FORT WORTH, TX, July 2, 2025 – RS offers Belden’s Alpha Wire industrial cables, designed to perform in harsh environments where constant flexing, mechanical stress, and tough processing conditions are common. These cables help reduce downtime and support long-term system durability in industrial applications.
Cabling is essential in industrial automation, transmitting power, data, and control signals among devices like sensors, actuators, and controllers. Cables handle different weather conditions, including high and low temperatures, moisture, vibration, shock, electromagnetic interference (EMI), pressurized cleaning, chemicals, oils, frequent folding, and fire. Reliable cables help equipment work as expected in demanding settings.
Belden’s Alpha Wire portfolio offers two expansive product lines that are hazard matched to satisfy all of these demands: the Xtra-Guard and EcoGen series, both of which are used for automation applications, including robots with rotary joints, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), robotic arms, gantries, machine tools, and conveyors.
Alpha Wire Xtra-Guard cable is engineered to serve applications in harsh environments, including Class 1 clean rooms and outer space, and backed by an assortment of UL, IEC, CE, CA, CSA, FDA, and military specifications. This range withstands chemicals, solvents, acids, fuels, water, UV radiation, abrasion, burial, and temperatures extending from -80°C to +200°C and exhibits flame resistance and low-smoke, low-outgassing properties. It also provides signal integrity, ensuring the transmission of electrical signals.
Xtra-Guard cable is configurable as well, offering about 5,000 standard constructions and gauges, conductor counts, and shielding, insulator, and jacket options. Options include 2–80 conductors, gauge sizes spanning 28 to 10 AWG, 300–600V ratings, Cat 5e or Cat 6A ethernet, and torsional flexure capabilities. Additional options include seven shielding options for signal protection against conducted or electrical noise in high-and low-frequency environments, nine jacket colors, and a variety of insulation and jacket materials. It also includes a TPE flex cable option for applications that need rolling, C flex, bending, torsion, and random motion flex.
This range is deployed in the automotive, industrial, machine tool, marine, medical, biotechnology, military, mining, petrochemical, semiconductor, solar, and wind power industries and well-suited for use in delta robots in addition to all the industrial automation applications also served by the EcoGen series.
Alpha Wire EcoGen cable is engineered to provide all capabilities and options as Xtra-Guard cable and serve the same applications. The difference is that EcoGen cable utilizes low-outgassing modified polyphenylene ether (mPPE) insulation and jacket materials free of any halogens, phthalates, and metals and compliant with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives to support customers submitting to Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) requirements.
The line’s mPPE insulation and jacket materials also make it up to 47% smaller and 65% lighter than the xtra-guard range while maintaining the same electrical properties, which makes it suitable for space constraint applications.
Other differentiators include jacket materials (mPPE and zero-halogen PUR), six versus seven shielding options, a single flex option, operating temperatures ranging from -40°C to +105°C, and a scope of environmental resistance capabilities, including UV, oil, abrasion, and flame resistance and low outgassing properties.
Both the Xtra-Guard and EcoGen cable series are suited for use in energy, medical, aerospace and defense, semiconductor manufacturing, and consumer electronics applications, including photovoltaic solar panels, wind turbines, oil and gas refineries, medical robotics, cardiac catheterization labs, radiation therapy machines, wafer manufacturing and transfer systems, cleanroom packaging machines, mobile electronics, drones, and outdoor LED lighting. They’re also available in medical-grade versions suitable for sterilization.
Source: RS Group
About Belden
Belden Inc., founded in 1902, is a U.S.-based company that provides signal transmission and networking infrastructure solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, it operates manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Belden’s product portfolio includes fiber and copper cables, connectors, network switches, and cybersecurity solutions. The company primarily serves industries such as industrial automation, smart buildings, data centers, and broadband and 5G networks. In 2024, Belden reported annual revenue of $2.5B. Its strategy focuses on expanding solutions-based offerings to support long-term growth and operational efficiency through 2028. With over 120 years of experience, Belden delivers reliable connectivity solutions for critical infrastructure and digital transformation.
About RS
RS Group plc is a UK-headquartered distributor of industrial and electronic components, serving manufacturing, energy, transportation, healthcare, and automation sectors. Founded in 1937, the company supports over 1.1 million customers with a catalog of more than 830,000 stocked products and access to an extended range of five million items sourced from over 2,500 suppliers. RS operates in 36 markets and offers a combination of product supply, digital procurement services, and engineering support to customers involved in design, build, and maintenance workflows. Its product portfolio includes automation components, test and measurement tools, electronic parts, and industrial maintenance supplies. The company continues to invest in supply chain infrastructure, inventory management systems, and digital platforms to improve service efficiency. RS focuses on helping industrial clients enhance operational reliability and reduce downtime through its multi-channel service model and global logistics network.
About RS in the Americas
RS Americas, based in Fort Worth, TX, is a regional division of RS Group focused on distributing industrial and electronic components throughout North America. Operating in the U.S. market since the 1970s, the company was formerly known as Allied Electronics & Automation. It stocks over 250,000 products sourced from more than 700 suppliers, including RS PRO-branded items, across categories such as automation and control, passives, actives, electromechanical devices, and test equipment. RS Americas serves industries including manufacturing, energy, transportation, food and beverage, utilities, and life sciences. In addition to product distribution, the company offers services like kitting, labeling, inventory management, and custom packaging, aimed at improving operational efficiency. RS Americas plays a key role in RS Group’s global supply network and contributes to the Group’s annual revenue of approx £3B. Its operations are structured to support customers across engineering, procurement, and maintenance functions through both physical and digital channels.