[sparkey]

Could someone please tell me the difference between ac cable / mc cable and bx cable

[retsoksirhc]

From Power cable - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Named cable types
Common types of general-purpose cables used by electricians are defined by national or international regulations or codes. Commonly-used types of power cables are often known by a "shorthand" name. For example, NEC type NM-B (Non-Metallic, variant B), often referred to as RomexTM (named by the Rome Wire Company, now a trademark of Southwire Company [1]), is a cable with a nonmetallic jacket. UF (underground feeder) is also nonmetallic but uses a moisture- and sunlight-resistant construction suitable for direct burial in the earth or where exposed to sunlight, or in wet, dry, or corrosive locations. Type AC is a fabricated assembly of insulated conductors in a flexible metallic armor, made by twisting an interlocking metal strip around the conductors. BX, an early genericized trademark of the General Electric company was used before and during World War II, designating a particular design of armored cable.

In Canada, type TECK cable, with a flexible aluminum or steel armor and overall flame-retardant PVC jacket, is used in industry for wet or dry locations, run in trays or attached to building structure, above grade or buried in earth. A similar type of cable is designated type MC in the United States.

Electrical power cables are often installed in raceways including electrical conduit, and cable trays, which may contain one or more conductors.

Mineral-insulated copper-clad cable (type MI) is a fire-resistant cable using magnesium oxide as an insulator. It is used in demanding applications such as fire alarms and oil refineries.

Interesting. You learn something new every day.

[ebaines]

The Wikipedia article above doesn't address type "MC" which is Metal Clad cable. It may look similar to AC, except MC has a ground wire in the bundle (i.e, the metal clad is not a legitimate ground path), whereas AC has an internal bonded strip of copper or aluminum to ensure continuity of the armor. Type MC may be rated for outdoors use; type AC is not. Finally, the construction of MC may have either a smooth sheath (and possibly a plastic outer sheath over that) or may be corrugated, similar to AC.

Do you have a particular application that you're interested in?