Electrical Tools, Equipment, and Materials: Classifications and Uses

Electrical Tools

Devices used to perform or facilitate manual or mechanical work, often requiring bare hands.

Equipment

An instrumentality needed for an undertaking or to perform a service, especially with the use of electricity.

Screw Drivers

Tools made of steel, hardened and tempered at the tip, used to loosen or tighten screws with slotted heads.

Standard/Flat Screwdriver

A screwdriver with a wedge-shaped blade tip resembling a negative (-) sign, used for driving screws with a single slot head.

Philips Screwdriver

A screwdriver with a cross tip resembling a positive (+) sign, used for driving screws with cross slot heads.

Stubby Screwdriver

A screwdriver with a short shank or blade and a shortened handle, used to turn screws in tight spaces.

Allen Screwdriver/Wrench

A tool that can be in the shape of a screwdriver or a wrench, used to drive screws with hexagonal slot heads.

Hammers

Tools used in driving or pounding and pulling out nails, made of hard steel, wood, plastic, or rubber.

Claw Hammer

A type of hammer with a curved claw used for pulling nails.

Mallet

A hammer with a rubber head used for striking without damaging the surface.

Ballpeen Hammer

A hammer with a rounded end used for shaping metal.

Pliers

Tools made from metal with insulators in the handle, used for cutting, twisting, bending, holding, and gripping wires and cables.

Combination Pliers (Lineman's Pliers)

Pliers used for gripping, holding, and cutting electrical wires and cables, often used by linemen.

Side Cutting Pliers

Pliers used for cutting fine, medium, and big wires and cables.

Long Nose Pliers

Pliers used for cutting and holding fine wires, capable of reaching tight spaces.

Wire Stripper

A tool used for removing insulation from medium sized wires ranging from gauge #10 to gauge #16.

Electrician's Knife

A knife used by linemen to remove insulation from wire and cables in low and high voltage transmission lines.

Portable Electric Drill

A small drilling machine with a chuck capacity of ¼‖ to 3/8‖, used for making holes in metal sheets and concrete walls.

Hacksaw

A tool used to cut metal conduit and armored cable.

Convenience outlet

A device that acts as a convenient source of electrical energy for current consuming appliances. It is where the male plug of an appliance is inserted and usually fastened on the wall or connected in an extension cord. It may be single, duplex, triplex or multiplex and could be surface type or flush type.

Male plug

A device inserted to a convenience outlet to conduct electric current. A flat cord is attached to it on one end and the other end is connected to a current consuming instrument or appliance.

Lamp holders

Devices that hold and protect the lamp and are also called as 'Lamp Sockets/Receptacles'. These come in many designs and sizes.

Switch

A device that connects and disconnects the flow of electric current in a circuit. There are many shapes, designs, and types.

Fuse

A circuit protective device that automatically blows and cuts the current when an overload or short circuit happens.

Circuit Breaker

A protective device used to automatically blow and cut the current when trouble in the circuit such as short circuit or overload occurs.

Junction Box

An octagonal shaped electrical material where the connections or joints of wires are being done. It is also where the flush type of lamp holder is attached.

Utility Box

A rectangular shaped metallic or plastic (PVC) material in which flush type convenience outlet and switch are attached.

Flat Cord

Duplex stranded wire used for temporary wiring installation and commonly used in extension cord assembly. It comes in a roll of 150 meters and with sizes of gauge # 18 and gauge # 16 AWG (American wire gauge).

Electrical Wire/Conductor

Electrical material that could be stranded wire which is made of multiple strands joined together to make a single wire, or solid wire made of a single strand of copper or aluminum wire.

Conduits/Pipes

Electrical materials used as the passage of wires for protection and insulation.

Clamps

Electrical materials used to hold and anchor electrical conduits in its proper position.

Connectors

Used to attach metallic or non-metallic conduit to the junction or utility boxes.

Surface type

A type of convenience outlet that is mounted on the surface of a wall.

Flush type

A type of convenience outlet that is recessed into the wall.

Hanging type

A type of switch that is suspended from a fixture.

Knife blade

A type of fuse that has a blade-like structure.

Cartridge

A type of fuse that comes in a cylindrical shape.

Plug type

A type of fuse that is designed to be plugged into a socket.

Rigid metallic conduit

A type of conduit that is made of rigid metal.

Flexible metallic conduit (FMC)

A type of conduit that is made of flexible metal.

Rigid non-metallic (PVC)

A type of conduit that is made of rigid non-metallic material.

Flexible non-metallic or corrugated plastic conduit (CPC)

A type of conduit that is made of flexible non-metallic material.