ETIM class EC002557 covers cable glands (cable screw glands) used to seal and strain-relieve cable entries into enclosures, junction boxes, and equipment housings. It includes brass, nickel-plated, stainless steel, and plastic glands in metric, PG, and NPT threads. It does not cover cable gland shrouds, blanking plugs sold as standalone accessories, or Ex-rated glands with separate ATEX certification classes.
Product scope
Cable glands are the small fittings that clamp around a cable where it enters an enclosure. Every junction box, control panel, motor terminal box, and outdoor luminaire needs them. EC002557 is the class for standard screw-type glands: you thread them into a knockout or tapped hole, insert the cable, and tighten the compression nut to seal and grip.
What doesn't belong: cable gland shrouds (the protective boots that cover the gland body) have a separate class. Blanking plugs and dust caps for unused cable entries are classified elsewhere. ATEX/IECEx certified explosion-proof glands can be flagged within this class using the explosion-proof execution feature (EF004191), but some ETIM implementations route them to dedicated Ex classes. Conduit fittings and cable connectors are distinct product types entirely.
Key features
EC002557 has close to 40 features. These seven cover the attributes buyers filter on when selecting glands for a specific enclosure and cable combination.
| EF Code | Feature | Type | Example value |
|---|---|---|---|
| EF001758 | Thread type | Alphanumeric | Metric |
| EF007839 | Nominal thread size metric/PG | Numeric | 20 |
| EF005466 | Suitable cable diameter | Range (mm) | 7-13 |
| EF002169 | Material | Alphanumeric | Brass |
| EF000139 | Surface protection | Alphanumeric | Nickel-plated |
| EF005474 | Degree of protection (IP) | Alphanumeric | IP68 |
| EF000878 | With strain relief | Logical | true |
Other features include thread pitch (EF003712), thread length (EF000368), wrench width (EF000177), wall thickness compatibility (EF007789), halogen-free flag (EF000025), EMC version (EF001062), sealing type (EF001217), working temperature range (EF001742), and ATEX zone ratings for gas and dust (EF005728, EF008404).
Worked example
Classifying a Lapp SKINTOP MS-M 20x1.5 brass cable gland
| Feature | EF Code | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Thread type | EF001758 | Metric |
| Nominal thread size metric/PG | EF007839 | 20 |
| Thread pitch | EF003712 | 1.5 mm |
| Thread length | EF000368 | 8 mm |
| Suitable cable diameter | EF005466 | 7-13 mm |
| Material | EF002169 | Brass |
| Surface protection | EF000139 | Nickel-plated |
| Degree of protection (IP) | EF005474 | IP68 |
| With strain relief | EF000878 | true |
| Wrench width | EF000177 | 24 mm |
| Working temperature | EF001742 | -30 to 100 °C |
Common classification mistakes
Putting the wrong thread standard in the thread type field. Metric (M20), PG (PG13.5), and NPT (1/2" NPT) threads are physically incompatible. A buyer filtering for M20 glands who gets PG13.5 results will receive parts that don't fit the knockout. The SKINTOP MS-M 20x1.5 is metric. Its PG equivalent (PG13.5) has a different pitch and diameter. ETIM treats these as distinct values in EF001758 for good reason.
An M20x1.5 gland and a PG13.5 gland have similar diameters but different thread pitches. Cross-threading one into the other's knockout will damage the enclosure. Getting the thread type wrong in your data costs someone a site visit.
Confusing the clamping range with the thread size. The SKINTOP MS-M 20x1.5 has an M20 thread but clamps cables from 7 to 13mm diameter. Teams sometimes put "20" in the cable diameter field or "7-13" in the thread size field. EF007839 is the thread size. EF005466 is the cable diameter range. Swapping them makes the gland unfindable in both thread and cable size filters.
Omitting the IP rating (EF005474) is surprisingly common for a product whose entire purpose is sealing. The Lapp SKINTOP MS-M is rated IP68 at 10 bar, which matters enormously for outdoor or washdown applications. A gland record without an IP rating forces the buyer back to the datasheet PDF. For a product that exists to provide ingress protection, leaving that field blank is hard to justify.
Validate your gland data with the ETIM classification checker. For the XML plumbing behind ETIM, see What is ETIM in BMEcat. If you're staring at a blank ETIM template from your distributor, Your Distributor Just Asked for ETIM Data has the starting checklist.