NEW CABLE HANGERS PLEASE
Bespoke cable hangers designed and manufactured by Ellis Patents have served the world’s media well during Wimbledon fortnight – with the hot-dip galvanised, structural steel products securely carrying cables around the All England Club’s Media Pavilion.
The two-storey building features a stunning rooftop terrace, broadcast editing and production space and a state-of-the-art interview suite that opens up on to the famous Broadcast Lawn. It was designed by Langstaff Day Architects and Thornton Tomasetti were the ME Engineers.
Stephen Walton, Ellis Patents’ technical director, said: “Mention cable cleats or cable hangers and people do tend to associate them with industrial developments but that’s far from the whole picture. Wherever large power cables are installed there’s a need for cable cleats to keep them secure in case of a short circuit – and so it should come as no surprise that our products are installed in some extremely high-profile locations, including the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and the Shamiya Haram in Mecca.”
“Unfortunately, they do tend to be well hidden and so I’ve not been able to spot any of them behind Novak Djokovic during any post-match interviews or Clare Balding when she’s been presenting Today at Wimbledon.”
Unlike other cable cleat manufacturers, Ellis Patents has the inhouse ability to design, test and ultimately manufacture bespoke solutions for any installation scenario – an ability that has seen them secure a great deal of business over the years with companies like Balfour Beatty, Network Rail and Siemens.
The requirement for the Media Pavilion at the All England Club was based upon cable hanger locations and shapes that had drawn on the site plan. Ellis’ team used this information to create a design that could be used with stock material and tooling; an approach that significantly minimised lead time for the project.
The process began with FEA and hand calculations that ensured the hangers would be suitable to carry the required load. Detailed fabrication drawings were then created, complete with applicable standards before being used to manufacture the hangers at Ellis’ headquarters in Rillington, North Yorkshire.
“Being asked to create a bespoke product is a challenge that all of the engineers at Ellis relish,” continued Stephen. “And the satisfaction of seeing a product you’ve designed and developed being installed is the reason why we all became engineers.”
Ellis’ product development team comprises design and mechanical engineers and toolmakers, plus inhouse testing facilities unparalleled in the industry. As well as bespoke products, the team continually strives to enhance its industry leading products – which most recently saw it extend it range of Emperor cable cleats with the addition of Emperor Quads.
