(posted over at IP as well but referred here as there might have already been a thread that someone could point me to!)

We have a takeover where the original installer mounted non-sliding rack in a cabinet that we are replacing with slide-outs. The cabinet itself was built fairly shallow so we don't have a ton of cable management room. What we are thinking of doing now is trying to find a small version of those pulley-type springs that wind up into themselves when tension is released. Basically, it will serve to pull the cable slack bundle up in to a wall cavity automatically when we slide the rack back in.

A regular spring might just work as well, but I wanted to throw it out here and see if anyone had ever done anything similar or had a better off-the-shelf solution so I'm not reinventing the wheel if it's been done before.

For clarification and another idea, one of the those retractable cord key fobs like janitors wear is basically the concept that I am thinking of.

Thanks!

I've come across installs from competitors that have used bungee cords to do this.  It's usually a problem if the wiring comes in near the bottom of the rack and bunches up behind things.  It you can get the wiring up higher in the wall and also in the back of the rack you'll end up with a nice slack loop between the two that will let you slide out the rack and then push it back without anything bunching up. 

The best analogy I can come up with is how the hose works at a gas pump. 

We've used the horizontal hinged ones shown in the first picture and they work very well. You need to leave a small loop/bridge as shown in the picture.

[Link: middleatlantic.com]

I've seen the bungee cord mentioned here at RC.

Found it.

[Link: remotecentral.com]

What's wrong with the MA Cable Management tray, mentioned above by kstrange?

What rack are you using?

I am guessing that he does not have the depth even for the service tracks, otherwise he would have obviously chosen them....uuuunless he is not installed a MA rack. I doubt SN@P racks or any others have the pre-threaded holes for the MA service tracks.

At any rate, I wish I could find some photos of a super stupid TV lift/cabinet install I had to do. They cabinet builder left zero room for cables. There was maybe 3/4" between 2 panels of wood that our cables had to rest in. The problem was that when the lift lowered, the cables would get bunched up and tended to not clear the mechanism as it closed. So we came up with an idea similar to what is being discussed here. We anchored a spring at one of the lower corners of the cabinet and attached the other end to the bundle of wires. We used a spring with just enough tension to pull the cables down as the lift lowered to keep them from snagging or binding up on things. Worked awesome! For about 2 years. Then one of the mini RGB cables (bundle of 5 in single jacket), broke. Luckily there was one extra....whew...but it will happen again. I no longer work there and feel bad for whoever has to muck with that mess. It hurts my head thinking about that ridiculous cabinet/lift!!! The other guy who helped me do the install no longer works there either. :)

You want a "Tool Retractor" or balancer. Search grainger or similar places. I've done similar things on installs, using those or the long springs truckers use to keep the hoses up behind the cab. 

We always bring our wires from the top. If they happen to come out at the bottom, they get routed up and all come across to the rack from the top. 

WE have used the cable manager by MAP, but only on slide out racks (still prefer to come across from top). 

I wonder how these work.
[Link: crestron.com]

Not trying to derail this thread but I've always wanted to give these a try myself.

[Link: igus.com]

Yes you are right. We don't have the depth for the cable bundle itself, much less the folding MA piece. As it is right now, with all of the cables bundled in to one, we can't slide the rack all the way back. We have the same as you did, about 3/4" give or take. We are using a Strong by Sn@p rack, but I've done plenty of MA with the cable trays before.

The cables are currently coming in from the top, but we need that extra whip for slack which then dangles behind the rack. While the TV is off (now) we have access to the wall cavity behind the cabinet, so I can install a spring solution. I'll have a look at the tool retractor.

Hell, if I can find a keychain that seems robust enough, I might just give that a try if I can't find anything else. Well probably not.

Bringing the cables in at the top is the cheapest way to do this. If the bundles are too large for the space, perhaps bringing them in at the top left, top right, and halfway down on the left and right can relieve the bundle size and make this work.

You need to find just a mechanism from something like this:
[Link: harborfreight.com]
I use the larger version of this in my shop and it pulls well. Not sure if it would pull 50+Lbs worth of cables...

Do you have any room above or below the rack?
Paul, didn't you do a project where you had a window on the right and something on the left and so you used the cabinet above to store your service loops? Where is that post?

Could you patch the cables toward the front of the rack, near the top, behind a blank? This way you could disconnect the cables before pulling out the rack, though troubleshooting wouldn't be easy.

I think what you're looking for is called a "Spring Balancer"



[Link: google.com]

The industrial ones are expensive, and are sold by weight limits.

Smaller ones available for hanging compressor hoses, and other tools.

Maybe a dog leash?

I think your choices will depend on the weight of the bundle.

Grainger calls them Tool Balancers, as DeuceTrinal stated above.

And, he even rec'd Grainger, where I ended up.

[Link: grainger.com]