Have a 5mm diameter cable entering a small enclosure. What's the best way to seal it? I was thinking neutral cure silicone. Are there better solutions? I know cable glands are a popular way of achieving it, but they're quite bulky and would prefer to try something else even if it requires a bit more labour.
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\$\begingroup\$ what type of cable? ... how many conductors? ... what type of signals are transmitted through the cable? ... have you considered waterproof connectors? \$\endgroup\$– jsotolaCommented Dec 7, 2020 at 20:22
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\$\begingroup\$ Cable glands are bulky for a reason. An alternative would be for you to replicate the seals in the cable gland yourself. If your cable is very cylindrical an non compressible an o-ring with a high compression factor might work. You would need to create a gland for the o-ring around the hole in the enclosure. If the cable is "lumpy" then you really need the crushed rubber seal that that cable gland uses. You could replicate this somehow with custom hardware but it will not be easy, and the bulk will only be slightly reduced. \$\endgroup\$– DrewCommented Dec 7, 2020 at 20:23
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1\$\begingroup\$ Potting the hole with silicone will not be effective for very long, especially if the cable moves at all. Water will slowly infiltrate the gap between the silicone and the cable. \$\endgroup\$– DrewCommented Dec 7, 2020 at 20:26
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\$\begingroup\$ If it's a small enclosure can you pot the contents? - then the problem is the wire entering a potted lump. \$\endgroup\$– D DuckCommented Dec 7, 2020 at 21:10
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1\$\begingroup\$ Waterproof in what sense? Rain? Splashes? Immersion? How deep? What's the situation at the other end of the wire? Have you considered water travelling between the insulation and conductors? \$\endgroup\$– Chris StrattonCommented Dec 7, 2020 at 22:33
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A flexible epoxy that you've verified to be compatible with the box material and cable jacket could work; I've used that with pretty good results in the past. A rubber or silicone grommet with a tight fit and maybe a bit of grease could work for a round cable. There are also heat-shrink and break-through cord grips that are somewhat less bulky than the normal compression type ones.
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\$\begingroup\$ Can you provide an example of one of these more compact cord grips? \$\endgroup\$– DrewCommented Dec 8, 2020 at 4:20
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1\$\begingroup\$ One of these could potentially work: mcmaster.com/1777n18 \$\endgroup\$– virCommented Dec 8, 2020 at 17:54