#Heat shrink free#

Make sure you understand all of the electrical requirements before you choose your heat shrink product.

#Heat shrink free#

Other possible electrical requirements could be that the tubing must be free of halogens or that it must be made out of a specific material. These guidelines usually cover common electrical requirements such as dielectric strength and flame resistance. In order to choose the correct product for your application, you’ll need to know if any UL/CSA (Underwriters Laboratories / Canadian Standards Association), ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), AMS (Aerospace Material Specification), EU (European Union), or other automotive or military specifications need to be met. If your heat shrink tubing is going to provide electrical insulation or bundle electrical wires, it is likely that it needs to meet certain regulatory guidelines. This information is critical in choosing the required tubing size in Step 2. In addition to defining your required minimum wall thickness, it is also necessary to determine the diameter at which this wall thickness will be required. Or, if the tubing is going to be subjected to excessive abrasion or wear, you may wish to have a heavier wall thickness than the standard size offers. A certain minimum wall thickness might be required due to the electrical requirements of your application. For the component on the right side of the figure on the following page, the largest diameter is equal to (A+A+B+B)/pi and the smallest diameter is simply d.Īnother important dimension to consider is minimum wall thickness. This will give you an “effective” diameter which you can use to help determine the tubing size you need. To do this you must measure the total perimeter at this location and divide that number by pi (or 3.14). If either of these locations has a non-circular profile, you will need to convert the non-circular perimeter to a diameter. These two dimensions will be used later in Step 2 to help you determine the required size and shrink ratio for your tubing. The two most important dimensions to measure for your application are the largest diameter that the expanded sleeve needs to slide over and the smallest diameter that the tubing needs to completely cover after shrinking. Regardless of whether you’re using heat shrink tubing in an electrical application, as a strain relief, as a protective covering, or for any other reason, determining the correct size is of the utmost importance. The only way to ensure that you’re getting the most appropriate, cost-effective product is to fully understand your application and the requirements that need to be met. The most important aspect of choosing the appropriate heat shrink product for your needs is to understand and define all that is necessary for your application. to identify a component (with printing, a custom color, etc).to change the surface finish of an object.to provide an environmental seal, protecting sensitive components from contaminants such as moisture and chemicals which might cause oxidation and/or corrosion of the components.as a protective covering, safeguarding from:.to bundle loose items (most commonly wires in wire harnesses).to provide electrical insulation (covering terminals, splices, wire repairs, or other connectors).There are a number of useful applications for heat shrink tubing. If the tubing is later exposed to a sufficient amount of heat, it will shrink down to its original size as long as it is not restrained from doing so. The tubing is then cooled to room temperature while in the expanded state.

Although the details of this secondary process are proprietary, heat and force are used to expand the diameter of the tubing. The first step involves standard extrusion procedures, after which a secondary process makes the tubing heat-shrinkable. Heat shrink tubing is manufactured using a two-step process.

In this section, the basics of heat shrink tubing are discussed. It will serve as a step-by-step guide to assure you that you’re buying the correct product, and it will help you to identify the most cost-effective solution while ensuring that what you buy is going to meet your needs. The following information will help you determine what type of heat shrink product is most appropriate for your application. © Grayline LLC, 2015 Introduction to Heat Shrink Tubing