Docs

Cable Shielding

Shielded cables contain multiple inner conductors (strands) within an outer electromagnetic shield. They are common in automotive, aerospace, and industrial harnesses where signal integrity matters — sensor lines, communication buses (CAN, LIN), and audio circuits. Wiring Studio supports full multicore cable design with strand-to-pin mapping, shield termination, and integration with the BOM and Cut List.

A shielded cable in the Wiring View showing individual strands routed between connectors with shield termination

Setting Up a Shielded Wire Part

Before configuring a shielded cable in your design, you need a shielded wire part in the Parts Library.

1
Open the Parts Library
2
Click Add Part and select the Wire category
3
Fill in Manufacturer, Part Number, Description, and Price
4
Set the wire Gauge and Color
5
Enable isShielded — this marks the wire as a multicore shielded cable
6
Set strandsCount to the number of inner conductors (e.g., 2 for a twisted shielded pair, 4 for a quad-core cable)
7
Save the part

The wire part editor with isShielded enabled and strandsCount set to 2

Tip

Name shielded wire parts descriptively (e.g., "2-Core Shielded 22AWG" or "4-Core Shielded 20AWG Teflon"). This makes them easy to identify when selecting parts in Pin Configuration.

Configuring a Shielded Cable

Shielded cables are configured through the Pin Configuration dialog.

Opening the Shielded Cable Dialog

1
Right-click a component and select Pin Configuration
2
Click the Add Shielded Cable button at the bottom of the dialog
3
Select a shielded wire part from the library
4
The shielded cable configuration dialog opens

Strand-to-Pin Mapping

The dialog shows one row per strand (inner conductor). For each strand, you map:

Source — Select the source component and cavity number
Destination — Select the target component and cavity number

Both source and destination must be specified for the strand to create a wiring edge. The strand index determines order within the cable.

For example, a 4-core shielded cable connecting an ECU connector (J1) to a sensor connector (J2) might have:

Strand	Source	Destination
1	J1 / Cavity 1	J2 / Cavity 1
2	J1 / Cavity 2	J2 / Cavity 2
3	J1 / Cavity 3	J2 / Cavity 3
4	J1 / Cavity 4	J2 / Cavity 4

The strand mapping section showing four strands with source and destination cavity assignments

Shield Termination

The cable shield needs a termination point — typically a ground connection via a drain wire. Shield connections use the special cavity -1 to represent the shield layer.

Click Add Shield Connection in the dialog
Select the termination component and cavity (e.g., a ground ring terminal)
Multiple shield terminations are supported — for example, grounding the shield at both ends of the cable

Each shield connection creates a wiring edge in the Wiring View with a distinct visual style.

The shield termination section showing a drain wire connection to a ground terminal

Info

Single-end vs. both-end shield grounding depends on your EMC strategy. Both configurations are supported. Plan your termination approach before mapping strands.

Extra Parts

Attach accessories to the shielded cable assembly using the Extra Parts section:

Part — Select from the library (drain wires, ferrite cores, cable glands, grommets, shield termination lugs)
Quantity — Number of items needed
Length — Optional length for length-based parts

Extra parts appear in the BOM with their quantities and pricing.

Shielded Cables in the Wiring View

Once configured, shielded cable strands appear as individual wire connections in the Wiring View.

Strand wires — Rendered individually, each connecting its mapped source and destination cavities
Shield connections — Displayed with a distinct visual style to differentiate them from regular wires
Control points — Drag polyline control points to adjust strand routing, the same as regular wire connections
Color codes — Individual strands can have color code markers assigned in Pin Configuration

You can use auto-routing to generate clean wire paths for shielded cable strands alongside regular wires.

The Wiring View showing a shielded cable's individual strands routed between two connectors

Shielded Cables in the BOM

The BOM tracks all shielded cable components:

Shielded wire part — The cable itself, with length calculated from the design edge
Strand contacts — Contact parts assigned to individual strands
Strand seals — Wire seals or cavity plugs for strand cavities
Color code markers — Heat shrink parts assigned to strands
Extra parts — Drain wires, ferrites, and other accessories with their quantities

All items are grouped by part ID and aggregated as usual in the BOM.

Shielded Cables in the Cut List

The Cut List lists each strand as a separate entry:

One row per strand — Source, target, length, and cut length
Cut length — Base length multiplied by the cutlist multiplier from Project Settings
Shield connections — May appear as separate entries

This gives your production team individual wire cut measurements for each inner conductor in the shielded assembly.

Best Practices

Plan terminations first — Decide on single-end or both-end shield grounding before mapping strands. This determines how many shield connections you need.
Map all strands — Complete the strand-to-pin mapping before routing wires in the Wiring View. This ensures all connections are captured.
Use extra parts — Add drain wires, shield termination lugs, and ferrite cores as extra parts. This keeps the BOM accurate for production costing.
Document pin functions — Use the Description field in Pin Configuration to label strand functions (e.g., "CAN-H", "CAN-L", "Shield Drain"). This makes the design self-documenting.
Review the BOM — After configuring a shielded cable, check the BOM to confirm all components (cable, contacts, seals, extras) are captured correctly.