SDC#7 LoungeCon Workshop Series:
Saturday, 21 October come learn why "There are no cable ties in space!" from Redvers Davies.
No Cable Ties in Space, You Say?
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| Yeah, I'm on Mars - Oh Yeah! |
In spaceflight, your cabling is subject to a massive amount of vibration so your cables have to be held securely. When you use cable ties to secure cables you have to make them tight which damages the cables being secured, especially when accelerating to leave the Earth's gravity.
Cable lacing is used because the knots don't have to be tight as the cord itself is sticky. Lacing cord's wax covering keeps everything secure without the risk of having to be stupid tight.
Cable ties are evil. They were designed to save time, not produce the best result. Like most things in life, investment in doing it right at the beginning can reap dividends in maintenance later on.
Why Cable Lace On Earth?
Many reasons. First and foremost, learn a skill that has been passed down by generations of linemen and telco operators. It's a part of our heritage as hackers.
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| Credit: reddit /u/perpetualjon |
Secondly, it's damn useful. You can do a cable-run of tens, or even hundreds of cables in such a way that you can identify both ends of one cable just by observation. It's extendable, you can add cables to a bundle indefinitely as your needs grow.
Finally, we all know that 'Upper Management' doesn't always understand what we do so they judge us on what they understand. If they see crappy cabling, they assume crappy management of your systems.
If your cabling looks like it could have a starring role on /r/cableporn, then clearly you are the infrastructure genius that they have been waiting for to throw money at.
So, get money thrown at you. Start cable lacing!