AutomationDirect's addition of cut-to-length Lapp OLFLEX 190 cable gives panel builders and machine OEMs a practical way to reduce material waste while meeting NFPA 79 and UL tray-rated standards.
- Cut-to-length service eliminates bulk spool waste and reduces inventory overhead
- OLFLEX 190 is oil-resistant, flexible, and rated for continuous flexing applications
- NFPA 79 compliance is built-in, not an afterthought — critical for US market access
Industrial Lineup The Problem with Industrial Control Cabling
Control cable selection in manufacturing environments involves more trade-offs than most engineers admit. You need flexibility for tight panel layouts and moving machinery, but tray-rated cables often sacrifice that for mechanical durability. Oil resistance, washdown compatibility, and compliance with NFPA 79 add further constraints. Then there is the material waste from buying standard reel lengths when you only need 47 feet.
AutomationDirect's latest addition to its cable portfolio addresses several of these pain points simultaneously. What OLFLEX 190 Offers
The Lapp OLFLEX 190 is a flexible control cable built for machinery, equipment, and control panel applications. It uses finely stranded copper conductors with number-coded insulation, which simplifies identification during termination and troubleshooting compared to color-coding schemes that fade or get obscured by conduit fill.
The outer jacket resists oil, coolant, and solvents. This matters because coolant exposure is one of the faster ways to degrade standard PVC jacketing in machine tool environments. The cable is rated for dry, damp, and wet locations, so it handles washdown applications without requiring a separate cable specification for food processing or pharmaceutical equipment.
On the regulatory side, it carries TC-ER and PLTC-ER approvals and complies with NFPA 79 machinery wiring standards. For engineers working in facilities where inspectors flag non-compliant cable runs, this removes a documentation headache.
The size range runs from 20 AWG to 6 AWG with conductor counts up to 41. That covers everything from low-current sensor wiring to power distribution for motor control centers. Cut-to-Length: A Practical Cost Reduction
One detail that caught my attention: AutomationDirect offers this cable cut to length in 1-foot increments. In an industry where you typically buy 500-foot reels or pre-cut lengths that leave you with 80 feet of scrap, this is unusual.
For a panel shop wiring ten identical machines, cut-to-length ordering eliminates the inventory of leftover cable segments that accumulate in bins and eventually get discarded. The cost savings are modest per job but compound across multiple projects. More importantly, it reduces the administrative overhead of tracking partial reels. Where It Fits in the Market
The OLFLEX 190 slots alongside existing tray-rated control cables in AutomationDirect's catalog. It does not replace them but provides an option where flexibility and chemical resistance are higher priorities than the lowest possible cost per foot.
I see the primary use cases as machine tool builders, OEM panel shops, and facilities maintenance teams dealing with coolant-rich environments. The NFPA 79 compliance also makes it suitable for new machinery builds where third-party inspection is required before shipment. Availability
The cable is available now through AutomationDirect's standard ordering channels. Cut-to-length service applies to all conductor sizes and counts in the range.
M4S TAKE
My take: AI claims need scrutiny. The useful implementations reduce cycle time or defect rates in measurable ways. Vague promises about 'optimization' without specific metrics are usually marketing.
Simon McLoughlin
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