Techniques, systems and articles are described for preparing electrical cables for connections to a power grid. In one example, a cable-cross-section-measurement tool includes a housing defining a cavity, wherein the housing is configured to position an end-face of an electrical cable within the cavity; a camera disclosed within the cavity of the housing, wherein the camera is configured to capture an image of the end-face of the electrical cable; and a telecentric lens optically coupled to the camera, wherein the telecentric lens comprises a non-angular field of view configured to reduce, in the image, distortion from parallax associated with at least one portion of the end-face of the electrical cable that is oriented at an oblique angle relative to an optical axis of the telecentric lens.

An object is to provide a wire stripper. The wire stripper includes: a wire stripper body having a first member, a second member and a first passage; a blade body attached to the second member and configured to separate the sheathed wire into a sheath layer and a core wire; a press plate part arranged to the first member so as to face the blade body and having a press surface configured to press the sheathed wire against the blade body; and a distance adjusting member configured to adjust the distance between the first member and the second member. The first member has a first guide part defining a part of the first passage and configured to guide relative motion of the wire stripper body relative to the sheathed wire. The press plate part protrudes on the first passage side from the first guide part.

A cutting tool for a cable jacket is provided. The cutting tool includes a housing and a blade tip. The housing includes a first section and a second section coupled together via a pivot joint. The first section and the second section are rotatable with respect to a pivot axis defined by the pivot joint between a closed position and an opened position. When in the closed position, the first section and second section define a through-hole centered on and extending along a longitudinal axis. The pivot joint is offset to a side of the through-hole, and the longitudinal axis is oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to the pivot axis. The blade tip is positioned within the through-hole and is configured to cut a cable jacket located within the through-hole.

Techniques, systems, and articles are described for preparing electrical cables for connections to a power grid. In one example, a system includes a handheld 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.

A powered wire skinner is configured with a skinner assembly that circumferentially attaches to a wire and a drive assembly that engages with a gear on the skinner to cause a portion of the skinner to rotate about the wire while cutting its exterior skin. The drive includes a drive shaft that engages with an electric drill's chuck. The rotation of the electric drill at the drive shaft translates to the rotational movement of the skinner assembly, thereby cutting the wire's skin to ultimately remove a portion of the wire's skin and expose the wire's metallic portion. The skinner's blade is spring-loaded to cause downward pressure against any surface that engages with the wire, namely the wire's skin. Thus, the rotational movement initiated by the power drill causes the spring-loaded blade to cut the skin and ultimately remove a desired portion of it.