A cable reel is a round, drum-shaped object such as a spool used to carry various types of electrical wires. Cable reels, which can also be termed as drums, have been used for many years to transport electric cables, fiber optic cables and wire products. Cable reels usually come in four different types, each with their own uses:

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

and

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

Wooden drums

Wooden drums come in three different varieties: steel-tyred for multiple use, export for sending abroad, and one-way drums for single trip use. Wooden drums can carry heavy loads and are constructed in resinous wood. Discarded wooden reels can often be obtained cheaply and are, owing to their shape, commonly used as furniture (usually

coffee table A coffee table is a low table designed to be placed in a sitting area for convenient support of beverages, remote controls, magazines, books (especially large, illustrated coffee table books), decorative objects, and other small items. Most cof ...

s) for college students and others seeking inexpensive furnishings.

Plywood drums/reels

Plywood reels are used for transporting lighter loads and are a cheaper alternative to other types of drums, used extensively in the building industry and by commercial electricians. Often made of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

or poplar ply, they are both strong and light-weight. In normal situations,

reels are used only once and then destroyed.

Plastic drums/reels

Often manufactured from

recycled plastic Plastic recycling is the processing of plastic waste into other products. Recycling can reduce dependence on landfills, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling rates lag beh ...

, these reels are environmentally friendly and used for lighter weight cables.

Steel drums/reels

Nowadays the steel drums have replaced the orthodox wooden drums in the cable and wire industry, but mainly in the offshore industry. Steel drums are normally welded as a fixed drum, but collapsible steel drums also exist. The steel reels/drums are manufactured in an eco-friendly manner and are more durable than wooden drums, but at a significantly higher cost. These steel reels are not as easily stolen. The offshore industry today prefers steel reels/drums instead of wooden, plywood or plastic reels/drums, but the traditional land based industry prefers wooden drums due to their lower cost. The steel reels can be loaded with different ranges of cables and wires from the most heavy cables to the lightest wires.

Retractable cable reels

Certain cable reels are built with a retracting mechanism built in. In most cases, the cables on these reels carry

mains electricity Mains electricity, utility power, grid power, domestic power, wall power, household current, or, in some parts of Canada, hydro, is a general-purpose Alternating current, alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electri ...

, though a similar mechanism is used for air hoses. Retractable cable reels are particularly useful for environments where access to electricity or air is needed in a wide variety of places. All retractable hose reels operate using a constant-force spring to provide torsion for the spool, and a ratcheting mechanism to prevent the cable from retracting while it is being used.

References

External links

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Eland Cables (UK) Cable Drum DimensionsDraka: General information about cable reelsGeneral Cable: Standard sizes of wooden drums

reel A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...

Bulk material handling