Many electrical installations start with a organized cable management system.

This means solutions like cable trays play very important role in supporting and routing electrical wiring in commercial, industrial, and residential projects.

In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about cable trays, including their types, sizes benefits, and best practices for installation.

 

But first, let’s briefly compare cable trays to other cable management solutions like conduits.

 

CABLE TRAY vs. CONDUIT: What’s the Difference?

Both Cable trays and conduits are two important methods to organizing and protecting electrical wiring and cable management systems, but they have some differences:

  • Cable Trays: These are open structured design which supports multiple cables and allowing those cable for easy access and ventilation system.
  • Conduits: These are the enclosed metal tubes that provides “maximum protection” for individual cables but these can be harder to install and modify.

Here’s a reference to both types:

Cable trays focus specifically on supporting and managing electrical cables efficiently.

But cable management systems include both cable trays and conduits. So, cable trays are a subset of cable management solutions.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to choose the right cable tray system for effective cable management in your project.

But first, let’s make sure we understand the basics.

What is Cable Tray?

A Cable tray is a cable support system used to support, route, and protect electrical cables in different applications to allow organized cable management for easy maintenance and accessibility. It involves four main aspects:

  • Cable Tray Selection.
  • Cable Tray Type.
  • Choosing Right Cable Tray.
  • Key Considerations.

     a) Cable Tray Selection

Choosing the right cable tray is very important for ensuring a safe, efficient and scalable cable management systems. Choice of cable tray depends on various factors for example: load capacity, environmental impact, type of cable used and installation requirements.

     b) Cable Tray Type

Cable trays come in various designs suited for different applications:

Ladder Cable Trays: Most commonly known as Cable ladder cable tray used in data centres and commercial building for high load power cables and large cable set. If we talk about its structure, it is tow side rails with rungs which provide ventilation and reduce overheating risk between cables.

 

Perforated Cable Trays: These are the most commonly used cable trays for electrical wiring in offices, shops, restaurants, and other commercial buildings. These type of cable trays have perforated base with side rails which allows partial airflow for ventilation same time offering more space for cable support.

Browse Our Perforated Cable Tray Range

 

Wire Mesh Cable Trays: Most commonly known as (Cable baskets, Cable basket tray, basket tray, wire basket tray) used in IT infrastructure, telecom sector and server rooms also used under the office and home computer or laptop table to organise cables which is commonly referred to under desk cable tray or basket. These type of cable trays manufactured with a grid like mesh which provides airflow and flexibility to organise cables.

Browse Our Wire Mesh Cable Tray Range 

 

Solid Bottom Cable Trays: These trays commonly used in Hazardous environments, food processing plants, and hospitals that requires maximum cable protection from dust and moisture. Design wise these cable trays are fully covered with no openings to protect from external factors which includes contamination.

 

Channel Cable Trays: U- Shaped design for supporting few numbers of cables best for small cable runs in tight space commonly used in low voltage application, indoor and wall mounted installations. 

Choosing the Right Cable Tray

The Selection of Cable Trays depends on

✅ Cable Load Capacity.

✅ Cable Volume & Diameter.

✅ Ventilation Requirements.

✅ Environmental Conditions.

There is various size option which can be used depending on the requirement of the project some of the sizes are:

  • 50mm Cable Tray
  • 75mm Cable Tray
  • 100mm Cable Tray
  • 150mm Cable Tray
  • 225mm Cable Tray
  • 300mm Cable Tray
  • 450mm Cable Tray
  • 600mm Cable Tray

Browse our range of Cable Trays: 

Cable Trays are manufactured from different materials, depending on the environmental applications

  • Pre-Galvanised Cable Trays:  Light weight, corrosion resistant, great for indoor applications.
  • Galvanised Cable Trays: Durable, Cost effective, and corrosion resistant.
  • Stainless Steel Cable Trays: Used in harsh environments, such as chemical plants and food manufacturing industry.

Key Considerations for Cable Tray Installation

Proper installation allows the efficiency and long life of cable management system. Below are some key points to consider during installation of cable trays.

1. Spacing: Allow proper distance between support to prevent sagging and overloading of cables.

2. Grounding: Make sure cable trays are properly grounded to prevent electrical hazards consider using cable tray earthing strap to prevent hazard.

3. Cabel Separation: Always keep power cables separated to communication cables which reduces electromagnetic interference (EMI).

4. Scalability: By choosing right size of cable tray allows for further expansion without required major changes.

5. Compliance: Always follow industry regulations to comply with cable tray standards.

Looking for high-quality cable trays for your next project? Explore our wide range of cable trays today!