The world of wire and cable consists of different types and names, each solid or stranded type is used where some special properties are needed.
The Bowden cable is also designed to fulfill some certain tasks.
solid wire cable
The movement of an inner cable relative to the movement of a hollow outer cable housing is what makes a Bowden cable a form of flexible cable that can be utilized to convey mechanical force or energy.
The housing is typically made of a composite material, which consists of an inner lining, a layer that is longitudinally incompressible (such as a helical winding or a sheaf of steel wire), and an outside covering that offers protection.
Although push-pull cables have become more common in recent years, linear movement of the inner wire is typically employed to transfer a pulling force.
However, push-pull cables have gained appeal in some applications, such as gear shift cables.
It is common practice for the inner element of a push-pull Bowden cable for the throttle control of a light aircraft to be a solid wire rather than a multi-strand cable.
This is because of the nature of the push-pull Bowden cable.
In most cases, there is provision made for modifying the cable tension by means of an inline hollow bolt, which is frequently referred to as a "barrel adjuster."
This bolt either lengthens or shortens the cable housing in relation to a fixed anchor point.
The cable may be made more taut by lengthening the housing (which involves rotating the barrel adjuster clockwise), while it can be made more lax by shortening the housing (which involves turning the barrel adjuster anticlockwise).
There is substantial disagreement, uncertainty, and even myth surrounding the invention of the Bowden cable and its place in history.
It is commonly believed that Sir Frank Bowden, founder and owner of the Raleigh Bicycle Company, was the inventor of the Bowden cable.
It is believed that he began the process of replacing the rigid rods that were used for brakes with a flexible wound cable around the year 1902; however, there is no evidence to support this claim.
Ernest Monnington Bowden (1860 to April 3, 1904) of 35 Bedford Place, London, W.C., was the inventor of the Bowden mechanism.
The first patent for the mechanism was granted in 1896 (English Patent 25,325 and U.S. Pat. No. 609,570), and the invention was reported in the Automotor Journal of 1897, where Bowden's address was given as 9 Fopstone Road, Earls Court.
Bowden passed away on April 3, 1904.
It is not known if or whether the two Bowdens are related to one another.
The primary component of this was a flexible tube that contained a length of tiny wire rope and could glide within the tube.