Improvisation at Its Finest: The All-Purpose Heat Shrink Tubing!

We all know how heat shrink tubing can do wonders for any system where cables or wires need to be protected. Whether you need something to insulate bare wires, cover wire splices, color code wires or bundle together some badly sprayed out network cables – heat shrink tubing can be used for anything and everything.

But what if you’re not an electrician or a network installer, then what?

Is the use of heat shrink tubing only restricted to wire and cable related applications, or can you do much more with it?

To find the answer to this question, we reached out our ingenious Tef-Cap team and our simply amazing Tef-Cap customers. The uses they suggested left us in complete awe.

So we decided to share some of these heat shrink uses with our readers too—the homeowners, the handymen, the hobbyists, and everyone in between.

It’s improvisation at its finest!

Heat Shrink as Pencil Grips

 

One of our customers, who just so happens to teach occupationally impaired children, told us that he uses heat shrink tubing as a pencil grip. Because the children he teaches have difficulty with motor skills, they write with pencils that are larger in size than your average pencils. Hence, these pencils can’t be fit with standard grips. By cutting down heat shrinks in shorter lengths, he can slip them around the pencils and heat-shrink them into place. This makes it easier for his students to hold the pencils.

Heat Shrink for Curling Iron Repair

This use was suggested to us by one of our staff members who is very particular and conscious about the hair style she wears. She told us that recently the plastic grip on her curling iron came off. She tried to put it back, but couldn’t. Of course, she could not use the curling iron with a bare handle as it was quite risky, so she came with a genius idea. She used the heat shrink tubing to cover her curling iron’s handle, and the fix worked.

Heat Shrink for Glass Repair

Have you ever found yourself in a situation, where one arm of eyeglasses snapped and you just didn’t know what to do to repair the pair? Well, we could not help you at that time (sorry for that), but now we can. We’ve got a fix for you. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation again, simply get a heat shrink from your local store, slip it over the broken ends of your eyewear and eyewear arm, and shrink it to size. It may not serve as a permanent fix, but it buys you enough time. And yes, it would also save you from short-term blindness.

Heat Shrink as Furniture End Caps

That outdoor furniture in your patio, it has constantly being leaving rust rings on your patio floor for the last year or so. And you’re absolutely tired of cleaning these left behind marks again and again. Well, you can save yourself from the inconvenience by installing heat shrink tubing onto the feet of your furniture. Those rust rings aren’t coming back—trust us!

Do you have any unconventional use of heat shrink in your mind that you would like to share with us?

Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

A BONUS read: The Chemistry Behind the Working of Heat Shrink

Fits Like a Glove: Buying the Right Size Heat Shrink Tubing

Imagine if buying a heat shrink tubing was as simple as buying a coat. You measure the object you want to cover and then buy a heat shrink to fit.

Unfortunately, it’s not.

Buying a right size heat shrink is much more complex than buying a right size coat. Because the tubing shrinks, when heated, does not retain the same dimensions it originally has pre-heating.

As such, it’s common for buyers (especially, first time buyers) to make sizing mistakes when buying a heat shrink tubing, ending up with a purchase that just won’t fit into their application.

This piece will guide you on how to avoid sizing mistakes and buy a right sized heat shrink tubing for your application.

First things first…

Before we get into the nitty gritty of how to measure a heat shrink when purchasing one, it’s worth noting that heat shrink tubing is first made to the diameter it will be when it’s shrunk. After that, it is expanded and packaged for sale.

So when you buy a heat shrink tubing, its shrunk dimensions are already known; they’re stated on the specification sheet.

Having this explained, we can now move on to the actual measuring step.

Dimensions and Dimension Facts—You Should Know About!

When measuring a heat shrink tubing, there’re basically two types of dimensions you’ll be working with: i) Recovered dimensions and, ii) Expanded dimensions.

Recovered dimensions are the shrunken dimensions and expanded dimensions are the dimensions of the tubing in the stretched form.

On a typical heat shrink datasheet, you’ll find the following dimensions listed:

• Recovered internal diameter
• Recovered wall thickness
• Expanded internal diameter

Let’s say you want to buy a heat shrink to cover a cable which has an outer diameter of 7 mm.

The heat shrink that you buy must have:

• An expanded internal diameter greater than 7 mm
• A recovered internal diameter of just under 7 mm

Please note that you won’t find the exact dimensions listed on a heat shrink tubing’s datasheet. They will always have some tolerance range which will be mentioned on the sheet. So make sure you keep that in mind.

What about the wall thickness?

It depends on the application in which you want to use the heat shrink. If wall thickness is really important for your application (for e.g. If you’re looking to insulate a piece of wire), we would recommend that you purchase a heat shrink tubing with the maximum recovered wall thickness.

Let’s take a look at another example.

Let’s say you want to buy a heat shrink tubing to insulate a cable wiring. The cable has a diameter of 7 mm. It has bare wires running through it which are 4 mm in diameter. Plus, the cable has a connector at each of its end, which has a diameter of 15 mm.

The heat shrink that you buy must have:

• An expanded internal diameter greater than 15 mm
• A recovered internal diameter of just under 4 mm

For wall thickness the rule is same as discussed above.

One more thing you should keep in mind…

A heat shrink tubing not only shrinks in diameter when heated, but it also shrinks in length. Although the change in length is minimal, usually 10% of the original expanded length. So if you need a heat shrink tubing to cover an object of length 2 meters, you should buy a heat shrink which is at least 2.2 meters long. You can later cut off the tailing end if you wish to.

And that is how you can buy the right size shrink tubing for your application that will fit like a glove.

A BONUS read: The Chemistry Behind the Working of Heat Shrink

The chemistry behind the working of HEAT SHRINK

The history of the origin of heat shrink.

Teflon Industrial Coating—Everything You Need To Know

Industrial coating refers to the application of protective material over wiring and other important equipment in order to ensure that it stays safe from harmful materials.

Teflon is one of the most commonly used materials when it comes to industrial coating. There are several benefits of using Teflon for industrial coating. Some of these benefits include:

Non stick surface

Teflon is extremely popular because of its non-stick feature. Sticky surface can be quite inconvenient especially if you are involved in the business of manufacturing cooking products.

It can completely ruin the product because of which these people prefer to buy products that have Teflon industrial coating. The liquid does not accumulate on the surface of the machine and instead just slides off.

You might want to know that the coefficient of friction on Teflon products also happens to be really low, because of which it is very easy for you to move machines.

Highly resistant

Another great feature of Teflon is the fact that it has high resistance to heat as well as water. This ensures that the material stays clean. It also prevents water from becoming saturated. You can simply wipe down the surface with a cloth. It does not take a lot of time and does not leave behind any kind of debris.

Teflon also has high resistance to heat. It can withstand the temperature of up to 260° Celsius. Due to its high resistance, Teflon is the ideal material in tasks, which involve use of excessive heat.

The process of industrial coating involves multiple steps, which include:

• Primer
• Full Coating
• Sealant

You need to know that Teflon is an ideal sealing material. It is a strong electrical insulator and does not dissipate very easily. The level of frequency varies in different industrial applications because of which you need a highly resistant industrial coating material like Teflon.

It is not prone to chemicals

Chemicals can adversely affect the product. In some cases, they can also be quite dangerous. Teflon coating can be beneficial in this regard since chemicals do not easily affect it. It acts like a filter and prevents harmful elements in the chemical from causing any kind of damage.

You need to know that Teflon refers to multiple materials, which are all made of fluoropolymers. These include:

• PFA
• PTFE
• FEP

All of these materials have different characteristics and you need to identify which one best fits your needs. Get in touch with us. We offer a wide collection of Teflon products, which include:

• Teflon PFA tubing
• Teflon PTFE tubing
• Heat shrink tubing
• Flexible tubing

Contact us at 610-692-2576.

Teflon Hoses—Some Common Mistakes You Need To Avoid

It is quite rare to see Teflon hoses in hydraulic systems. This type of material is specifically used in aerospace and medical industries, and a major reason for this is the fact that it is a tough material.

The material can easily withstand harsh conditions and last for a long period of time because of which it is common to see Teflon hoses in the following places:

• Space shuttles
• Airplane brakes systems
• Breathing equipment for firefighters

Here is a look at some of the things you need to keep in mind when selecting Teflon hoses:

The size

Not all materials are the same. This is also true in the case of the base material, which in this case is Teflon. A major difference between the materials can be in terms of the size and radius of the material.

A smooth bore has the radius of 12 inches whereas the convoluted one has a bend radius of 3 inches.

Is it conductive or not?

Some people prefer to use Teflon hoses as fuel lines as well. These fuel lines allow the flow of hydrocarbons at a very high speed, which can end up causing damage to the Teflon. Therefore, it is preferable that you opt for Teflon, which is a conductor.

How thick is the material?

Another factor that you need to keep in mind is the thickness of the material. While thin, hoses cost less. It is preferable that you opt for thick hoses. This is because it is not easy for elements like gasses to enter these types of hoses.

People often make several mistakes when selecting Teflon hoses. This is because of several myths that exist around these types of materials.

Here is a look at some of the common mistakes or misunderstandings that people have about Teflon hoses:

They are expensive

Teflon paste, a material used for manufacturing these kinds of hoses, is fairly expensive. However, when you take into account the long-term benefits of Teflon hoses, you might realize that it is a lot more economical than traditional hoses.

Teflon hoses generally tend to last for a long period of time and they are much more resistant to damage in harsh weather conditions.

These hoses can easily be crushed

Another reason why people avoid these types of hoses is that they feel that Teflon hoses can easily be crushed. This is true for all kinds of hoses.

However, a benefit of these types of hoses is that you can ensure that they stay strong by adding spring guards. You also need to know that a thick hose is less susceptible to damage.

All the Teflon hoses are the same

You need to know that Teflon refers to multiple materials, which are made up of fluoropolymers. These include:

• PTFE
• PFA
• FEP

All of these materials have different characteristics. Some are more resistant to chemicals while others have different melting points.

You need to search for a Teflon hose, which best fits, your requirement. Get in touch with us. We, at Tef-Cap offer an extensive collection of Teflon products.

These include Teflon PFA and PTFE tubing as well as heat shrink tubing. Contact us at 610-692-2576.

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