Element, chemical symbol Mn. Included in practically all steels, it is a gray-white, hard and brittle metal that increases resistance to tensile stress. Critical in the production of pig iron and steel, it usually is preprocessed with carbon or silicon prior to iron smelting or steel making. Also used in batteries and chemicals manufacture.

An alloy wire usually containing approximately 97% nickel and 3% manganese. The addi­tion of small amounts of manganese to nickel gives increased tensile strength and resistance to sulfur attack at high temperatures.

An obsolete high-strength, low-alloy steel, intended primarily for weight reduction by means of high strength, greater toughness and improved welding characteristics. Used in applications requiring cold forming and moderately severe impacts in low-temperature service.

The mechanism used to shift or turn slabs of metal during rolling mill operation.

Colored threads under insulation or jacket, or surface printing or marking, intended to identify the maker of a wire or cable construction. Often required by UL, CSA or Government Specifications.

Nickel steels for high-strength applications that are hardened by aging treatment, usually about three hours at 480°C (900°F). They demonstrate an improved strength-to-weight ratio, high hardness (HRC 50-58) and high tensile strength after the precipitation hardening. Unlike quenching, precipitation hardening can obtain uniform hardness regardless of size and does not cause distortion.

Distance between the reference edge of a cable and the nearest edge of the first conductor.

A tape laid parallel to the conductors under the sheath in a cable, imprinted with the manufacturer’s name and the specification to which the cable is made. Other information such as date of manufacture and sequential length may also be included.

A colored thread laid parallel and adjacent to the strand in an insulated conductor that identifies the manufacturer. It may also denote a temperature rating or the specification to which the cable is made.

Manufacturers of insulated wire and cable mark or identify their product through a number of different methods. Types include engraved wheel ink printing, ink jet marking, indent marking and embossing, band marking/ring marking, sequential marking, hot foil marking and color-coding. The marking is done to both identify the cable type as well as to meet marking requirements.

Marking or coding inks used for wire and cable identification can be solvent-based or water-based and may be used in contact printers with a print wheel, or in non-contact ink jet printers and high-speed bandmarking/ringmarking equipment. The choice for the correct marking inks is dictated by the substrate to be marked, the application parameters (including line speed, legend requirements, and position of the printer on the line), as well as the marking equipment itself.

This type of water-based inks used for bandmarking/ringmarking was developed in the 1990s in reaction to environmental concerns voiced by sectors such as the telecom manufacturers, who were seeking a drastic reduction of the solvents to reduce VOC emissions and to improve the safety conditions for line operators. The development of specific non-contact ink jet printing inks for use on all various types of wire and cable insulation materials has largely replaced contact markers, with the current exception very high-speed applications, over 610 mpm (2000 fpm).

A continuous circumferential band applied at regular intervals to a conductor, such as telephone or data cable, for identification for future installations.

Technique for imprinting a legend or code onto an insulation or jacket. Embossing produces a raised code on the insulation or jacket.

A component of the wire and cable identification process where basic ink is applied directly to the insulated wire by engraved printing wheels.

A circumferential color band applied at regular intervals to an insulated conductor, such as telephone or data cable, for identification for future installations.

A technique of identifying wire and cable where markers feature two units secured on the same base plate in line with top guide roll with a reciprocating arm. This enables the manufacturer to switch from one machine to the other instantaneously with no downtime for maintenance or to change wheels or ink. This type of marking system is often used in coding operations that require constant printing wheel changes.

A hardening process of quenching an austenitized ferrous alloy in a medium at or above the upper portion of the temperature range of martensite formation, and holding in the medium until the temperature throughout the alloy is substantially uniform. The alloy is then allowed to cool in air through the temperature range of martensite formation.

The chief component of quenched steel, it is the hard constituent formed without diffusion and only during cooling below a certain temperature. The structure is characterized by its acicular appearance on the surface of a polished and etched specimen. Martensite, which is the hardest of the transformation products of austenite, may also form in nonferrous alloys but without the attendant strengthening.

The quantity of solid matter as determined from its weight or from Newton’s second law of motion where force equals mass times acceleration. In classical physics it is a conserved property independent of speed.