It is advisable to use the proper tools when you start to install a data and video cabling system. If not, it will cost you many hours of frustration and diminshed quality. So, knowing what the right tools are ang where to use them is an essential part of the job.
Common cabling tools required for cabling system installation
A number of tools are common to most cabling tool kits: wire strippers, wire cutters, cable crimpers, punch-down tools, fish tape, and toning tools. Most of these tools are essential for installing even the most basic of cabling systems.>>Wire strippers
The variety of cable strippers represented in this section is a function of the many types of cable you can work with, various costs of the cable strippers, and versatility of the tools.
1. Twisted-Pair Strippers
Strippers for UTP, ScTP, and STP cablesare used to remove the outer jacket and have to accommodate the wide variation in the geometry of UTP cables. Twisted-pair cables can have irregular surfaces due to the jacket shrinking down around the pairs. Additionally, the jacket thickness can differ greatly depending on brand and flame rating. The trick is to aid removal of the jacket without nicking or otherwise damaging the insulation on the conductors underneath.
For wire (TTP/STP) or wire and multiconductor cable from 3.2mm to 9mm Ir-regulate out-shape insulation can be put into the front “V” and “U” guide, rotate the tool 1-3 times by index finger for stripping the outer insulation easily.
Note:When working with UTP, ScTP, or STP cables, you will rarely need Note to strip the insulation from the conductors. Termination of these cable types on patch panels, cross-connections, and most wall plates employs the use of insulation displacement connectors (IDCs) that make contact with the conductor by slicing through the insulation. In case you need to strip the insulation from a twisted-pair cable, keep a pair of common electrician’s strippers handy. Just make sure it can handle the finer-gauge wires such as 22, 24, and 26 AWG that are commonly used with LAN wiring.
2.Coaxial Wire Strippers
Coaxial cable strippers are designed with two or three depth settings. These settings correspond to the different layers of material in the cable. Coaxial cables are pretty standardized in terms of central-conductor diameter, thickness of the insulating and shielding layers, and thickness of
the outer jacket, making this an effective approach.
In the inexpensive (but effective for the do-it-yourself folks) model shown in Figure2, the depth settings are fixed. The wire stripper in Figure 2 can be used to strip coaxial cables (RG-58,RG-59and RG-6) to prepare them for F-type connectors.
Figure2:Coaxial Cable Strippers 3-blades model HT-312X
3.Fiber-Opt ic Cable Strippers
Fiber-optic cables require very specialized tools. Fortunately, the dimensions of fiber coatings,claddings, and buffers are standardized and manufactured to precise tolerances.
Figure3:FTTH Drop Cable Stripper Figure4:NO-NIK 175um Fiber Optic Stripper
The tools shown in Figure 4 that can strips loose tube (such as a 900um loose tube) and 250um, 400um or 500um coating to expose the 125um cladding without damaging the cladding.
>>Wire Cutters
If you use a regular set of lineman’s pliers to snip through coaxial and twisted-pair cables, or even use them for fiber optic cables, you will find cutting through the aramid yarns used as strength members can be difficult, and dull your pliers quickly. Aramid is used in optical fiber cable to provide additional strength.
So we need a special tool for something as mundane as cutting through the cable. Specialized cutters such as the one shown in Figure 5 are designed for multi-strand of copper or aluminum cable and brass material and preserve the geometry of the cable as they cut. This is accomplished using curved instead of flat blades
Figure5:Stanley Cable Cutting Plier 84-859-22
For
fiber-optic cables, special scissors are available that cut through aramid with relative ease. Figure6 shows scissors designed for cutting and trimming the Kevlar strengthening members found in fiber-optic cables.
Figure6：Fiberstore Kevlar Cutter
>>Cable Crimpers
Modular plugs and coaxial connectors are attached to cable ends using crimpers. Crimpers are designed to apply force evenly and properly for the plug or connector being used. Some crimpers use a ratchet mechanism to ensure that a complete crimp cycle has been made. Without this special design, your crimp job will be inconsistent at best, and it may not work at all. In addition, you’ll damage connectors and cable ends, resulting in wasted time and materials.
1.Twisted-Pair Crimpers
Crimpers for twisted-pair cable must accommodate various-sized plugs. The process of crimping involves removing the cable jacket to expose the insulated conductors, inserting the conductors in the modular plug (in the proper order!), and applying pressure to this assembly using the
crimper. Modular plugs for cables with solid conductors (horizontal wiring) Note are sometimes different from plugs for cables with stranded conductors (patch cords). The crimper fits either, and some companies market a universal plug that works with either. Make sure you select the proper type when you buy plugs and make your connections.
Figure 7 shows a higher-quality crimper that has two positions: one for eight-position plugs and one for six four-position plugs.
Figure7: Twisted-Pair Crimping Tool 6p+8p HT-500R
2.Coaxial-Cable Crimpers
Coaxial-cable crimpers also are available either with changeable dies or with fixed-size crimp openings. Models aimed strictly at the residential installer will feature dies or openings suitable for applying F-type connectors to RG-58, RG-59, and RG-6 series coax. For the commercial installer, a unit that will handle dies such as RG-11 and thinnet with BNC-type connectors is also necessary.>>Punch-Down Tools
Twisted-pair cables are terminated in jacks, cross-connect blocks (66-blocks), or patch panels(110-blocks) that use insulation displacement connectors (IDCs). Essentially, IDCs are little knife blades with a V-shaped gap or slit between them. You force the conductor down into the V and
the knife blades cut through the insulation and make contact with the conductor. Although you could accomplish this using a small flat-blade screwdriver, doing so is not recommended. It would be sort of like hammering nails with a crescent wrench. The correct device for inserting a
conductor in the IDC termination slot is a punch-down tool.
A punch-down tool is really just a handle with a special “blade” that fits a particular IDC. There are two main types of IDC terminations: the 66-block and the 110-block. The 66-block terminals have a long history rooted in voice cross-connections. The 110-block is a newer design, originally associated with AT&T but now generic in usage. In general, 110-type IDCs are used for data, and 66-type IDCs are used for voice, but neither is absolutely one or the other. Different blades are used depending on whether you are going to be terminating on 110-blocks or 66-blocks. Although the blades are very different, most punch-down tools are designed to accept either. In fact, most people purchase the tool with one and buy the other as an accessory, so that one tool serves two terminals.
1.Punch-down tools are available as nonimpact in their least expensive form. Nonimpact tools generally require more effort to make a good termination, but they are well suited for people who only occasionally perform punch-down termination work.
2.The better-quality punch-down tools are spring-loaded impact tools. When you press down and reach a certain point of resistance, the spring gives way, providing positive feedback that the termination is made. Typically, the tool will adjust to high- and low-impact settings. Figure 8
shows an
impact punch-down tool. Notice the dial near the center of the tool—it allows the user to adjust the impact setting. The manufacturer of the termination equipment you are using will recommend the proper impact setting.
Figure8:Pros’kit Impact Punch Down Tool PD-3141C
