Challenge
In today's competitive market, contractors, engineers, specifiers, and owners must balance cost and quality. For cable management, understanding the quality and reliability of the tray is imperative. Wire basket trays can look similar but may not always perform the same. Choosing the right wire basket tray is critical to help avoid downtime and rework.
Solution
Eaton's B-Line series Flextray wire basket tray and splices outperform many other mesh trays, helping to ensure the integrity and quality of cable pathways.
Advantages of Flextray Wire Basket
Eaton's B-Line series Flextray wire basket systems are tested based on NEC allowable fill rules and NEMA VE1-2009 / CSAC22.2 No. 126.1-09.
Splice Requirement Calculations
By interpolating the height and width of the wire basket tray, users can easily calculate the correct splice connection quantity required. The chart provides guidance for a strong, reliable attachment for continuing the tray run, ensuring a positive connection not based on friction.
Splicing Chart (Number of splices required for UL Classification)
| Tray Height | Tray Width - number of splices | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2" (50mm) | 4" (100mm) | 6" (150mm) | 8" (200mm) | 12" (300mm) | 16" (400mm) | 18" (450mm) | 20" (500mm) | 24" (600mm) | >24" (>600mm) | |
| 2" | NC | NC | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 4" | NM | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 6" | NM | NM | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
*NC - Not classified, *NM - Not Made
Understanding Load and Safety Factor
Eaton maintains a 1.5 safety factor for designing and documenting the load ratings of the Flextray wire basket tray system. The chart below shows the optimal use of supports based on fill capacity and applied load. The full-sized wire diameter is consistent across all Flextray sizes, avoiding changes that could impact deflections. This consistency provides specifiers with predictability and simplifies load assessment.
Load and Safety Factor Chart
| Catalog # | Rail Height | Load Depth | Span Load lbs/ft | Available Widths | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6' | 8' | ||||
| FT2X2X10 | 2.380" | 2.000" | 28 | 20 | 2" |
| FT2X4X10 | 2.380" | 2.000" | 43 | 27 | 4" |
| FT2X6X10 | 2.380" | 2.000" | 47 | 27 | 6" |
| FT2X8X10 | 2.380" | 2.000" | 47 | 27 | 8" |
| FT2X12X10 | 2.380" | 2.000" | 47 | 27 | 12" |
| FT2X18X10 | 2.380" | 2.000" | 47 | 27 | 18" |
| FT2X20X10 | 2.380" | 2.000" | 47 | 27 | 20" |
| FT2X24X10 | 2.380" | 2.000" | 47 | 27 | 24" |
| FT4X4X10 | 4.380" | 4.000" | 49 | 36 | 4" |
| FT4X8X10 | 4.380" | 4.000" | 77 | 46 | 8" |
| FT4X12X10 | 4.380" | 4.000" | 83 | 47 | 12" |
| FT4X18X10 | 4.380" | 4.000" | 83 | 47 | 18" |
| FT4X20X10 | 4.380" | 4.000" | 83 | 47 | 20" |
| FT4X24X10 | 4.380" | 4.000" | 89 | 50 | 24" |
| FT6X12X10 | 6.380" | 6.000" | 86 | 48 | 12" |
| FT6X18X10 | 6.380" | 6.000" | 89 | 50 | 18" |
| FT6X20X10 | 6.380" | 6.000" | 98 | 55 | 20" |
| FT6X24X10 | 6.380" | 6.000" | 107 | 60 | 24" |
Example: FT4X18X10 is a popular cable tray size and can hold over 700 cables per foot for Cat 5E cables, with a loaded weight of 36 Lbs. per foot. The rated load for this tray is 47 Lbs. at an 8 ft span. If trays were made with smaller wire (as is common with other manufacturers), the load capacity could be as low as 27 Lbs. per ft, limiting tray fill to 25% of its volume capacity.
Minimal material savings from using lighter duty trays or non-positive attachments can lead to shorter support spans and increased deflections, requiring more supports. This can ultimately result in a higher total installed cost.
Conclusion
Eaton's B-Line series Flextray wire basket system offers consistency in wire diameters and loads, ensuring predictable and reliable performance. This makes Flextray ideal for carrying fiber optic, data, and control cables in commercial, institutional, and data center applications.
For more information, visit Eaton.com/Flextray.
