Blackburn FBE18-1 FLEXBRAID 153,600 KCMIL 18IN 1 HOLE

18 inches. That length is what decides whether it will reach across your opening with enough slack left to actually flex, so measure hole center to hole center on the installed path and leave some bow in the braid. A strap pulled taut between two moving points defeats the purpose of using braid in the first place. The FBE18-1 is sold individually, not in pairs, so order one per bond point.

It carries UL E3060 and CSA LR29625. If you are submitting on a job that requires listed bonding components, those are the file numbers to reference. Both marks are on the same part, so it can go into US and Canadian installations without specifying a different strap.

One hole, and that is the thing to check before ordering. A 1-hole braid bolts through a single fastener at each pad, which is fine for most equipment bonding but will let the strap rotate around that bolt unless the termination is otherwise restrained. If your spec or your busbar pad calls for two-hole terminations (common on utility and data center grounding bars, where rotation is not acceptable), the FBE18-1 is not the right part and you want a 2-hole braid instead.

The FBE18-1 is a flat, extra-flexible tin-plated copper braid strap with a single bolt hole, used to bond or jump between two points that move or vibrate relative to each other. Think switchgear doors, transformer cabinet panels, generator skids, busbar expansion joints, and equipment grounding where a solid conductor would work-harden and crack. The flat braid construction carries the current while flexing; the tin plating on the copper gives it a corrosion-resistant surface for the bolted connection.

Where the two bonded points move, yes, and that is exactly what braid is for. A solid or stranded copper jumper on a hinged switchgear door, a vibrating motor frame, or a busbar expansion joint fatigues at the termination and eventually opens the bond. Extra-flexible flat braid like the FBE18-1 absorbs that motion across many fine strands. For a static run between two fixed points, ordinary copper conductor is the cheaper and simpler choice and there is no reason to reach for braid.

Order by manufacturer part number FBE18-1, sold each. The braid itself is the deliverable, so plan on supplying the bolts, washers, and any antioxidant compound to suit the pads you are landing on. If you are bonding multiple cabinet doors or panels, count your bond points and order one strap per point.

The conductor is tin-plated copper, and the plating is there specifically to slow oxidation at the bolted face, which is where a bond usually degrades. Bare copper builds an oxide film under a lug and the resistance climbs; tin plating keeps the contact surface cleaner over time. It also makes the strap a safer bet against aluminum pads than bare copper. Standard practice still applies at install: clean the pad, use an antioxidant compound on aluminum, and torque to the equipment manufacturer's figure.