An electrical cable basket is a type of cable containment made of wires welded together, forming a wire mesh, akin to a basket. It supports and suspends cables and wiring. The open design enhances air circulation and prevents heat and dust build-up as there is less surface area for it to accumulate. Sometimes, large power cables set within the basket may need support blocks to solve the spacing issues between conductors and stop overheating of the basket’s wires.
Cable baskets are great solutions for routing and supporting numerous cable runs and when there is a large number of smaller cables involved. Because the system is ventilated, they’re also appropriate beneath desks, elevated floors, or hanging tray systems.
One of its benefits, particularly over cable tray, is its ease and speed of installation. They can easily be clipped together and don’t require gutter bolts, roofing, bends, tees, or any separate component; as opposed to cable tray which needs to be bolted together with gutter bolts. All you need are couplers, clips, and bolt croppers. Say you wanted to go around a 90° bend; you’d just have to snip out a V in a wire and bend it. You’re not forced to stick to an angle – you can make the bend at whatever angle you need. Any change of direction is very easily made, making the routing of installation much more flexible. Couplers are used for lengths, and clips for making tees and bends.
On top of this, if you need to drop cables down, for example, if you had a run and needed to drop cables down each meter, you could easily push through the gaps at the bottom of the basket. They’re also very lightweight, and therefore ideal for one-man installation, but still have good load-bearing characteristics.
You can assemble cable baskets for intersections, horizontal sections, mounting braces, and hardware.
They come in different finishes for different applications but are almost always used indoors. They are ideal for trapeze-type indoor installations (due to their electro-galvanized finish).