185:. Uncontrolled heat can cause uneven shrinkage, physical damage and insulation failure, and these methods are not recommended by heatshrink suppliers. If overheated, heat-shrink tubing can melt, scorch or catch fire like any other plastic. Heating causes the tubing to contract to between half and one sixth of its original diameter, depending on the material used, providing a snug fit over irregularly shaped joints. There is also longitudinal shrinking, usually unwanted and to a lesser extent than narrowing, of typically around 6%. The tubing provides good electrical
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With the exception of black, they tend to have lower resistance to ultraviolet light; accordingly, only black is recommended for outdoor applications. Polyolefin tubing shrinks at 143 °C. Polyolefin heat-shrink tubing typically shrinks 2:1 diametrically, but high-grade polyolefin heat-shrink is also available with a 3:1 ratio. Polyolefin tubing may withstand being touched with a soldering iron.
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The unshrunk tubing is fitted on the wire before making the connection, then slid down to cover the joint after it is made. If the fit is tight, silicone lubricant can be applied without compromising the heat-shrink material. The tubing is then shrunk to wrap tightly around the joint by heating in an
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tubes, the most common kind, have maximum continuous-use temperatures from -55 to 135 °C, and are used by the military, aerospace and railway industries. They are flexible and fast-shrinking, and manufactured in a wide range of colors (including clear), which can be used for color-coding wires.
203:
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Specialty heat-shrink tubing, known as "solder sleeves", have a tube of solder inside of the heat-shrink tubing, allowing the heat source to electrically join the two wires by melting the solder and simultaneously insulate the junction with the tubing. Solder sleeves also commonly contain a ring of
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The process for making heat-shrink tubing is as follows: First the material is chosen based on its properties. The material is often compounded with other additives (such as colorants, stabilizers, etc.) depending on the application. A starting tube is extruded from the raw material. Next, the tube
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Heat-shrink tubing is manufactured in a multitude of varieties and chemical makeups with the exact composition of each type being dependent on the intended application. From near microscopically-thin-wall tubing to rigid, heavy-wall tubing, each type has precise design and chemical additives that
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tubes maintain high flexibility even at low temperatures and meet stringent international specifications. Their operating temperature range is -75 to 150 °C. The material is resistant to many chemicals (including diesel and petrol) and has good resistance to
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and expanded in diameter, often by placing it in a vacuum chamber. While in the expanded state it is rapidly cooled. Later, when heated (above the crystalline melting point of the material) by the end user, the tubing shrinks back to its original extruded size.
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on the inside to help provide a good seal and better adhesion, while others rely on friction between the closely conforming materials. Heating non-adhesive shrink tube to very near the melting point may allow it to fuse to the underlying material as well.
392:, another fluoropolymer with high chemical resistance, is widely used in hydraulic equipment. It is highly flexible, with a very wide operating temperature range of -55 to 220 °C, making it suitable for protecting sensitive devices against heat.
308:, or moisture. This cross-linking creates the memory in the tubing so that it is able to shrink back to its original extruded dimensions upon heating, producing a material called heat-shrink tubing. For outdoor use, heat-shrink tubing often has a
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tubes are usually lower cost than other materials. PVC takes colors exceptionally well and is available in nearly unlimited colors both opaque and transparent. PVC can be used outdoors with the addition of a
204:
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Other special materials exist, offering qualities such as resistance to diesel and aviation fuels, and there is also woven fabric, providing increased abrasion resistance in harsh environments.
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make it suitable for meeting any of a wide variety of environmental demands. Heat-shrink tubing is rated by its expansion ratio, a comparison of the differences in expansion and recovery rate.
338:(FEP) is a lower-cost alternative to PTFE. It is a versatile electrical insulator and is inert to most chemicals and solvents. Additionally, it is highly resistant to extreme heat, cold, and
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is taken to a separate process where it is cross-linked, usually through radiation. The cross-linking creates a memory in the tube. Then the tube is heated to just above the polymer's
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to tidy up the interior of computers and provide an appearance considered pleasing. In response to this opening market, manufacturers started producing heat-shrink tubing in
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tube used to insulate wires, providing abrasion resistance and environmental protection for stranded and solid wire conductors, connections, joints and terminals in
837:"ASTM D3150 - 18 Standard Specification for Crosslinked and Noncrosslinked Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Heat-Shrinkable Tubing for Electrical Insulation"
225:
Heatshrink tubing is sometimes sold in pre-cut lengths, with a solder blob at the center of the length, as this configuration was specified by
674:
Wang, Xuefeng; Shaikh, Kashan A. (2009). "Interfacing
Microfluidic Devices with the Macro World". In Wei-Cheng Tian, Erin Finehout (ed.).
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Although usually used for insulation, heat-shrink tubing with a conductive lining is also available, for use on joints which are not
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148:. It can also be used to repair the insulation on wires or to bundle them together, to protect wires or small parts from minor
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offers excellent resistance to scrape abrasion and high flexibility. Its operating temperature range is -50 to 200 °C
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152:, and to create cable entry seals, offering environmental sealing protection. Heat-shrink tubing is ordinarily made of a
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heat-activated sealant on the inside of each end of the tubing, allowing the connection to also be made waterproof.
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relief, and is mechanically held in place (unless incorrectly oversized or not properly shrunk) by its tight fit.
156:, which shrinks radially (but not longitudinally) when heated, to between one-half and one-sixth of its diameter.
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One application that has used heatshrink in large quantities since the early 1970s is the covering of fibreglass
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789:"AS23053: Insulation Sleeving, Electrical, Heat Shrinkable, General Specification For - SAE International"
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or other source of hot gas flow. Convenient but less consistent methods for shrinking the tube include a
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Heat-shrink end caps, closed at one end, are used to insulate the exposed cut ends of insulated wires.
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of wires and connections. In the early twenty-first century heat-shrink tubing started to be used for
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813:"ASTM D2671 - 13 Standard Test Methods for Heat-Shrinkable Tubing for Electrical Use"
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radiation, making it an excellent material for heat-shrink tubing applications.
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605:, Symmetry, Dimensions of Particle Physics. V. 7, Issue 2, Apr. 10
360:. PVC heat-shrink tends to burn if touched with a soldering iron.
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240:. Many millions of these antennas have been coated this way.
366:(PVDF) tubes are intended for high temperature applications.
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held close to but not touching the tube, or the heat from a
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Heat-shrink tubing is available in a variety of colors for
170:
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Animation of heat-shrink tubing, before and after shrinking
765:"UL - 224 Extruded Insulating Tubing | Standards Catalog"
861:"Everything there is to know about Heat Shrink Tubing"
680:. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 102.
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Different applications require different materials:
210:
Video of adhesive-lined heat-shrink tubing shrinking
647:
The
Medical Device R&D Handbook, Second Edition
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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517:cableorganizer.com: How to Use Heat Shrink Tubing
386:, and high resistance to chemicals and punctures.
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252:Corporation in 1962. It is manufactured from a
16:Shrinkable plastic tube used to insulate wires
214:Some types of heat-shrink contain a layer of
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677:Microfluidics for Biological Applications
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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718:. Kalmbach Publishing, Co. p. 88.
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596:Accelerator apps: heat-shrink tubing
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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248:Heat-shrink tubing was invented by
236:, used extensively for 27 MHz
229:for automotive electrical repairs.
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382:range (-55 to 175 °C), a low
378:(fluoropolymer) tubes have a wide
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534:. Cengage Learning. p. 546.
193:and other foreign materials, and
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465:Main standards and certificates
34:needs additional citations for
644:Kucklick, Theodore R. (2012).
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501:Heat Shrink Tubing Users Guide
336:Fluorinated ethylene propylene
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1:
742:. Inventables. Archived from
566:. IPC Industrial Press. 1994.
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878:How heat shrink tubing works
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585:. U.S. Patent Office. 1968.
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715:Wiring Your Model Railroad
623:"3M Heat Shrink catalogue"
650:. CRC Press. p. 19.
290:crystalline melting point
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280:, silicone elastomer or
189:, protection from dust,
769:standardscatalog.ul.com
712:Puckett, Larry (2015).
384:coefficient of friction
364:Polyvinylidene fluoride
900:Electronics work tools
454:Heat-shrinkable sleeve
296:The material is often
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126:
905:Plastics applications
579:U.S. Patent 3,396,460
380:operating temperature
209:
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528:Gilles, Tim (2015).
420:reactive varieties.
58:"Heat-shrink tubing"
43:improve this article
300:through the use of
883:2007-07-13 at the
601:2011-01-04 at the
531:Automotive Service
444:Cold shrink tubing
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140:) is a shrinkable
130:Heat-shrink tubing
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449:Electrical wiring
256:material such as
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32:This article
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844:. Retrieved
841:www.astm.org
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820:. Retrieved
817:www.astm.org
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744:the original
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475:ASTM D 2671
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472:SAE AS23053
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41:Please help
36:verification
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793:www.sae.org
478:ASTM D3150
469:UL224-2010
340:ultraviolet
325:Elastomeric
244:Manufacture
175:hot air gun
134:heat shrink
894:Categories
846:2019-03-19
822:2019-03-19
798:2019-03-19
774:2019-03-19
750:2016-01-11
693:2016-11-20
629:30 October
547:2016-11-20
485:References
410:PC modding
346:Polyolefin
258:polyolefin
187:insulation
173:or with a
154:polyolefin
138:heatshrink
99:April 2010
69:newspapers
316:Materials
306:peroxides
881:Archived
599:Archived
438:See also
425:soldered
414:luminous
330:abrasion
278:neoprene
238:CB radio
219:adhesive
191:solvents
150:abrasion
312:added.
250:Raychem
183:lighter
142:plastic
83:scholar
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583:(PDF)
481:VW-1
400:Types
390:Viton
282:Viton
270:Kynar
90:JSTOR
76:books
720:ISBN
682:ISBN
652:ISBN
631:2014
625:. 3M
536:ISBN
416:and
376:PTFE
266:PTFE
171:oven
62:news
353:PVC
274:PVC
272:),
268:or
164:Use
136:or
45:by
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418:UV
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