Heat Shrink Tubing

4 www.hellermann.tyton.com 800.537.1512 Determine the type of heat shrink tubing needed for the application. • 2:1 Shrink Ratio: Faster shrink time reduces installation time and potential damage to heat sensitive components. • 3:1 Shrink Ratio: Covers a broader range of substrates and irregular shapes. Greater recovered wall thickness versus 2:1 tubing. Offers better abrasion resistance and protection than 2:1 tubing. • Thin Wall: Most flexible of the polyolefin tubing materials. Shrinks quickly. Easily fits over uneven components during shrink/recovery state. • Medium Wall and Thick Wall: Semi-rigid material provides a more robust solution with greater durability and mechanical strength; often required in exposed or buried applications. Offers greater protection than thin wall tubing. • Adhesive-lined: Also referred to as dual walled. The adhesive typically begins to melt at a temperature lower than the outer wall, allowing it to flow into voids and spaces to create a more secure seal. Consider the wire/cable size. Let's say you have a cable with a diameter size of 0.118" (3.0 mm) that requires heat shrink tubing. You will need to find tubing that has a larger Supplied Diameter (D) than the cable. Selecting the Right Heat Shrink Tubing When selecting heat shrink tubing, it is important to consider several factors; the application and the cable/ wire's diameter are primary considerations. Another important factor is the 80:20 Rule. IMPERIAL TO METRIC CONVERSIONS FOR 2:1 SHRINK RATIO TUBING in 1 / 32 3 / 64 1 / 16 5 / 64 3 / 32 1 / 8 3 / 16 1 / 4 3 / 8 1 / 2 5 / 8 3 / 4 1 1 1 / 4 1 1 / 2 2 3 4 mm 0.8 1.2 1.6 2 2.4 3.2 4.8 6.4 9.5 12.7 15.9 19.1 25.4 31.8 38.1 50.8 76.2 101.6 IMPERIAL TO METRIC CONVERSIONS FOR 3:1 SHRINK RATIO TUBING in 1 / 16 5 / 64 3 / 32 1 / 8 3 / 16 1 / 4 3 / 8 1 / 2 5 / 8 3 / 4 1 1 1 / 4 1 1 / 2 mm 1.5 2 2.5 3 4.5 6 9 12 15 18 24 32 40 IMPERIAL TO METRIC CONVERSIONS Look for a smaller Recovered Diameter than the cable/wire. When selecting heat shrink tubing from the product charts in this catalog, a good place to start is by looking at the Recovered Diameter (d). The Recovered Diameter is the most the tubing will shrink (the smallest size it will shrink to) when heat is applied. For heat shrink tubing to work properly it needs to fit snugly on the cable/wire, so choose tubing with a Recovered Diameter that is smaller than the diameter of your cable/wire. For instance, if you have a 0.118" (3.0 mm) cable to cover, a reasonable choice would be tubing with a Recovered Diameter of 0.079" (2.0 mm), which is slightly smaller than your cable. TFN31 tubing part number 333-41501 (listed on page 11) has a Recovered Diameter of 0.079" (2.0 mm). And, the Supplied Diameter for this tubing (333-41501) happens to be 0.24" (6.0 mm), which also meets the preceding criterion by being larger than our cable size. Calculate the 80:20 shrinkage. For best performance and results, heat shrink tubing has an optimal shrink range. It should shrink by a maximum of 80% and a minimum of 20%. Therefore, it is important to factor in the 80:20 Rule when selecting heat shrink tubing. To identify the optimal 80:20 shrink range for any heat shrink tubing, all you need is the tubing's Supplied Diameter (D) and Recovered Diameter (d). The shrink ratio (2:1, 3:1, etc.) does not enter into this equation. The optimal 80:20 range for any heat shrink tubing can be calculated using 5 simple steps on the next page. The measurements are from the OUR EXAMPLE box.

• Cover