Nexans is one of the largest cable manufacturers in the world. Their products show up across industries, countries, and project types: in the walls of commercial buildings, underground between substations, inside industrial control panels, and running through the cable trays of data centres. If you have spent any time specifying or sourcing cables for a serious project, you have almost certainly come across the Nexans name.
What makes Nexans cables worth understanding is that the range is broad and each cable type is engineered for a specific purpose. Choosing between them is not just a matter of picking a size and a colour. The insulation material, conductor construction, screening, sheath type, and flexibility all vary depending on what the cable needs to do and where it needs to do it.
This guide walks through the three main cable categories in the Nexans range: data transmission cables, multicore control cables, and power cables. For each one, we cover how it is built, what it is designed for, and what to look out for when specifying it.
A Brief Look at Nexans as a Manufacturer
Before we get into the cable types, it is worth understanding why Nexans is such a trusted name in the industry.
Nexans started in 2000 when Alcatel separated its cable business into a standalone company. But the roots of that business go back more than a hundred years. Today, Nexans works across more than 40 countries and supplies cables to sectors like power and energy, renewables, oil and gas, transport, telecom, and building construction.
All Nexans cables are made to international standards including IEC, BS EN, and NFC. They are also tested and certified by independent bodies, not just by Nexans themselves. Every cable is made to tight specifications covering things like conductor quality, insulation thickness, and electrical performance. This level of consistency is why engineers tend to write Nexans into a project specification by name rather than leaving it open to any alternative.
It is also worth knowing that Nexans does not make just one type of cable. They make cables for very different uses and applications. This is why two cables that both carry the Nexans name can look completely different from each other and work in very different ways. Once you understand the different categories, it all makes sense.
Category 1: Data Transmission Cables
Data transmission cables carry information rather than power. Their job is to move digital and analogue signals reliably between two points, whether that is across an office floor, through a building management system, or across a factory automation network.
The defining requirement for a data cable is signal integrity. Unlike power cables where the primary concern is current-carrying capacity and insulation voltage rating, data cables must preserve the shape and timing of electrical signals over distance. This means precise conductor geometry, controlled impedance, and, in many cases, shielding against electromagnetic interference.
Where Data Transmission Cables Are Used
The applications span a wide range of industries and environments:
- Structured cabling in commercial offices and data centres
- Building automation and management systems (BMS and BACS)
- Industrial Ethernet and fieldbus communication networks
- PLC-to-sensor communication in manufacturing and process plants
- Telecommunications infrastructure
- Scientific instrumentation and laboratory equipment
- Military and defence communication and control systems
The network and ethernet cables category covers this area of application, with options ranging from standard structured cabling to specialist industrial variants.
Nexans CAT6 Cables
CAT6 cables from Nexans are one of the most commonly specified data cables for modern commercial and light industrial buildings. They are designed to support data rates of up to 10 Gbps over short distances and are built with enhanced separation between the four twisted pairs to reduce crosstalk, which is the interference that occurs when signals from adjacent pairs bleed into each other.
CAT6 cables from Nexans are typically constructed with:
- Pure copper conductors for consistent electrical resistance and signal integrity
- Individual pair insulation designed to maintain precise twist geometry
- A central spline or cross-filler in many variants to physically separate the pairs
- Compliance with ISO/IEC 11801 and TIA-568 performance standards
- Options for both indoor riser and outdoor direct-burial installation
The difference between a quality CAT6 cable and a cheaper alternative often comes down to conductor purity and manufacturing consistency. Cables that use copper-clad aluminium instead of solid copper conductors will show higher resistance over long runs, which degrades performance particularly at the higher frequencies that CAT6 is expected to handle.
Automation and Drag Chain Cables
One specialised sub-category within data transmission cables that is worth understanding separately is cables designed for use in drag chains, also called cable carriers or energy chains.
In automated machinery, cables are often routed through a drag chain that moves back and forth continuously as the machine operates. A standard data cable will fatigue and fail relatively quickly in this kind of application because its internal construction is not designed for repetitive flexing. The conductors will break, the insulation will crack, and the cable will fail mid-cycle.
Nexans drag chain cables solve this by using fine-stranded conductors, carefully selected insulation materials, and a jacket compound that is engineered to flex without cracking. The cables are rated for very high flex-cycle counts, often in the range of five to ten million cycles, which translates to years of reliable service in a high-duty-cycle automation environment.
Key characteristics of drag chain rated data cables include:
- Fine-stranded conductor construction to handle repeated bending without wire breakage
- Oil, coolant, and chemical-resistant outer jacket
- Compact outer diameter for routing in tight chain guides
- Screened and unscreened variants depending on the EMC requirements of the application
Specification Note: If a cable will be installed in a moving application, such as a CNC machine, robotic arm, conveyor, or gantry system, always specify a drag chain rated or continuous-flex cable. Using a standard fixed-installation cable in a moving application will result in early failure regardless of how well it is initially installed. |
Category 2: Multicore Control Cables
Control cables occupy a specific and important role in electrical installations. They carry low-voltage signals between control panels, instruments, actuators, sensors, and switches. They do not supply power to loads in the way that electrical power cables do. Instead, they carry the instructions that tell equipment when to start, stop, change speed, open, close, or respond to a measurement. If you want to understand more about this cable category in detail, the article on what control cables are and how they work covers the fundamentals thoroughly.
Nexans multicore control cables are designed specifically for industrial and commercial environments where cables face more than just electrical demands. The insulation and sheath materials are selected for chemical resistance, flame retardancy, and mechanical toughness, and the conductor construction is chosen to give the flexibility needed for installation in tight spaces.
Construction and Key Features
A well-built multicore control cable needs to handle several things at once. Here is what the Nexans control cable range is designed to deliver:
- Chemical and oil resistance: In manufacturing, processing, and marine environments, cables are often exposed to oils, solvents, and cleaning agents. The outer sheath and insulation materials in Nexans control cables are selected to resist these without cracking or swelling.
- Flame retardancy: Most Nexans control cables carry a flame retardant rating to IEC 60332. This is a baseline safety requirement in commercial and industrial buildings, and it means the cable will not propagate a flame along its length if it catches fire.
- Class 5 conductor flexibility: The conductors in flexible variants are finely stranded to Class 5 of BS EN 60228. This gives the cable the flexibility needed to route through congested cable trays and enclosures, and to withstand some movement in service without fatiguing.
- Small minimum bending radius: Nexans control cables are designed with a compact minimum bending radius, which is important in dense control panel installations where cables need to navigate tight corners and duct entries.
Core Count and Cross-Section Options
Nexans multicore control cables are available in configurations from 2 cores up to 25 cores, with conductor cross-section areas up to 6mm per core. This range covers straightforward two-wire circuits through to complex multi-instrument signal harnesses in a single cable run.
Where electromagnetic interference is a concern, such as in installations near variable speed drives, large motors, or power conversion equipment, screened variants are available with an aluminium foil screen, a copper braid screen, or both. These are particularly relevant in applications covered by the signal control cable range, which is specifically designed for low-voltage signal transmission in electrically noisy environments.
Typical Applications in the Field
- Control panels and motor control centres in manufacturing plants
- Process control instrumentation in oil, gas, and chemical facilities
- HVAC control systems in large commercial and mixed-use buildings
- Machine tool wiring and conveyor system control
- Building management and automation system wiring
- Water treatment plant instrumentation
Important: Always match the control cable specification to the actual environment. A cable rated for indoor dry use will not perform reliably in an outdoor installation or a washdown environment. When there is any doubt about the operating conditions, specify a cable with a higher protection rating. The cost difference is small compared to the cost of replacing a failed cable in a live installation. |
Category 3: Power Cables
Power cables deliver electrical energy from a source to a load. That simple description covers a very wide range of products, from the thin single-core wires used to connect components inside a panel to the large multicore armoured cables that feed power to industrial machinery and distribution boards.
Nexans has one of the most comprehensive power cable portfolios of any manufacturer, covering low-voltage, medium-voltage, and high-voltage applications across sectors including building services, infrastructure, oil and gas, and renewable energy. For most commercial and industrial project requirements, the low-voltage range is the primary area of interest.
Low Voltage Power Cables (0.6/1kV)
The 0.6/1kV rated cable is the workhorse of commercial and industrial electrical installations. These electrical cables are available in single-core and multicore configurations, with conductor sizes ranging from 1.5mm up to 400mm or larger for high-current applications. The main variables in the specification are the insulation material, the sheath material, and whether the cable includes mechanical protection such as steel wire armour.
The most important construction choices at this level are:
- XLPE insulation: Cross-linked polyethylene is now the standard insulation material for most low-voltage power cables. It supports a maximum conductor operating temperature of 90°C, which gives it a higher current-carrying capacity for a given conductor size compared to PVC. It also performs better in the presence of moisture and has a longer service life under thermal cycling.
- PVC insulation: PVC-insulated cables carry a 70°C conductor temperature rating and remain widely used in standard commercial wiring applications where the lower temperature rating is not a constraint. Lower initial cost and long familiarity in the industry keep PVC relevant for many fixed installation applications.
- LSZH sheathing: Low Smoke Zero Halogen sheathing is specified for installations in enclosed public spaces, escape routes, tunnels, and transport hubs where fire safety is the priority. LSZH cables emit significantly less toxic smoke and fumes than standard PVC-sheathed cables if they are involved in a fire.
- Steel Wire Armoured (SWA) construction: For cables that will be buried underground, installed outdoors, or run through industrial environments with physical hazards, SWA construction adds a layer of galvanised steel wire armour between the bedding and the outer sheath. This gives the cable resistance to crushing, impact, and rodent damage.
PVC Flexible Wires and Internal Wiring
For internal wiring in control panels, switchboards, conduit runs, and trunking in protected indoor locations, PVC cables and wires are the practical standard choice. These cover the H07V-K, H05V-K, and similar designations that are used extensively in panel wiring and fixed building installations. They are cost-effective, well-understood, and available in a wide range of conductor sizes and core colours.
If you are working through a project that involves both fixed wiring and portable or flexible connections to equipment, it is worth reading the comparison of rubber cables versus PVC cables to understand where each material is the right choice and where each has limitations.
Rubber Flexible Cables for Portable and Moving Applications
Where a cable needs to be moved, coiled, dragged, or connected to equipment that vibrates or shifts position, a rubber flexible cable is the appropriate specification rather than a rigid fixed-installation cable. H07RN-F rubber flexible cables are the standard choice for this purpose: portable power tools, site supplies, temporary power distribution, generators, pumps, and any application where the cable is regularly handled or subjected to mechanical stress.
Rubber flexible cables have a heavy-duty elastomeric jacket that resists mechanical abuse, water, and a wide operating temperature range. They are available in single-core and multicore versions, and in conductor sizes that suit both light portable equipment and heavy-duty industrial loads.
Termination Accessories
Selecting the right cable is only part of the story. Correct termination is equally important for long-term reliability. Cable glands are needed wherever a cable enters an enclosure, panel, or piece of equipment. They provide the mechanical grip, strain relief, and environmental sealing that the cable entry requires. For SWA cables, the gland also provides the connection between the armour and the enclosure earth.
At the conductor end, cable lugs are used to create a reliable mechanical and electrical connection between the conductor and the terminal or busbar. The lug type and size must match the conductor cross-section and the terminal configuration. Using an incorrectly sized lug or a poor-quality termination is one of the most common causes of connection failure and overheating in electrical installations.
How to Read a Nexans Cable Designation
Nexans cables, like most European cables, are designated using a standardised letter coding system that tells you a great deal about the cable construction before you look at a single data sheet. Understanding the basics makes it much easier to compare products and confirm you are specifying the right thing.
A typical designation might read: N2XY, NYCY, or H07RN-F. Each letter or number in the code represents a construction feature. Here is what the key elements mean:
- N: German national standard cable (as opposed to H, which denotes a harmonised European standard)
- H: Harmonised cable type, manufactured to a common European standard
- 2X: XLPE insulation (cross-linked polyethylene)
- Y: PVC sheath or insulation depending on position in the designation
- R: Rubber insulation or sheath
- C: Concentric conductor or screen
- 07: 300/500V or 450/750V voltage rating depending on context
- F: Fine-stranded flexible conductor
So H07RN-F translates as: harmonised cable, 450/750V, rubber insulated, neoprene sheathed, fine-stranded flexible conductor. Once you recognise the pattern, you can decode most cable designations without needing to memorise a product catalogue.
Nexans Cable Quality: What the Premium Reflects
Nexans cables are not the lowest-cost option on the market. There are cheaper alternatives for almost every product type in the range. The question worth understanding is what the quality premium actually reflects, because it directly affects the total cost of ownership of an installation.
The areas where quality genuinely matters in a cable are:
- Conductor purity and resistance: High-purity copper conductors have lower electrical resistance, which means less heat generated under load and higher usable current capacity. Cheaper cables sometimes use copper-clad aluminium or lower-grade copper without disclosing this clearly. The result is higher resistance, more heat at the same current, and a conductor that may not meet the resistance requirements of the specification.
- Insulation wall thickness and consistency: Insulation that is thinner than specified fails sooner, particularly under thermal cycling and in the presence of moisture. Consistent wall thickness across the length of a cable is a function of manufacturing precision. Nexans maintains tight tolerances on this across production runs.
- Certification and third-party testing: Nexans cables carry certifications from independent testing bodies. This means the performance claims have been verified externally, not just asserted by the manufacturer. For projects where compliance documentation is required, certified cable is often not optional.
- Accurate reel marking and metering: Cables sold by length should actually contain the length stated. Under-length reels cause project delays, wastage, and site disputes. Nexans cables are accurately marked with length counters along the sheath and shipped with accurate reel lengths.
When you are specifying cables for an installation that is expected to last 25 years or more, the cost difference between a quality cable and a cheaper alternative is a very small proportion of the total project cost. The cost of a mid-project cable failure, the associated downtime, and the remedial work is not.
Choosing the Right Nexans Cable: Key Questions to Answer
With a broad range like Nexans, the path to the right product starts with answering a few structured questions about the application and the installation environment.
What Is the Cable Carrying?
Power, data, or control signals. This is the first filter. Power cables, data cables, and control cables are built differently and are not interchangeable. Getting this wrong means either over-specifying at unnecessary cost or under-specifying with performance or safety consequences.
What Are the Voltage and Current Requirements?
For power cables, the cable must be rated for the system voltage and sized for the maximum continuous current it will carry, with an acceptable voltage drop over the length of the run. Undersized power cables overheat in service and degrade faster than their rated lifespan.
Where Will the Cable Be Installed?
Indoors or outdoors. Fixed or moving. In conduit or exposed. Buried underground or surface-mounted. Each of these installation conditions influences the required sheath material, armour type, UV resistance, moisture resistance, and minimum temperature rating.
What Is the Operating Temperature?
The ambient temperature around the cable affects how much current it can carry safely. In high-temperature environments, or where cables are bunched together and cannot dissipate heat easily, the effective current-carrying capacity of the cable is reduced and you may need to select a larger conductor size or a cable with a higher temperature rating.
Is EMI Shielding Required?
For signal and control cables installed near variable speed drives, motors, power converters, or other sources of electromagnetic interference, a screened cable is necessary to maintain signal integrity. Specifying an unscreened cable in an electrically noisy environment is a common cause of intermittent control system faults that are difficult to diagnose.
What Compliance and Standards Apply?
Different projects, sectors, and regions have different mandatory standards for cable specification. Confirming the applicable standards at the outset ensures the cable you select is compliant and that the certification documentation is available when the project requires it.
Common Questions About Nexans Cables
Are Nexans cables suitable for outdoor installations?
Yes, but the specific cable must be rated and sheathed appropriately for outdoor exposure. For outdoor fixed installations, look for cables with UV-stabilised black PVC sheathing or LSZH sheathing with UV resistance. For outdoor portable applications, rubber flexible cables are the more appropriate choice given their superior resistance to weathering and mechanical handling.
What is the difference between screened and unscreened cables?
A screened cable has a metallic layer, either aluminium foil, a copper braid, or both, wrapped around the conductors and connected to earth. This screen prevents external electromagnetic fields from inducing unwanted voltages in the signal conductors, and it also prevents the signal in the cable from radiating outward and interfering with other equipment. Unscreened cables are simpler and cheaper but are only suitable where EMI is not a concern.
Can I use a power cable for control wiring?
Technically possible in some configurations, but rarely the right answer. Control cables are specifically designed with appropriate core counts, conductor sizes, and flexibility for signal applications. Using a power cable for control wiring typically means over-specifying the conductor size, under-specifying the core count, and ending up with a cable that is harder to route and terminate than a purpose-built control cable. Use the product that is designed for the job.
How do I verify a Nexans cable is genuine?
Genuine Nexans cables are printed along their length with the manufacturer name, cable designation, voltage rating, applicable standard, and sequential metre markings. The print should be clear, consistent, and correctly formatted. When sourcing from authorised distributors, you can also request mill certificates and test reports that trace the cable back to the production batch.
Final Thoughts
Nexans produces a cable for almost every serious electrical application, but the breadth of that range means that understanding the differences between product types is genuinely important. A CAT6 data cable, a multicore control cable, and a low-voltage SWA power cable are all Nexans products, but they are built for completely different purposes and are not substitutable for each other.
The most reliable route to the right cable is a structured selection process: start with what the cable needs to carry, define the installation environment, confirm the electrical parameters, identify any special requirements for flexibility or shielding, and check the applicable compliance standards. Work through those questions in order and the right product category, and usually the right specific product, becomes clear.
If the application involves flexible or portable connections, the comparison between rubber cables and PVC cables is useful context for understanding where each insulation type performs best. For control and signal applications, the guide to what control cables are gives a solid grounding in how this cable category works and when it is the right specification. And for anything involving cable entry into panels or enclosures, understanding cable glands and cable lugs is part of getting the full installation right, not just the cable itself.
