Background
New safety requirements calling for substation entrance gates to be grounded led to a current customer in Hawaii to ask DMC Power for help with a sliding fence at their substation.
Problem
This particular installation on a sliding gate had a few unique challenges:
Large span from one connection point to the other meant an elevated solution was required
- Traditional bolted connectors and braided ground cables would snap due to the constant movement, creating a dangerous safety situation
- Hot & wet weather cycles would occur daily
- High copper theft potential
Solution
Our solution was to Swage a flexible, coated grounding wire to a tin-plated fence post connector on the sliding gate and the other end to a tin-plated grounding terminal anchored and elevated into a concrete wall.
The flexible wire allowed for durability and free movement, the tin-plating provided theft resistance, the elevated assembly kept the wire off the ground and the Swaging safely and permanently solved the wear and tear issue by forming a solid 360 degree connection.
Conclusion
The entire assembly took place in less than 30 minutes. The customer was extremely happy with the results and will continue using this solution on other sliding gate projects.