How does heat shrink tubing work

In general, heat shrink tubing is a common element in most electrical setups that insulates electrical components from external factors such as moisture, dust, abrasion, and sharp objects that might otherwise damage wires and electrical components. This type of damage ultimately results in shorts and failures. It will also bind loose wires, connectors, joints, terminals, and splices together, creating more organized and manageable bundles.

Using color-coded heat shrink tubing helps to facilitate easy wire and component identification. Heat shrink tubing is a thermoplastic tube that shrinks when exposed to heat. It may cover parts of individual wires or bundle entire arrays and protect against abrasion, low impact, cuts, moisture, and dust. To create heat shrink tubing, plastic manufacturers first use extrusion to make a tube of thermoplastic material. The base material is mixed with other additives such as colorants and UV stabilizers.

In the second step, which usually is proprietary to each manufacturer of tubing, heat and force are used to expand the diameter of the tubing. After the second step, the tubing is allowed to cool to room temperature in its expanded state. When the cooled tubing is exposed to a sufficient amount of heat, it shrinks down to its original size provided it is not restrained from doing so.

When used as a protective covering, heat shrink provides protection from abrasion, cutting, scuffing, and low impact situations. Heat shrink can also be used to create cable entry seals providing protection from the surrounding environment. This protection allows components to be used in areas where they could be exposed to moisture and chemicals as well as dust and other fine particulates. Other applications for heat shrink are as a strain relief for color-coding specific components, identifying various components through the use of various colored tubes, and to change the texture of the finish of an object.

In addition, heat shrink can be used over small parts and wires to provide minor abrasion resistance. Polyolefin based tubes are by far the most popular and most commonly used. Polyolefin based materials have many advantages over other materials.

If pricing is a major concern when choosing a heat shrink material, heat shrink can be produced using PVC based material. PVC based heat shrink tubes offer brighter and more vibrant colors and better clarity if a clear tube is needed.

PVC is also available in flame retardant versions and has better tensile strength and abrasion resistance than polyolefin materials. Some versions of heat shrink tubing are available as an adhesive-lined product.

This version, also known as dual wall tubing, includes an inner wall of adhesive that melts and flows when the tube is exposed to the heat needed to shrink it. Since the adhesive flows, it fills and voids and conforms easily to the shape of the object inside the tube. The adhesive then hardens and provides an environmental seal, protecting the items under the tube from moisture and other contaminants.

The use of these materials would be dictated by the environment that the shrink tube is to be used in. Heat shrink tubing shrinks by heating the material in an oven or by using a hand-held hot air gun. The process of heat shrinking is simpler than you think, the heat shrinks are available in wide ranges of size and color in the market, just get them from the market, insert the wire where you need the insulation and heat the sleeve. The heat shrink tube is used in different ways and purposes that focus on improving the protection, lifetime and maintenance of wires in a circuit.

Protect Wires and Cables from external factors:. The topmost usage of heat shrinking tubes is to offer protection to the wires and cables from abrasion, cutting, scuffing and low impact situations. The Heat Shrink act as a cable entry seal that can protect the wires from the environmental effects such as liquids like oil, water, and acids and also atmospheric factors, such as humidity and temperature that can cause damage to the wire.

There are no electrical circuits without connections; the Heat Shrinks are used to properly insulate those connections for better protection. Apart from insulating connections they are also used as an additional layer of protection to the wires as the basic insulation is not good enough.

The Electric wires and cables are often stretched and experiences strain due to insufficient space or length.

These external tensions and wears might affect the life span of the wire, the heat shrinks can be used to reduce these strains and stress applied to the wire with the help of their durable nature. The below image shows a set of wires soldered to some connector pins.

Here the heat shrink tubes not only covered the exposure of soldering but also provides mechanical support for the wires, by reducing the strain on connector pins. A huge network of wires might be frustrating to every individual who works with the electrical system.

The different sizes of the heat shrink allow you to bundle a group of wires together within a single tube. This is not only an aesthetic approach but also a good wire management technique that will be more helpful during the future maintenance of the system. All the above uses are for an electrical system, in some special cases, the heat shrinks can also be used as rust protective in hardware like metal piping and welded joints.

During the welding of stainless steel tubes the insulation coating might get depleted, in order to protect the welded joints from rust, the heat shrink tubes can be used. The adhesive layer in the heat shrinks merges perfectly to the metal surface and protect the pipelines from rust and other external disturbances. Apart from these, the heat shrinks can also be used as a strain relief for color-coding specific components, identify various connections with the help of various colored tubes and change the texture and finishing of an object.

There are large varieties of heat shrinks available in the market in various types and sizes, for choosing the appropriate heat shrink you must consider the parameters like inner diameter, shrinkage ratio, Length, recovered wall thickness.