Modified Catalog HV Assemblies

What modification means

Six elements of a standard assembly that can be modified

Each Caton platform — 14, 16, 17, 19, HV Wire — defines an electrical architecture: insulation system, field grading, mating geometry, voltage class envelope. Within that architecture, the elements below are engineered to the specific application rather than taken from a default configuration.

Element	What gets modified	Typical example
Length	Cable length outside catalog standard increments. Most common modification by volume.	87 in cable on a 17 Series platform between standard 48 in and 96 in lengths.
Termination	Termination style at the free end of a single-ended assembly — lugs, ferrules, ring terminals, stripped lead, or program-specific termination geometry.	Crimp ring terminal in place of stripped lead on a 14 Series single-ended plug.
Cable construction	Conductor size, shielding, jacket material, or wire type within the platform’s electrical capability.	Shielded cable construction on a platform configuration that ships unshielded by default.
Voltage class	Voltage class within the platform’s architectural envelope. Field grading and insulation thickness adjusted to match.	25 kV configuration of a platform offered standard at 15 kV and 40 kV.
Mechanical interface	Receptacle thread, bulkhead geometry, panel-mount orientation, or program-specific mounting interface.	Right-angle backshell at the connector interface for a constrained panel layout.
Environmental hardening	Adaptations for vibration, thermal cycling profile, chemical exposure, or sealing requirements beyond the platform’s catalog rating.	Sealed termination for a humidity environment outside the standard configuration’s specified range.

What modification does not mean

Modification operates within the platform’s electrical architecture. Changes that exceed the platform’s voltage envelope, change the field grading approach, or require a fundamentally different insulation system are engineered as custom assemblies — not modifications. The boundary matters because the engineering rigor doesn’t change either way; what changes is whether the architecture is inherited or designed.

Routing

When modified catalog is the right path — and when it isn’t

Modified catalog is the fastest engineered path Caton offers. It’s the right choice when the application sits inside a platform’s envelope and the wrong choice when it doesn’t. Honest routing here saves both sides time.

Modified catalog fits when

Application is close to a standard platform

The platform’s voltage class envelope covers your operating voltage.
The platform’s insulation system is appropriate for your environment.
The platform’s field grading approach is suitable for your geometry.
The modification you need is one (or a few) of the six elements in the matrix above.
You need an engineered variant, faster than a clean-sheet design, with documented qualification.

Modified catalog doesn’t fit when

Application exceeds the platform’s envelope

Operating voltage is above any standard platform’s rating.
Environment is outside what catalog insulation systems are qualified against (cryogenic, ultra-high vacuum, high radiation).
The geometry or mechanical configuration has no architectural analog in any standard platform.
You’re replacing a legacy assembly where the original architecture is unknown or unrecoverable.
The program is being designed from scratch and the HV interconnect is being defined as part of the system architecture.

How a modification gets engineered

The technical process

Shorter than a clean-sheet custom program because the platform’s architecture is already validated. Same engineering rigor where it matters — in evaluating whether the modification affects electrical performance and in documenting the variant for production.

Confirm

Confirm the platform is the right starting point

Application requirements compared against the platform’s electrical envelope, insulation system, and field grading approach. If the platform is the wrong architecture, modification is the wrong path — we’ll say so and route the program to custom engineering instead. Most modifications fit; this step exists so the ones that don’t are caught early.

Evaluate

Evaluate the electrical impact of the modification

Most modifications — length, termination style, cable construction within platform capability — don’t change the assembly’s electrical behavior. Some do. Voltage class shifts within the envelope, environmental hardening, and shielding additions can affect field distribution at the interface. Caton’s engineering team evaluates which category the modification falls into and applies FEA in Electro V10.2 where the answer isn’t obvious from platform history.

Build & validate

Build with platform tooling, validate with platform test methods

Modifications are built using the platform’s production tooling and processes wherever possible — in-house overmold, established materials, qualified workflows. Validation follows the platform’s standard test method (corona, hi-pot, altitude, thermal cycling) with adjustments where the modification warrants additional checks. The benefit of starting from a known platform is real here: we know what the architecture does, and we’re validating only the difference.

Document & lock

Document the variant and lock under configuration control

A documented variant of a Caton platform — not a one-off. Materials, processes, and inspection criteria locked under AS9100 configuration control. The variant repeats. If you order it again in three years, it ships built the same way, validated the same way, and inspected against the same criteria.

What modification looks like in practice

One anonymized example

Customer name and program details withheld. The technical situation is representative of modification work Caton routinely engineers for OEM customers.

Defense ground system

Standard platform with right-angle termination and non-catalog length

The situation

A defense OEM specified a high-voltage cable assembly for a ground-based system. The platform was a clean fit for the application’s voltage and current. Two things didn’t fit: the panel layout required a right-angle backshell at the connector interface (the catalog configuration ships straight-through), and the cable run between the panel and the load was 67 in — between the platform’s standard 48 in and 96 in length options.

Why it was modification, not custom

The platform’s electrical architecture, insulation system, and field grading were the right answer. The two modifications affected mechanical interface and cable length — neither changed the assembly’s electrical behavior. Treating it as clean-sheet custom would have meant re-engineering an architecture that didn’t need re-engineering.

What Caton modified

Right-angle backshell engineered and overmolded in-house, validated against the platform’s standard corona and hi-pot test methods to confirm the modified geometry didn’t introduce field concentration at the interface. Length specified to 67 in within the platform’s qualified range. Variant documented and locked under AS9100 configuration control for production continuity across the program life.

Outcome described in generic terms. Customer, program, voltage class, and platform identity withheld.

Where modification starts

Start with the platform you’re closest to

Modification begins from a platform reference. The platform pages describe what each is architecturally suited for — voltage range, conductor configuration, mating style, intended environment. Identify the closest fit, then talk to engineering about what needs to change.

14 Series

Compact single-conductor, push-pull mating. Up to 50 kV DC.

View 14 Series →

16 Series

Multi-conductor and hybrid power-and-signal. Up to 60 kV DC.

View 16 Series →

17 Series

Mechanically robust shielded single-conductor. Up to 60 kV DC.

View 17 Series →

19 Series

Corona-free standard platform. 60 kV DC / 20 kV RMS.

View 19 Series →