Lake Cable, a wire and cable manufacturer founded in 1995 and headquartered in Bensenville, Illinois, uses Sikora measuring technology for precise quality monitoring in the extrusion process. The company employs more than 650 people and serves multiple market segments, including industrial automation, data centers, electric vehicles, smart infrastructure, as well as the marine, oil and gas industries. These applications require highly engineered cables with tight dimensional tolerances, therefore Lake Cable places particular emphasis on consistent product quality and traceability of production parameters.
"We manufacture highly engineered, high-tolerance products. This demands real-time data collection and traceability for every foot of cable, which simply is not possible without quality inline measuring equipment," explains Cooper Runzel, Chief Operating Officer at Lake Cable. For this reason, the company integrates advanced Sikora systems, such as the Lump 2000, Laser Series, Spark 2000 and Centerview 8000, directly into its extrusion lines. These devices are designed for long service life and have become a permanent part of Lake Cable's production lines. The use of Sikora solutions has also supported the development of the automated quality system by improving data collection and communication protocols in the plant. "I have been in this industry for over a decade. I have used most of Sikora's competitors, but no one has been a partner to us the way Sikora has," emphasizes Cooper Runzel.
Close cooperation with the measuring technology supplier is important for maintaining Lake Cable's position as a manufacturer with high quality requirements. The company applies a cell manufacturing model aimed at achieving the shortest possible lead times and a wide scope of product customization services, from jacket color selection and striping to composite configurations and private labeling. This flexibility is complemented by 100% quality inspections, small minimum order quantities and traceability of all raw materials, machines and operators involved in the process.
Centerview 8000 as standard on prime lines
All prime production lines at Lake Cable are equipped with a common type of Sikora measuring device, the Centerview 8000 system. This solution is designed for smaller products, such as data cables and automotive wires. At Lake Cable, Centerview 8000 is used to display wall thickness and concentricity on a heads-up screen, which enables operators to adjust process parameters immediately.
The use of Centerview 8000 has replaced the previous method of cutting live samples from the line for manual measurement and adjustment. This has reduced start-up times and the amount of production scrap. "By performing production checks on the fly, we save material and reduce the workload on our quality team," notes Cooper Runzel, and adds: "Our customers, in turn, benefit from more consistent, high-quality cables with better centering, more uniform walls and ultimately, greater satisfaction."
Lake Cable uses the Sikora Centerview 8000 system
A quality system focused on prediction
The vision for further development of the quality system at Lake Cable is clearly defined for Cooper Runzel. "Our goal is to have a world-class, interconnected quality program, one that does not just respond to issues but anticipates them before they happen. Sikora systems are a key part of making that vision a reality," he summarizes. The integration of advanced measuring devices with extrusion lines and the use of real-time process data form the basis for building such a predictive approach to quality control in cable manufacturing.
