Instrumentation Cables

Instrumentation cable does one job that power cable doesn't: it carries a low-voltage signal, often 4-20mA or a digital protocol, from a field transmitter back to a control room without the signal degrading from electrical interference picked up along the route. That's why the construction is built around screening rather than current-carrying capacity. Individual pairs get their own foil screen, and the full cable gets an overall screen (foil, braid, or both), each terminated to a drain wire so the screen actually does its job at the panel end.

NLS sources instrumentation cable in twisted pair, triad, and multi-pair (2, 4, 8, 12, 19, 24 pair and larger) constructions, conductor sizes from 0.5mm² to 1.5mm², individually screened and overall screened (IS/OS) or overall screened only depending on the loop count and noise environment. Reference standards are typically BS 5308 Part 1 and Part 2 for the screening and construction, with PVC or LSZH sheath options.

Typical use on Saudi projects is DCS and PLC field wiring on process plants, SCADA loop wiring for utility and pump station monitoring, and instrumentation runs feeding building management systems on hospital and aviation infrastructure jobs. These are usually specified by the instrumentation and controls engineer down to the pair count and screen type, so the RFQ is often a direct match against a cable schedule rather than an open spec.

Sourcing works the same way as NLS's other cable categories: send the cable schedule, or the pair count and loop list if a schedule isn't finalized yet, and NLS returns a priced quote in USD. Because instrumentation cable ships on smaller reels than power cable, small orders under a few hundred meters are usually quicker to source than large multi-pair drums, which may run against manufacturer minimums.