ULC develops Cable Splicing Machine with Con Ed to improve safety, power grid reliability [Video]

Homes, businesses, and more depend on a reliable and resilient electric grid. The connections between cables can be improperly spliced, leading to system stress and power outages. Highly trained operatives typically have to make hazardous manual repairs, noted ULC Technologies LLC.

The Hauppauge, N.Y.-based unit of SPX Technologies Inc. and Con Edison Company of New York have developed a system that automates the termination of medium-voltage cables. Version 3 of ULC’s Cable Splicing Machine brought the technology out of the proof-of-concept stage into a prototype to be tested in real-world conditions.

The Cable Splicing Machine can perform complex operations in underground vaults. It consists of several independent subsystems controlled by a centralized computer and a user interface.

The system can be secured onto the middle of an uncut cable and uses electrical actuators for precise motion control along the axial and circumferential directions. This enables continuous 360-degree operation, said ULC …