Techniques, systems and articles are described for preparing electrical cables for connections to a power grid. In one example, a system includes a cable preparation device configured to cut one or more layers of an electrical cable and a computing device configured to control the cable preparation device to cut the one or more layers of the electrical cable.

The invention relates to a method for wiring electrical components of an electrical switchgear arranged on a mounting plate, comprising: providing a design of a switchgear comprising at least location information and orientation information about a plurality of electrical components of the switchgear on a mounting plate and wiring information about a plurality of electrical wirings between every two of the electrical components; optically detecting an actual arrangement of the electrical components on the mounting plate and matching the location information and orientation information to the actual arrangement; and automatically wiring the electrical components in a wiring order and according to the wiring information and the matched location information and orientation information.

A cable processing system includes a first rotator rotatable about a first axis, a first fixture mounted on the first rotator for clamping one end of the cable fed to the first rotator, and a first processing device arranged near the first rotator for processing the one end of the cable. The first rotator rotates the clamped end of the cable to the first processing device such that the one end of the cable may be processed by the first processing device.

An opening and closing drive mechanism allows the ring-shaped claw portions on the outer peripheries of the opening rollers to press against the base end portion of the exposed braid via the opening and closing blocks, in this state, the rotation body is rotated by the rotation drive mechanism, and the opening rollers attached to the opening and closing blocks revolve around the outer periphery of the braid, so that the tip end side of the exposed braid is opened outward in a radial direction.

A metal foil flaring apparatus includes a frame, a flaring mechanism mounted on the frame and having a flaring mouth adapted to open and close, and a first driver mounted on the frame and adapted to drive the flaring mouth to open and close. The flaring mouth has a cone shape gradually contracted toward a front end of the flaring mouth. The front end of the flaring mouth is adapted to be forwardly inserted in a first direction between an inner insulation layer of a cable and a metal foil wrapped around the inner insulation layer when the flaring mouth is closed, flaring the metal foil outwardly into the cone shape.

A system for servicing cable includes a field-end assembly and a live-end assembly, each mounted on a support structure having at least one drive mechanism operable to cause relative linear movement between the field-end assembly and the live-end assembly. A drilling-and-shorting assembly can create a short circuit in a field-end of the cable, and a continuity tester can test the integrity of the short-circuit. The field end of the cable can then be ejected from the system, and an end-cap-cradle assembly can position an end cap on a live end of an electrical cable and test its installation.

Electrical power cable preparation techniques to connect to cable accessories for use in a power grid are described. In an example, a system comprises a cross-section sensing module. The cross-section sensing module comprises a camera configured to capture at least one image of an end-face of an electrical cable, a housing configured to position the end-face of the electrical cable substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the camera and at an imaging distance from the camera, and at least one optical marker configured to indicate a diameter of the electrical cable. The system further comprises an electrical cable preparation device configured to cut at least one layer of an electrical cable, and a computing device configured to display a user interface, the user interface configured to accept user inputs controlling at least one setting of the cross-section sensing module and electrical cable preparation device.

A method for electrical wiring of electronic components in switchgear construction, the method comprising the steps: a. providing a plurality of electronic components which are mounted on a shared workpiece, in particular on a mounting plate; b. wiring the electronic components according to a predetermined circuit diagram and in a predetermined order by at least one robot, wherein a cable sequence of pre-assembled cables is fed to the at least one robot and the cables are arranged in the predetermined order in the cable sequence; wherein the wiring comprises gripping a free cable end of the cable sequence by a multifunctional end effector of the robot, feeding the free cable end to an electrical connection of one of the electronic components by the multifunctional end effector, and detaching the cable from the cable sequence by a separation unit of the multifunctional end effector.

A wire preparation device includes a motor, a device housing coupled to the motor, and a wire spinner held by the device housing. The wire spinner is mechanically connected to the motor via power coupling components. The wire spinner extends to a wire end that protrudes from the device housing. The wire spinner includes a collet sleeve defining a channel configured to receive an end of one or more wires of a cable therein through an opening at the wire end. The wire spinner further includes an outer collar surrounding the collet sleeve and selectively movable relative to the collet sleeve to force the collet sleeve to contract radially inward for releasably securing the one or more wires within the channel. The wire spinner is rotated by the motor relative to the device housing to untwist or straighten the one or more wires secured within the collet sleeve.

A method and apparatus to verify that proper tooling has been installed in a cable preparation apparatus and/or to calibrate the tooling prior to running the cable preparation apparatus with a cable inserted therein. The method includes: inserting a reference device between blades of the cable preparation device; moving the blades inward toward the reference device until the blades engage the reference device; collecting data to determine when the blades engage the reference device; and comparing the collected data of the blades to an expected range of data of the reference device, wherein if the collected data of the blades does not conform to the expected range of data of the reference device the tooling is not validated, and the apparatus alerts the user.