What is heat shrink tubing, its main types and characteristics

Shrink tube appeared in the 50 years of the twentieth century, and positioned as an alternative to PVC tape. And become truly excellent material for insulation of electrical connection with a number of advantages. In this article I will tell you about the main types, features and applications of heat-shrinkable tubing.

What is shrinking and what is its purpose

Entitled "shrink tube" is meant a tube produced from a specialized heat-shrinkable material (in most cases this terpolymers).

This product is under a predetermined temperature change its dimensions. Moreover, the longitudinal compression is small compared with the cross. The transverse axis of the tube can be compressed by 2 to 6 times.

During compression increases the wall thickness of the article, which increases the insulating properties of the product.

The main fields of application of heat-shrinkable tubing as follows:

1. Isolation of compounds at work electrical work.

2. Using tubing for corrosion protection.

3. Increasing the mechanical strength of the products thus coated with insulating material.

4. The use of cable cores as a marking material.

5. The use as a protective layer from various corrosive atmosphere manifestations.

The main advantages and disadvantages

Through comparison with other heat-shrinkable tube of insulation products, the following advantages can be identified:

- remains in place due to a very tight fit tube even after severe impacts.

- installation process is very simple, just to observe uniformity and warm temperature.

- After shrinking the material it becomes more dense, which gives the joint greater strength. In this case, the service life is much longer than conventional electrical tape.

- Very wide range of applications.

The disadvantages of this product may include such things:

- The inability to re-use the product. If you need to alter the connection, then re-use the same heat shrinkable tubing would be impossible.

- The price is slightly higher than that of conventional insulating tape, but all the other advantages cover this deficiency.

As you can see at the drawbacks of such a product is small and they are not essential.

Classification and types of heat-shrinkable tubing

These products are classified primarily by the method of fabrication and the materials used. And there are such types TUT (heat shrink tubing):

But the following types are distinguished on the basis of the installation:

1. Since the adhesive inner layer. Through such tubes ensuring reliable protection from moisture. Typically, the coefficient of shrinkage of such tubes is equal to three.

2. Without adhesive inner coating.

According to the degree of resistance to different environments shrink tubes are divided as follows:

- Oil resistant.

- inert to chemical attack.

- High. Withstand voltage up to 1 kV.

- Resistant to gasoline.

- Resistant to UV radiation.

- Heat-resistant and do not support combustion.

Marking shrinkable tubing

Usually the manufacturer points directly on the package which the initial diameter of the product to shrink and immediately after it, but there are symbols indicating the original diameter and the coefficient of shrinkage, for example 20 mm 2:1.

How to choose the right shrink tubing

So, the correct algorithm shrink tubing selection is as follows:

1. First, determine the operating conditions, for example, if after installation TUT may hit on it of gasoline, it should choose the tube resistant to aggressive chemical compounds.

2. Then select the desired diameter. It should use the rule: "20 -10", which clearly looks like

3. And on the final stage of the pick length. Note that the longitudinal shrinkage in the low-quality products can be up to 20%, and the parameter of quality products rarely exceeds 10%.

That's all I wanted to tell you about the heat shrink tubing, as well as their main types and characteristics.

Thank you for your attention!