Cable seals for the defense vehicle industry

Manufacturers rely on integrators to equip their defense vehicles with the right weapon and protection systems. A design including Roxtec seals provides extensive flexibility, which is critical if you want to meet the demands throughout the supply chain.

Simplicity in the field

Upgrade and repair work is often realized at military operated hubs, far from the manufacturing plant. The vehicle is inspected, parts are replaced, and new technology is added. Service-friendliness and vehicle reliability are major concerns for the equipment owner who also serves as source of information for the manufacturer and future product development. By using Roxtec seals, you make it easier for everyone – from the design team to the maintenance team. 

Flexibility in final assembly

Installation of Roxtec seals requires no special tools. This makes assembly as well as integration and reset work an easy task. Preinstalled seals and cables in frames as sub-assemblies reduce installation time on the assembly line at the plant. Both during assembly and later on in a vehicle’s service life, equipment will need to be changed. Roxtec customized solutions help you manage any cramped space or cable density requirement. Round or rectangular frames designed to fit pre-made openings of any size and shape help saving space and reducing weight.  

Cable glands, connectors and grommets are frequent in the industry, but Roxtec multi-cable transits are outstanding whenever new equipment systems need to be added. Roxtec solutions require less space and have no signal loss. 

Roxtec seals eliminate the need for soldering of connector pins on each side of a penetration. When connectors are required, they are easy to pass through the transit frame before fitting the modules. With vast experience built into our cable seal offering, we have solutions for your application regardless of where on the vehicle the need occurs. 

High shielding performance

Lightning strikes and other electromagnetic threats put vehicles at higher risk as advanced C4I technology is entering new vehicles and added to existing vehicles in the field. Armored vehicles need higher protection against new threats in the hostile environment they operate.

An armored vehicle has protection against EMI/EMP as the metal body structure shields it from electromagnetic disturbances. However, any opening made in the armor plate puts it at risk. Cable entrances in a vehicle’s body structure are inevitable. To avoid losing shielding properties, the cable armor needs bonding to the vehicle body where it enters the armor plate.

EMC technology

Effective bonding of armored cables

The Roxtec BG™ solution with its integrated conductive braid is an effective way of bonding the cable armor for potential equalization. Roxtec BG™ modules have extremely low impedance between the cable shield and the body structure, with high protection for conducted interferences. Tests have proven that these modules have an efficiency of 99.4% in leading off fault currents, which is best in class. Roxtec BG™ transits have been tested by several authorities regarding withstand for short circuit failures and current surges simulating lightning strikes.        

In addition, the braid around each module half creates a “honeycomb filter” in the frame opening which furthermore shields against field-bound disturbances up to around 100 MHz.

Roxtec bonding and grounding

Shielding against EMI/EMP

Electronic warfare is a threat to people and equipment. In order to stay protected at all times it is imperative to use a cable transit that shields from both lower and higher frequencies generated by electromagnetic pulse weapons used in warfare. Roxtec ES solutions combining grounding of the cable jacket and shielding against high-frequency high-power electromagnetic fields are an essential part of any modern personal carrier where C4I equipment plays a crucial role in completion of the mission. At Roxtec we have shielded control rooms and test chambers to verify shielding performance of the cable transit up to 20 GHz.

Both Roxtec BG™ and ES systems protect the vehicle cable opening from conducted and field-bound disturbances up to around 100 MHz, with high enough signal attenuation. However, in military warfare with presence of high-altitude electromagnetic pulse weapons, HEMP, the ES system has the capability of further protecting against field-bound disturbances up to 10 GHz. For a well-designed communication system with high quality cables and components suited to meet the strict requirements of the MIL and IEC standards, Roxtec is the cable transit solution. Solving multiple needs in the one and same frame is unique in the industry and a great advantage to defense vehicle manufacturers. Roxtec multi-cable transits protect against the effects of electromagnetic warfare and multiple environmental threats, all in a small package.