Cable lacing

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Cable lacing is a technique for tying wiring harnesses and cable looms, traditionally used in telecommunication, naval, and aerospace applications. It uses lacing cord -- traditionally made of waxed linen -- to tie together cables using a system of running lockstitches. The lacing begins and ends with a knot. Wraps are properly spaced (relative to harness diameter) to maintain the wiring in a tight, neat bundle, and the ends are then neatly trimmed.

This old cable management technique, taught to generations of linemen, is still in use in modern data centers and in aerospace applications, since it does not create obstructions along the length of the cable, avoiding the handling problems of cables groomed by plastic or velcro cable ties. There are at least two cable lacing styles: "Chicago stitch" and "Kansas City stitch".

NASA specify their preferred cable lacing style in detail in chapter 9 of NASA-STD-8739.4.

[edit] External links

• http://www.dairiki.org/hammond/cable-lacing-howto/
• http://www.tecratools.com/pages/tecalert/cable_lacing.html
• Qwest Corporation Technical Publication - Telecommunications Equipment Installation Guidelines - see Chapter 5 for cable lacing requirements
• NASA-STD-8739.4 is the current workmanship standard for space flight hardware crimping, wiring, and harnessing.
• Another modern example of cable lacing