no significant changes in the design of cable routes. And it is difficult to expect them until the moment when the data center market, which is still at the beginning of its development path, begins to play a significant role. Only then it will be possible to expect the use of heavy cables (category not lower than 6A) in large volumes, and they will undoubtedly require corresponding changes in the structures of trays and other elements of the formation of cable routes.

According to Gordey Babaevsky, director of business development at Lindex Technologies, even with the use of category 6A systems, one should hardly expect any fundamental changes in the design of cable routes: “In fact, these are the same cables, only with increased weight and dimensions. take into account only this, that is, provide for cable routes of greater capacity. " Mr. Babaevsky draws attention to one more important point that should be taken into account when discussing trends in the development of cable routes. The fact is that all existing cable routes are used not only and not so much for SCS and other low-current cables, but (and to a greater extent) for power cables. Power cables have always surpassed information cables in terms of their weight and dimensions,so that the cable routes still have a sufficient "margin of safety" for the installation of Category 6A systems.

Growth in the use of optics

Today, there is an obvious trend towards more active use of optical solutions, both in external communication lines and in cable systems inside buildings. Laying an optical cable imposes increased requirements on the characteristics of cable channels and requires the use of specialized accessories and organizers with certain bending radii and flow dividers. And such solutions are in the arsenal of most manufacturers of cable support systems.

If an increase in the size of copper cables leads to the need to use cable channels of a larger cross-section, then the transition to optics, on the contrary, allows them to be reduced. According to Alexander Radostev, Director of the Engineering Systems Department of the Telecom-Service Information Center, previously, in order to save money, companies used mainly copper cables and the structure of the cable system often assumed the presence of one switching center for several floors. Now customers install switching centers on each floor and, instead of copper, connect them with optics, in connection with which the cross-sections of the main (inter-floor) channels can be reduced.

According to Alexander Ivashkov of DKS, the growth in the use of optical cables and components, in theory, could limit the demand for cable channels with forced separation of compartments for power and data wiring. This separation is used to protect information transmitted over low-current lines from distortions that can be introduced by electromagnetic interference from power cables. The information transmitted via optical lines is not threatened by any electromagnetic distortion. Therefore, from this point of view, there is no need to separate power and information lines.

At the same time, we must not forget about such a value of the forced separation of power and data wiring, as ease of installation. "It's no secret that often the installation of power and signal wiring is carried out by different specialists, at different periods of time. From this point of view, the convenience of forced separation of wiring in cable channels will remain relevant even after the total transfer of information lines to optical technologies," says Mr. Mr. Ivashkov.

In the near future, cable channels with forced separation of access to internal compartments designed for different types of wiring may turn out to be more in demand. Such systems are already in the range of DKS products. For example, the new In-Liner Aero aluminum cable duct system, as well as the well-known In-Liner Front plastic duct system, have ducts not only with forced separation of cavities, but also with separate compartment covers. Due to this, the installation of power and information wiring can be carried out at different times, without disturbing the already installed lines.

Installation in floors / raised floors

According to Alexander Radostev from Telecom-Service, the increase in the number of facilities where the cable system is laid under a raised floor has a strong influence on the choice of cable support systems. First, in such projects, instead of stamped trays, wire trays are more often used, since they make it much easier to bypass the frequent "mesh" of raised floor racks. Secondly, when designing raised floors, the number of boxes decreases, because from the floor to the level of the workplace is closer than from the ceiling. "From the underground space, you can organize an exit at the desired point and there is no need to lay a box around the entire perimeter of the room, bypassing the load-bearing columns, wall irregularities and other design features," he says.
  
The modern system of organizing workplaces in open-plan rooms and work tables remote from the walls can be solved in two ways - using hatches and minicolumns. According to Sergey Shulganov, Head of Sales Department of Cross Link, it is possible to easily integrate cable hatches made of various structural materials (ABS plastic, polyamide compositions, aluminum, brass, bronze, steel) and having different degrees of protection (from IP20 up to IP44 and in some cases up to IP54). The hatches also differ in their geometry and the number of places for mounting wiring accessories and information connectors. The hatch cover, as a rule, has special cable outlets, and the cover itself can have a removable false cover for installing decorative flooring (carpet, laminate,linoleum or parquet), which in color and texture will be combined with the raised floor covering.

Unlike cable trays, minicolumns are located directly on the raised floor slabs themselves or on the finished concrete floor surface. The minicolumn is a rigid case in which various wiring devices are placed, cable shelves-partitions for separating power lines from low-current ones. Seregy Shulganov recommends to study the column design in advance, since some manufacturers make profiles for 45x45 mm modules (Legrand), and others for the so-called "European standard", with a diameter of 60 mm between the landing screws (Quintela, Nordic Aluminum). A universal solution presented on the domestic market is the columns of the Ekoplast plant adapted both for 45x45 mm modules and for Eurostandard sockets.
   
The growth in demand for flexible solutions for placing cable systems under raised floors is recorded by representatives of Trale, the exclusive distributor in Russia of the products of the British company MK Electric. The most demanded customers turned out to be solutions using grommet (round hatches) manufactured by MK. Trale singles out the Deskpod system, calling it "the ideal solution for" delivering "power and data outlets directly to the workplace." The DeskPod adapter, which looks like an electric carrier, was developed as an extension of the Cablelink Rapide Extra product lines (covers with a wide range of service modules) and Interact Underfloor Power (power busbars). The DeskPod adapter can be quickly connected to the power bus thanks to its dedicated plug (and mating socket on the busbar).A new specially designed thrommet allows the DeskPod to be stored under a raised floor and removed only when needed. The DeskPod can accommodate up to 10 power outlets and up to 20 RJ-45 or other data ports.

   An increase in the number of facilities where the cable system is laid under a raised floor may lead to a slight decrease in demand for cable channels and an increase in demand for wiring products and accessories intended for organizing workplaces in open interiors, says Alexander Ivashkov: "DKS Company is ready for this turn of events and has in its assortment a wide range of floor hatches, turrets and columns for the organization of electrical and low-current wiring to the workplace in an open interior. "
   
Sergey Soloviev from OBO Bettermann believes that the increase in the number of objects in which cable systems are laid in floors / raised floors requires the creation of components for any operating conditions and all types and standards of floors, as well as the possibility of embedding any wiring products in hatches. OBO Bettermann manufactures systems for underfloor cable routing for double and raised floors, concrete and asphalt floors, wet and dry cleaning, for light, medium and extra-heavy loads; with cover depths of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 40 mm.

For cable routing under raised floors, Schneider Electric offers a new range of OptiLine 45 floor boxes for 4, 6 and 8 outlets. These hatches are part of the OptiLine 45 electrical installation system, which the company introduced to the Russian market at the end of last year. 2007. It also includes plastic and aluminum cable ducts, mini-columns, service racks and outlet boxes. The main feature of the system is the installation of 45 mm wiring accessories by simple snapping-in without the use of supports and frames. The system is suitable for the installation of all low-current modules with a 45 mm adapter.
   
Gordey Babaevsky is confident that there are many products and solutions on the market for laying cables under a raised floor. For example, Cablofil has a complete underfloor cable management solution based on wire trays and accessories. Similar solutions based on perforated or closed trays are available from the Polish company BAKS. Sometimes the customer requires the use of closed trays, although from the point of view of ease of installation, wire trays are preferable.

Data Center Solutions

The main feature of data centers from the point of view of the formation of cable routes, according to Andrey Semenov from IT Co., is that the data cables themselves must be removed from under the raised floor. This is due to the peculiarities of the cooling air supply to the mounting structures. Accordingly, the demand for metal and plastic trays for their installation over mounting structures will increase.
   
Among the new products of 2008 by Panduit, two cable support systems are focused on use in data centers. The modular basket-type trunk GridRunner is designed for laying and organizing information and power cables under a raised floor. In those cases where there is no raised floor or the space under the raised floor is allocated for the air flow of the cooling system, it will be effective to use Net-Access - an overhead cable routing system that protects, routes and organizes large volumes of data cables when they enter Net cabinets. -Access and withdrawal from specified cabinets.
   Representatives of the Moscow office of Panduit emphasize that this company is the only one on the market to offer a complete infrastructure solution for data centers that fully complies with the TIA-942 standard. The solution includes racks and cabinets, 10 Gigabit networking components, pre-terminated copper and optical systems, network physical layer management, copper and optical cabling, grounding and bonding systems, and cable management systems.
  
According to Sergey Solovyov from OBO Bettermann, an increase in demand for special solutions for data centers requires the ability to integrate various systems: trays, hatches, boxes, service racks. "You can fulfill such requests with the help of OBO Bettermann products, because our company manufactures a full range of necessary products and all solutions are thought out within the framework of a single concept to ensure an integrated approach to the implementation of technical solutions for cable laying," he says.

“You shouldn't focus too much on the buzzword of the data center,” says Gordey Babaevsky from Lindex. Data centers are designed with this in mind (the use of raised floors, etc.), which greatly facilitates the creation of cable routes. " In this case, both standard solutions can be used, for example, Cablofil wire trays and accessories for them, as well as various specialized solutions. As an example of such a solution, Lindex specialists cite the Lightpath system of the Swiss company Huber + Suhner, which is designed for laying fiber-optic cables in operator switching centers and data centers. The Lightpath system allows for the laying of large volumes of fiber optic cables,observe the required minimum bending radii and also protects the cables from accidental damage.

Fire safety

Recently, more and more attention is paid to ensuring the safety of people during fires. But, as you know, the majority of people die not from open fire, but from emissions during combustion, including from carbon monoxide. Alexey Artemov draws attention to the fact that the Ekoplast plant was the first in Russia to produce corrugated and smooth HDPE pipes for cable laying that do not contain halogens (HF). These pipes do not emit these substances in case of fire, and therefore are recommended for use in places where there are usually many people - in hotels, airports, subways, train stations, stadiums and other public places. In places with even more stringent safety requirements, combustion-free, halogen-free pipes, also produced by the Ekoplast plant, are recommended.

Sergei Soloviev says that with the growing requirements for fire safety, especially in rooms with a large crowd of people, cable channels are very often used, but not their plastic, but made of metal - steel or aluminum. Such channels also provide high electrical safety, since they are included in a single potential equalization system. Aluminum and steel trunks are available not only from OBO Bettermann, but also from other leading manufacturers of cable support systems.

Since March 2008, a Russian manufacturer, DKS company, has also started official sales of aluminum cable ducts and mini-columns (In-Liner Aero systems). The company's specialists note that in addition to the high aesthetic value that the installation of aluminum cable channels carries, and full compatibility with the In-Liner Front plastic series, which allows finishing all office premises in the same style, the metal structure has many functional advantages. Aluminum creates better conditions for the operation of communication channels, shields interference and makes it difficult to remotely read information transmitted through signal cables laid inside, which makes it possible to recommend aluminum channels to increase the level of information security in various organizations.The physical characteristics of the material ensure high impact resistance of the cable duct. The metal is completely non-flammable and resistant to any temperature extremes, and therefore, the operation and installation of In-Liner Aero is possible both at extremely high and low temperatures.

The In-Liner Aero series also features aluminum mini-columns - a convenient solution for organizing a workplace in open interiors. The aluminum column, 650 mm high, has four removable covers. At the same time, wiring accessories can be mounted into the column from both sides in the frames of the In-Liner Front system. The power supply to the mini-column is possible both with the use of a floor cable channel (Evolution / Art series) and under a raised floor.

Among the fire safety products, it is worth highlighting the Cablofil EZ-Path module installed as an element of the cable duct, developed by engineers under the impression of the tragedy in the USA on September 11th. EZ-Path automatically adapts to the number of cables laid. The main frame of the device is made of thick steel and acts as a temperature sensor, the wall panels are made of heat-resistant steel. The frame of the device and panels quickly respond to temperature increases and, using a special material, reliably block the opening, thereby preventing the spread of smoke and flames. The device is colored bright orange and has special tags for easy identification. The EZ-Path fire barrier system is used in both new and existing installations and does not require any additional fixtures.Cables can be added or replaced without removing the module. The design allows you to lay more cables than standard devices, while no special qualifications of the installer and additional sealing compounds are required.

Primary requirements

Outlining the main criteria and considerations that are guided by IT Co. specialists when choosing cable channels and trays for their projects, Andrey Semenov notes that the most important for cable trays are strength and the absence of elements that can damage the cable sheath. Also, the convenience of installing both the cable channel itself and the frames and corners to it is always taken into account. In this case, the tray must be flexible in the installation. Although the trays are usually installed behind a raised ceiling, the appearance of the tray is also essential, especially for ducts installed in offices. The stability of the color of the cable duct over a long period is also of great importance, since after 5 years or more, some white plastic cable ducts turn yellow.
   
Alexey Artyomov from the Ecoplast company also speaks about the important role of the appearance of the finished assembled system. In offices at the moment it is impossible to completely abandon the visible places of equipment connection to the network, therefore it is very important to have all the necessary accessories that hide wires and cables at various turns, branches and transitions. In the event that several types of distribution systems for information and energy systems are simultaneously used in a room, they must be consistent in a single design and style. As an example of such design unification, the general director of Ekoplast cites the INSTA cable duct system, minichannels, floor hatches and service columns produced by his enterprise. All these systems can use calipers,wiring accessories and information outlets of the same type, resulting in a uniform design.

The only pity is that the improvement in design is not always accompanied by an increase in ease of installation. Thus, the specialists of the Telecom-Service company, noting significant changes in the design of the boxes of the market leader - the Legrand company, note that the boxes have become more beautiful and more stylish, but less convenient to install - the socket takes up a lot of space on the box, which is not convenient when tight installation of sockets.

Alexander Ivashkov from the DKS company highlights such important characteristics of the cable support system as the reliability and speed of installation of the system. For example, thanks to the design of the S5 Combitech metal tray system, assembly takes 60% less time than conventional metal tray assemblies. According to him, cable support systems have similar design features, including patented ones, "DKS "is quite a lot.
   
Along with the need to maintain stable characteristics for a long time, LANmaster specialists note such important characteristics of cable support systems as the availability of a complete set of accessories and a wide range of various standard sizes. The company tries to maintain the maximum range of standard sizes in its line, for which it constantly monitors the needs of installers. In addition, LANmaster never denies its partners in the manufacture of boxes of a rare cross-section.

So, the development of the market for cable support systems is evident in all directions: from the improvement of the "classic" systems of plastic boxes and metal trays to the development of new technical solutions for such objects as data centers. At the same time, the trend towards a decrease in the import of cable support systems from abroad and the expansion of their production in Russia cannot but rejoice.

magazine "Communication Networks and Systems, No. 7, June 2008