Data Sheet: GORE™ FireWire® High Flex Round and Flat Cable Assemblies
Data Sheets, United States
Includes features, benefits, technical specifications and ordering information.
Reliable Flex Life Performance
GORE FireWire High Flex Cable Assemblies provide motion control and vision systems with reliable interconnects for high performance fl ex life and signal transmission performance. These assemblies should be used to avoid bit errors in moving FireWire® systems. GORE™ FireWire® High Flex Assemblies provide peace of mind when reliable system performance and equipment uptime are critical.
GORE FireWire High Flex Cables are available in flat and round cable assemblies. Both assemblies incorporate 6-pin connectors to meet the IEEE 1394a electrical requirements (see Technical Specifications Table 1 and 2).
GORE FireWire High Flex Round Cable Assemblies have been tested beyond 10 million cycles in rolling flex motions on bend radius of 50 mm. GORE FireWire High Flex Flat Cable Assemblies have been tested beyond 20 million cycles in rolling flex motions on bend radius of 20 mm. These cables showed a stable signal transmission performance during these tests while competitive samples failed.
Technical Specifications
Most IEEE 1394 cables on the market today are designed for static environments and, when put in motion environments, they fail to meet the IEEE 1394 electrical specifi cations. Additionally, the attenuation increases significantly when these cables are flexed. GORE FireWire High Flex Cable Assemblies maintain a stable attenuation over the flex life, measured at 1 GHz, as illustrated in Chart 2. GORE FireWire High Flex Cable Assemblies are specifically designed to meet the demands associated with motion control and vision systems. During flex, GORE FireWire High Flex Cable Assemblies will prevent bit errors or loss of data.
The maximum electrical use length of the cable is dependent on frequency of the signal and attenuation of the cable. Maximum electrical use length for GORE FireWire High Flex Cable Assemblies is calculated from the attenuation value of the cable during flex. Chart 1 shows the change in electrical use length of a GORE FireWire High Flex Cable Assembly at 1 GHz frequency. These assemblies will provide reliable data transmission during flexing and can also be used when systems demand longer length cable.
Key Features
- Available in round or fl at cable assemblies
- Cables can be customized
- Flat cable is non-particulating for clean room use
Key Benefits
- Prevents lost data/data integrity problems
- Longer flex life (beyond 20 million flex cycles)
- Can be used in bend radius down to 20 mm
- Prevents system downtime
- Longer use length
Technical Specifications
Table 1
| Characteristic | IEEE 1394a | IEEE 1394b |
|---|---|---|
| Skew | 400ps/assy | 160ps/assy |
| Impedance | 110 ±6 Ohm | 110 ±6 Ohm |
| Crosstalk | FEXT, NEXT: <5%, for 160ps TDT pulse | FEXT, NEXT: <5%, for 160ps TDT pulse |
Table 2
| Frequency (MHz) | 100 | 200 | 400 | 800 | 1000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IEEE 1394a Attenuation dB/Assembly | –2.3 | –3.2 | –5.8 | – | – |
| IEEE 1394b Attenuation dB/Assembly | – | – | –4.1 | –6.2 | –7.5 |
| GORE FireWire Assembly Attenuation db/Assembly* | –2.2 | -2.75 | –3.5 | –4.7 | –5.3 |
*Test data from a 4.5 m IEEE 1394a assembly
Chart 1: Change in Electrical Use Length
Chart 2: Attenuation vs Flex Cycles
Contact Gore for more FireWire High Flex Cable options.