Grommet - Grommets Used For Cable Protection

Grommets Used For Cable Protection

If metal or another hard material has a hole made in it, the hole may have sharp edges. Electrical wires, cord, rope, lacings, or other soft vulnerable material passing through the hole can become abraded or cut, or electrical insulation may break due to repeated flexing at the exit point. Rubber, plastic or plastic coated metal grommets are each used to avoid this. The grommet also protects the wiring/cabling from contamination from dirt, air, water, etc. The smooth and sometimes soft inner surface of the grommet shields the wire from damage.

Grommets are generally used whenever wires pass through punched sheet metal or plastic casings for this reason. Molded and continuous strip grommets, also known as edge grommets, are manufactured in a wide variety of sizes and lengths expressly for this purpose; they are usually a single piece which can be inserted by hand. Two-piece hard plastic devices are available which also grip the wire that passes through. This is called strain relief and is often used on power supply cords that attach to a piece of equipment, to prevent a tug on the wire from stressing the electrical connections inside the equipment. Sleeved grommets have a flexible extension (sleeve), usually tapered or moulded to flex increasingly towards the free end in order to prevent fracture of electrical insulation.