Designing and executing technology and customer solutions from concept to commercial reality.
We are not just a supplier of heat shrink and wire and cable products. Of course this is what we manufacture, but we have built this capability by working for the past 50 years side by side with our customers on new materials, challenging designs and applying our product in the field and on the factory floor.
Our sales and marketing teams are at the forefront to work with our customers on new projects and programs and technologies, but it is the team behind the scenes—and quite often in the field and customer labs—that enables our success. It is our strong, focused teams on machine development, applications engineering, product engineering and research and development that enable robust, timely solutions for our customers. Our R&D team is a dedicated team of diverse professionals from electrical engineering to materials science. The team has the skills and experience to design and execute technology and customer solutions from concept to commercial reality.
Key pillars of our innovation culture and capabilities include:
State-of-the-Art Laboratories at Each Location
Laboratories and test facilities for wire and cable and heat shrink products are situated in each of our global locations. Our test facilities include core equipment for concept and pilot development, such as compounding and lab extruders, complemented by a wide variety of analytical equipment ranging from standard mechanical testing to thermal analytical tools such as DSC and DMA equipment. Specialized labs for simulation, environmental and electrical testing are available to support any solution development needs.
Shawcor Technical Community
To enhance our work on new technologies, Shawcor has established strong corporate technical communities consisting of subject matter experts. Shawcor technical communities provide a forum for cross-training, knowledge and experience-sharing with a multi-functional approach to technology problems that significantly expands our access to technical expertise, innovative solutions and subject matters.
Corporate R&D
In addition to Shawcor's technical communities, Shawcor has a strong corporate R&D facility and team in our Toronto headquarters. This team provides Connection Systems with additional access to equipment and experts in the fields of polymers and adhesives as well as specialized test equipment for materials analysis and sub-sea high pressure testing.
Materials Capability
The ability to innovate and provide solutions to our customers stems from our ability to convert customer requirements into material technologies and customize solutions. Critical to this is a strong foundation in polymer materials technologies and detailed understanding of structure-property relationships. The following is a list of key material technologies with which we are routinely working.
Polyolefin, polyester, PVC, polyamide, EVA, PVDF, fluoro-elastomers, silicon-elastomer and gums, EPDM, butyl-elastomers, thermochromatic coatings, polymer graft systems
Insulations: XLPE, EPR, PVC, EPDM
Jackets: PVC, CPE, XL CPE, thermoplastic polyurethane, LSZH, EPR, EPDM
Shielding: Aluminum/Mylar, copper tape, copper/Mylar, copper braid, served copper wire
Armor: Aluminum, steel, steel serve, bronze or aluminum braid
Conductors: Copper, aluminum
Equipment Capability
Connection Systems manufacturing utilizes equipment from world-class suppliers as well as custom-built equipment and designs built in our own machine development center. Common to both our heat shrink and wire and cable manufacturing plants are extrusion equipment and our irradiation and chemical cross linking processes. Beyond this, our heat shrink manufacturing has specialized equipment for expanding the tubing and is capable of making heat shrink products with expanded inner diameters from 3/64" (1.2mm) to 9" (229mm) with up to a 6:1 shrink ratio.
Our wire and cable manufacturing capabilities include cabling equipment, armor lines, taping lines and braiders, allowing us to manufacture wires from 22AWG to 2000Kcmil and handle endless cable configurations with up to 85 components.
In-House Machine Design and Development
The Connection Systems Machine Technology Center in our Rheinbach facility designs and builds our proprietary heat shrink expanders, automated material handlers for packaging and specialized products, and our DERAY® application equipment. When developing new products, this team can step in to modify or develop new equipment and processes to meet the requirements.