Corrugated tubing can protect work-area cabling

George Brooks

MTS Services

Problem

Power poles often connect directly to modular furniture, permitting cable to run from ceiling to raceway without being exposed. However, when cable must exit a structural pillar or wall, it may be exposed for a short distance before entering the modular-furniture raceway. The exposed cable bundle crossing this gap is unsightly. It may also represent a hazard; people walking by may trip on it, hurting themselves and potentially damaging or disconnecting the delicate cables.

Solution

Corrugated plastic tubing can be used to enclose the cable bundle where it crosses the gap between pillar or wall and furniture raceway. Tubing that is slit is available, allowing you to add it after the cable has already been pulled. By extending the tubing several inches into both the pillar and the raceway, the cable can be guided around the burrs and rough edges found on modular-furniture punchouts and junction boxes. The tubing provides the added benefits of hiding unsightly cable bundles and warning passersby away from the cable run.

Procedure

1) Pull the cable through the pillar or wall, and then through the modular-furniture raceway.

2) Select the diameter of the corrugated plastic tubing based on the size of the cable bundle. Measure the gap between pillar and raceway. Then, cut off the appropriate length of tubing, leaving several inches of tubing at each end to keep the cable bundle protected through the punchout and junction box.

Slip corrugated plastic tubing over an exposed cable bundle to conceal the run and protect the cables from damage by passersby.