Cable protection certification (UL, VG, MIL, CSA)
Approvals and standards are often used to standardize industrial products. Internationally recognized test procedures guarantee the safety and performance of products for various industrial applications. This increases quality assurance and is also relevant for legal aspects. For the aviation application industry, only specifically approved products are used. In this specific case, proof is required in the form of a COC (Certificate of Conformity). If required, the supplier will issue this certificate to the customer. The following industry standards are particularly relevant for our product range of heat shrink tubing , fabric tubing , insulation tubing , cables and wires :
MIL Standards
VG Standard
UL Standards
CSA Standards
DIN norms/EN (European standards)
MIL Standard
the most important international certification is the US Military Standards, also known as “MIL Specifications”. These are a series of guidelines, instructions and general rules that ensure the interoperability, compatibility and reliability of products and processes related to military systems. The scope and definition of these are set out in the Defense Standardization Program (DSP), the so-called DoD Manual 4120.24. In addition to the respective main application areas of the US military, NATO, the Navy and the aviation industry also use MIL standards. Depending on the product scope, the manufacturer is responsible for demonstrating compliance with these standards, such as heat shrink tubing . In more sensitive areas such as wire and cable, suppliers must be included in the Qualified Producers List (QPL). The MIL Specifications have been renamed several times in recent decades. The current name is
VG Standard
Defense equipment standards are the German derivative of the MIL certification. They therefore also concern the certification of products in the German military sector and are primarily used by the German Federal Armed Forces. The publisher of the VG standards is the German Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Armed Forces in Koblenz. Specifically, VG standards are equivalent in status to DIN standards and contain technical and techno-economic requirements for articles and procedures in the defense sector that cannot be achieved with civilian standards. These standards are developed by experts from the defense sector in cooperation with industry representatives. If there is a civilian standard that adequately meets the defense requirements, the corresponding VG standard will be withdrawn. If VG certification is required, we will try to obtain it for the specific product.
UL certified
Underwriters Laboratories standards are issued by an American agency established by a well-known insurance company. These standards are responsible for testing and certifying the safety of products. It is important to note that they do not approve, but rather test products, components, materials and systems to ensure that they meet specific individual requirements and safety standards. The UL conformity mark proves that the product meets the requirements. In total, the American agency has established more than 1,300 safety standards to date. In most cases, these standards analyze electrical strength, fire performance and flammability. UL certified products are usually marked with instructions about their specific properties. We have some UL certified products in the Fitcotube ® range in our product range. These hoses include the thin-walled FT 100 UL and FT 300 UL hoses, which are mainly used for insulation, the thin-walled FT 175 UL and FT 190 UL hoses, which have particularly high temperature and chemical resistance, the thin-walled FT 275 UL hose, which is very elastic and flexible, and the double-walled FT 800 UL hose, which is particularly suitable for waterproof and moisture-proof encapsulation.
CSA Standards
The Canadian Standards Association’s approval is equivalent to the Underwriters Laboratories standards in the United States. In addition, mutual recognition between the two organizations has been going on for many years. In addition, the same test procedures are often used for very similar groups of products under investigation. Therefore, these standards should be classified as almost identical.
DIN certification/European standards
The German Institute for Standardization is responsible for setting performance and safety standards for industrial products and processes. These standards are developed jointly by industry and government representatives. In most of our product portfolio, these national standards have been superseded by European equivalents made up of three committees (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI). All EN standards are developed through a public standardization process. Neither DIN nor EN standards represent market-oriented approval. They cover many product lines.
