Marking of wires and cables and deciphering of marks

The marking of cables, cords and other products designed for electrical wiring is a detail that is extremely important. This term should be understood as a code from a set of letters and numbers, applied to the insulation of cable products - examples of deciphering and the table will help to understand this issue, even for the beginner.

Why do you need the marking?

The market offers dozens of types of electrical wires and various cables with different technical indicators. However, it is impossible to choose the right products by their appearance, because visually many wires are identical. Marking can be of great help here.

Cables are classified according to a common system. The most important product features are identified by letters or numbers. Thus, the marking makes it easier to decipher the cable brand.

General principles of cable marking

The basic standards and principles of wire and cable marking are similar. At the same time, there is no great difficulty in deciphering. The main thing is to remember a few rules.

To identify cable products, the marking is used, which consists of 7 groups, including letters and numbers. The code has the following form: X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.

Each numeric and alphabetic value is written in a strictly designated order. Highlighted are:

1. 1 group. It indicates the material of the veins.
2. 2 group. It indicates the material of which the armor, shielding, insulation of the cores or sheath is made. The marking of the armored cable is also indicated here.
3. Group 3. Design features are indicated (these include the possibility of using the product for laying in the ground, pipes).
4. Group 4. It has a numerical value, which means the number of cores in the cable. The absence of a number indicates that there is only one core.
5. Group 5. Denotes the cross-sectional area, which is expressed in mm².
6. Group 6. From this characteristic you can learn the index of the rated voltage of the network.
7. Group 7. At the end of the marking indicates the standard according to GOST or TU.

With the use of such a scheme, you can get comprehensive information on deciphering the marking of cables and wires.

Insulation type, armor and protection

The deciphering of cable abbreviations should be carried out taking into account generally accepted standards.

Core material

Only 2 options are possible here:

• No letter - copper (copper wire does not need any designation);
• "A" - the letter denoting the cores made of aluminum.

In the deciphering of abbreviations, acronyms will help the data from this table.

Letter designation of the insulation material (2 positions)
В	This type of insulation is made of polyvinyl chloride (in other words, PVC).
П	Polyethylene was used in the manufacture of the insulation.
Р	Rubber is used for insulation.
HP	Nairitic (made of non-flammable rubber)
Ц	Film insulation (used in the manufacture of assembly wires)
Г	The protective layer is completely absent (bare).
Ф	Fluoroplastic
К	This letter identifies the control cable (its purpose).
KG	Flexible cable
Letter designation of the protective sheath, if any (3 position)
А	Made of aluminum.
П	Protective sheath - polyethylene hose
Poo	Reinforced polyethylene hose
С	Lead sheath
Р	Made of rubber
В	PVC (polyvinyl chloride) sheath
Alphabetic designation of the material for manufacturing the type of armor, if any (4 positions)
BbG	Armor consists of a profiled band made of steel.
Bn	Armor consists of steel bands with a protective cover, the material does not support combustion.
В	Polyvinyl chloride is used.
Bl	Armor made of steel straps, Bl
Д	Braid is made of double wire.
К	Round steel wires that are encased in a steel sheath are used as armor.
П	Armour made of flat steel wire
Д	A braid consisting of two wires is used.
Type of cable outer cover used (5 positions)
Э	Shielded cladding (often this type is represented by aluminum foil)
Г	Hydro insulation is present (protects against corrosion)
В	This letter designation can have 2 transcripts. If it is in the middle, the protective cover is made of PVC, the second variety is the location of "B" at the end. This means that the cover is made of paper.
О	Wires covered with insulation and connected with a winding
Н	Cover made of non-combustible material
Shp	The protection is represented by a polyethylene hose.
Schw	Hose made of vinyl
Schps	Polyethylene capable of self-extinguishing

Communication cables are marked with the following abbreviations. The abbreviation may contain the following values:

• MK - means trunk cable;
• Sh - mine;
• MK - these letters are applied to trunk cables;
• RK - the abbreviation indicates a radio-frequency cable;
• T - designed for telephone communications;
• O - optical type;
• KS - cable products for communication;
• KM - it characterizes the combined trunk type;
• BK - these letters characterize the intrazone communication cables;
• PPP - the insulation is presented as a three-layer film (film-support-film).
• H - in this kind of cables the cores are twisted into "star" four.

Explanation of numerical values

After the letter designations in the marking of power cables there are several numbers. To decipher it will take a little effort:

1. 1 position. Here you can see the operating voltage for which this type of cable is designed. In the absence of such a number, the cable is used for 220 V.
2. 2 position. This figure indicates how many conductors are present in the cable product.
3. 3 position. Here, the cross-section of the working core is indicated. The second and third positions are indicated with an "x" sign. For example, 3 x 16 (where 3 is the number of conductors, and 16 is their cross-sectional area).

If cores of the same cross-section are present, then the digital marking ends there. When a "zero" core is present, it has a smaller cross-section. In this case, a "+" sign is used and the number and cross-section of the "neutral" core is indicated. For example, 3 x 16 + 1 x 10.

Examples of deciphering

If the principle of reading abbreviations is clear, then there should be no problems with finding the right products. For an example of deciphering, it is worth paying attention to common combinations:

1. APvPu2g. This marking indicates the presence of aluminum wires (A). Cross-linked polyethylene (Pv) was used for wire insulation. The cable jacket is made of reinforced polyethylene (Pu). In addition, there is double waterproofing - this can be understood from the expression "2g".
2. APvPu. In this variant there are conductors of aluminum (A), the wire insulation of cross-linked polyethylene (Pv) and the shell with the reinforcement of polyethylene was applied.
3. KSSH 50x2x0.64. This marking of communication cables is common. It shows: it is a communication cable (KS), refers to mine (Sh). The number of pairs reaches 50, in pairs twisted 2 cores. The diameter of the conductor is 0.64 sq.mm.
4. VVGng-frls. Against the background of the others is distinguished by cable frls. The abbreviation indicates the following. The conductors are made of copper (no letter A). Insulation of conductors made of PVC. The outer sheath is made of polyvinyl chloride. The cable has no additional armor (i.e. naked) and does not burn (this is indicated by the letters "ng"). FR - Fire Resistance, the presence of the index LS characterizes the small amount of smoke when smoldering.

Wires marking

Wires and cable products have some differences, the difference is more flexibility of wires and their smaller cross-sectional index. In addition, wires are divided into multi-core and single-core. It is possible to distinguish the wire by the letters "P" in the marking. It is indicated in the 2nd place.

Another feature is the indication of the design characteristics:

• G - the wire has flexibility;
• C - used for connections;
• T - suitable for pipe laying.

Otherwise, the principle of designation of cables and wires is similar.

Online deciphering of cable grades

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