Safety Cable and terminator tool continue to solve industry-wide problem

Loose fasteners on aircraft engines have been a challenge for engineers since the early days of flight, jeopardizing the parts they secure and human safety. The original solution to this problem was lockwiring the fasteners, but this process proved time consuming and troublesome during installation, inspection and removal. It wasn’t until GE's Aircraft Engine Group met with engineers from Bergen Cable Technology to explore a better alternative that the Safety Cable was developed. The result was a safer, easier and faster retention system.

Team work

Though the Safety Cable conformed to military specifications and its stainless steel construction was specified to effect consistent tensile load, the team still needed an efficient way for the user to install it — a tool that would tension the cable, pull the assembly tight and simultaneously crimp a fitting on. It had to be small enough to fit into tight spaces, light enough to avoid worker fatigue, yet provide the appropriate amount of force to adequately crimp the second fitting.

Enter Bergen’s Terminator Tool, a unique instrument that tensions the Safety Cable through any bolt pattern, crimps the fitting to the cable end, and cuts the cable flush to the fitting in one smooth motion.

A time-saving tool

Previously, operators had to manually thread a single strand of wire through the fastener holes and twist it with pliers while maintaining a positive pull and sufficient flex. It was a complicated task that, if performed incorrectly, had to be repeated. Today, operators are able to install cable through fasteners in a neutral or positive position, insert a loose ferrule on to the cable, string the end of the cable through a special Bergen tool, and tension the assembly to the preset load. The tool crimps the ferrule and cuts the cable flush to the ferrule in one motion.

The end result is that countless hours have been saved for leading aerospace companies like General Electric Aircraft Engines, Pratt and Whitney, Rolls Royce, NASA and Boeing. Government, military, shipbuilding, power generation, electronics, drilling systems and pipelines also experience the savings in their markets, in addition to a new level of safety and quality assurance.

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