Blackburn FBD18-1 FLEX BRAID 76.8 KCMIL 18IN ONE HOLE

The FBD18-1 is a flat, flexible tin-plated copper braid bonding jumper, 18 inches long, with a single bolt hole at each termination. It is used where two points have to stay electrically bonded but move relative to each other, or where a rigid conductor cannot be routed: switchgear doors and hinged panels, transformer and motor bonding, expansion joints in busbar or raceway runs, and equipment subject to vibration. The braid construction lets it flex repeatedly without work-hardening the way a solid or stranded cable jumper would.

The FBD18-1 braid is rated 76.8 kcmil, which sits between 1/0 (105.6 kcmil) and 1 AWG on the copper scale and above 2 AWG. If your bonding schedule calls out a jumper by AWG, compare it against that 76.8 kcmil cross-section rather than assuming the braid width equals a cable size.

One hole per end. The FBD18-1 is a 1-hole flexible braid connector, so each termination takes a single bolt or stud through a flat pad. One-hole pads can rotate around the fastener, so where a jumper must not pivot (bus stabs, some equipment ground pads with a two-hole NEMA prep) you want a two-hole braid instead. Confirm your pad prep is a single stud before ordering this one.

The tin plating on the FBD18-1 braid is there for corrosion and for dissimilar-metal contact. Bare copper against aluminum bus or an aluminum enclosure sets up galvanic corrosion at the joint; tin plating over the copper reduces that and holds up better in damp, outdoor, and industrial atmospheres. It also keeps the braid strands from oxidizing over the flex length, which matters on a conductor that is going to be worked back and forth.

The FBD18-1 is catalogued at an 18 in cable length. When you are laying out a hinged door or an expansion joint, allow slack beyond the straight-line gap so the braid takes a loop rather than pulling taut at full travel, and size the run off that 18 in figure rather than the gap dimension alone.

No hardware is included. The FBD18-1 is sold each as the braid jumper with its integral one-hole pads, so the bolt, nut, and any washers or belleville hardware come from your own kit and have to suit the stud size and pad prep at the equipment.

Only if the spec allows a braid. A flat braid like the FBD18-1 gives you more surface area for the same cross-section and far better repeated flex life, which is why it is the usual pick on hinged doors and vibrating equipment. What it does not do is behave like a cable in conduit or accept a compression lug, since the 76.8 kcmil braid terminates in fixed one-hole pads. If the drawing calls for a specific AWG cable with field-crimped lugs, the braid is a substitution and needs engineering sign-off.

Country of origin on the FBD18-1 is listed as United States and Canada. For a federal or institutional job with domestic-content language, that is the origin on record, and the UL E3060 / CSA LR29625 listing covers you on both sides of the border.