The EX area is a so called „area subject to explosion hazards” is a special case of electrical applications. Due to the occurrence of flammable substances in air (gases, liquids or dust) an explosive mixture can develop. In case that sparks are created by electric equipment, the consequences are possibly disastrous. Therefore, we know different measures to avoid this.

Most of these measures are related to application: transitions where sparks can arise are separated from environment by protection gas, pressure or additional enclosure.

For cables the requirements are limited:
First of all the cable construction shall avoid easy damage. Furthermore, they have to be round and compact so that they withstand a sealing process. In case that you connect EX areas with areas that are not subject to explosion hazards it has to be ensured that flammable material can’t be transported through the interior of the cable (gas tight).

A special form are the so called intrinsically safe circuits:
Here it is calculated how much electrical energy in the operating components and cables is stored by capacities and inductivities. The released energy due to a short circuit or interruption shall not be sufficient to create ignition sparks. With the help of of capacity optimisation an adaptation to demanded insertion length can be reached.

The areas are classified by the kind of hazardous material (gas, liquid or dust) and how often the danger arises (division or zone: always, regularly or in case of a failure). Primarily the requirements on the protection class of application result thereof. This has got only indirect influence on the cable itself.