Blackburn FBD18 FLEXIBLE BRAID 76.8KCMIL, 18 INLONG

The FBD18 is a tin-plated copper flexible braid connector with a two-hole pad on each end, 18 inches long and rated 76.8 kcmil. It's used as a bonding jumper where two grounded points need an electrical connection that can move, such as across expansion joints, on switchgear doors and hinged enclosure panels, on transformer and motor bases that vibrate, and between busbar sections. The flat braided construction flexes without work-hardening the way a solid bar or a stiff cable lug does.

It carries UL file E3060 and CSA file LR29625, so it's recognized on both sides of the border. That matters to institutional and MRO buyers standardizing bonding hardware across facilities where the inspector wants a listed component rather than a shop-fabricated jumper.

18 inches is the braid's stated cable length, not a hole-to-hole dimension. When you lay out the run, allow for the connection pads at each end plus enough slack that the braid isn't pulled taut across the joint, since the whole point of a flexible bonding jumper is that it takes the movement instead of the terminations.

The FBD18 is sold as a single braid, each, with the two-hole terminal pads already formed on the ends. Bolts, nuts, flat and lock washers, and any antioxidant compound are separate items you'll need to supply to suit the bus or frame you're landing on.

The tin plating on the FBD18 slows oxidation on the strand surfaces and at the bolted pads, which keeps contact resistance stable over time and makes it a safer match against aluminum bus than bare copper. In damp, outdoor, or corrosive plant environments that's the deciding difference between the two.

For a hinged door or any joint that flexes repeatedly, the flat braid wins. The FBD18's flat, braided, flexible construction spreads bending across many fine strands so the jumper survives cycling, and it lies close to the panel instead of bowing out. A round stranded cable with crimped lugs is fine for a fixed bond between two rigid points, but it fatigues faster where there's constant motion.

Order Blackburn FBD18. That's the manufacturer part number for the 76.8 kcmil, 18 inch, two-hole flexible braid, sold one per package.

Country of origin on the FBD18 is listed as United States or Canada, which is worth confirming on the packing slip if you're bidding public work with domestic-content requirements.