Explosion-proof cable glands
In hazardous environments, proper cable entry is not a detail but an essential part of the overall safety of the installation. Explosion-proof cable glands provide reliable sealing, strain relief and mechanical protection for cables in Ex zones. At Ysebaert, you will find a comprehensive range of explosion-proof cable glands and accessories for various applications, available in nickel-plated brass and plastic, with different thread types and solutions for a wide range of cable diameters. In addition to cable glands, we also supply Ex stopping plugs, reducers and adapters, allowing you to safely seal unused entries or correctly adapt existing threads and openings.
Whether you are designing a new installation, assembling a terminal enclosure or expanding an existing Ex installation, we help you select the right components for safe, compliant and durable installation. If you want to quickly choose the correct Ex cable gland, Ex stopping plug or suitable adapter, you can rely on our technical advice and clear overview of available solutions.
Explosion-proof cable glands Exd / Exe
Nickel-plated brass / plastic / stainless steel (SS316)
Our explosion-proof cable glands are available in nickel-plated brass, plastic and stainless steel for safe cable entry in Ex zones. You can choose from various thread types and clamping ranges to ensure the gland fits the cable diameter and enclosure correctly. This allows you to create a reliable ATEX cable entry with proper sealing, strain relief and compliance.
We offer solutions for:
- armoured and unarmoured cable
- EMC applications
- metric and NPT threads
Not found what you are looking for? The following options are also available on request:
- ambient temperature -60°C to +140°C
- other clamping ranges
- larger sizes up to M130x2.0 and 5” NPT
- cable gland for flat cable
- other certifications
- ...
ATEX stopping plugs Exd / Exe
Nickel-plated brass / plastic / stainless steel (SS316)
Explosion-proof stopping plugs ensure safe sealing of unused cable entries in hazardous environments. At Ysebaert, you will find a wide range of ATEX-certified stopping plugs for Ex e and Ex d applications, available in nickel-plated brass, plastic and stainless steel, with metric and NPT threads.
ATEX reducers and adapters
Nickel-plated brass / plastic / stainless steel (SS316)
Explosion-proof reducers and adapters are used as transition fittings between different threads in enclosures and cable glands. With reducers, the male thread is larger than the female thread. With adapters, the male thread is smaller than the female thread. The transition is limited to two thread sizes for metal fittings (e.g. M20 → M32) and one thread size for plastic fittings (e.g. M20 → M25).
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FAQ
A flameproof (Exd) cable gland meets both the specific requirements defined in EN 60079-1 (= Exd) and the general obligations outlined in EN 60079-0.
Cable glands that comply with EN 60079-0 are suitable for Exe certification. Consequently, an Exd cable gland can also be used in an Exe application.
These cable glands are usually dual-certified (Exd/Exe) or even triple-certified (Exd/Exe/Ext).
An increased safety cable gland cannot be used in a flameproof housing.
Yes, if all of the following conditions are satisfied (EN 60079-0, Annex A):
- The possibility is mentioned in the certificate of the cable gland.
- The user himself arranges for an additional external pull relief.
- The reinforcement is earthed by connecting it with PE lath or clamp (in the box).
And naturally, one mustn’t forget:
- The end customer accepts this solution!
Single clamping cable glands in our line.
Plastic ATEX cable glands are developed for use in explosion-risk zones with protection type "e" in accordance with EN 60079-0 and EN 60079-7.
Exe certified cable glands fulfil the requirements of EN 60079-0 with regard to impact resistance, minimum IP54, ageing, UV resistance, etc.
For Exi cable glands according to EN 60079-11 the requirements are less strict (minimum IP20, anti-static for zone 0, visual indication that it is Exi, etc.)
For Exi circuits, a blue Exe-certified variant is available. This makes it easy for the user to quickly recognise Exi circuits.
Sometimes cable glands are purchased without knowing the correct cable diameter. It may happen that the chosen cable gland is too big.
Standard EN 60079-14 is very clear about this:
You must always select the cable gland that matches the cable diameter.
What you should definitely NOT do in that case is make the cable thicker by winding insulating tape around it, or using heat shrink.
Our EBU and KBAU cable glands have a very large clamping range. So the problem described above is unlikely to arise.
Do you know what an insert plug is? Do you understand the difference between an insert plug and a regular plug?
Besides mistakes about the correct usage, there is often confusion about the right terminology.
Ysebaert makes a distinction between:
- Plug: This is a fully-fledged Exe seal with its own ATEX certificate.
It is important in relation to the insert plug that it is only ATEX certified in combination with a specific Exe cable gland. So you cannot just combine an insert plug of brand A with a cable gland of brand B.
Another common misconception is that the yellow cap supplied inside our Exe glands makes the gland suitable for use as a stopping plug. This is absolutely not the case. The cap only serves as protection against dirt and dust and must be removed during installation.
In Exe applications, in practice it is almost always mandatory between a cable gland, adapter or plug and a housing.
This washer is necessary to guarantee the minimum IP54 requirement for Exe.
Only if the wall of the housing is thicker than 6 mm and it concerns a tapped hole may the washer be omitted (sealing via screw thread).
The logical rule is that cable glands and housings are made of the same material: metal cable glands should be screwed on to metal housings and plastic cable glands should be screwed on to plastic housings.
However, in practice this may lead to some problems:
- Stainless steel housings: stainless steel cable glands are very expensive.
- Aluminium housings: aluminium cable glands may gall after some time.
- Potential differences between different metals (thermocouple effect) cause corrosion.
If you fit a metal cable gland to plastic, the cable gland must be grounded.
We have the following solutions for our CP series:
- Offshore plate on the inside of the cabinet: elegant, easy solution.
- Individual grounding plates on the outside of the cabinet: end user must apply grounding to every plate himself.
To check NPT screw thread one starts from the rules according to the NPT standard ANSI / ASME B1.20.1, old EN 50018 and new EN 60079-1.
In the case of male screw thread, the rules of the NPT standard are identical to that of the Exd standard. The working method for testing an Exd cable gland with a ring gauge is thus the same as that of standard material.
When female screw thread is involved, however, there is a difference between the NPT standard and the Exd standard EN 60079-1. The working method for testing female NPT screw thread with a plug gauge consequently requires the necessary knowledge.
Contact us if you’d like more information on this.
Theoretically it is allowed to equip Exd cable glands, adaptors or plugs with a gasket - on condition, however, that there has to be a minimum of 5 complete threads of contact. This applies for both straight (metric) and conical (NPT) wire.
Thus in practice (simply) adding your own gasket for a metric adaptor, plug or cable gland is not recommended!
The application of grease to the screw thread is allowed if it is a suitable grease, meaning: non-hardening, non-metallic and non-flammable, and as long as the earthing remains assured.
Article 13 of the current edition of EN60079-1: 2014 (Exd standard) states that only 1 adapter is allowed per hole. The same article also states that it is not permitted to install a stop in such an adapter.
"Each entry shall have no more than one thread adapter when an adapter is used. A blanking element shall not be used with an adapter."
The term adapter refers to both a reducer and enlarger (see drawing C2 in annex C).
When Exe glands (plastic or metal) are mounted in an Exe housing in combination with a locknut, this last one should be a metal one. Since the combination gland-nut should also resist the impact- and aging tests (for plastics) as described in the EN 60079-0.
This means in practice that a regular plastic locknut after a severe winter and/or a warm summer would break while undergoing this impacttest.
Of course there are suitable plastics which allow to create an 'ex-plastic-locknut'. However, certification of this product would not be useful. This is why most of the EU-type examination certificates of plastic Exe glands include the instruction, in case of the need of a locknut, to use a metal one.
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