What is heat shrink tubing?
To understand what a heat shrink tube is, you just need to look at its name. In simple terms, it is a plastic sleeve that can shrink when exposed to heat, so it is also called a heat shrink tube, a heat shrink sleeve, or a heat shrink tube. In fact, they are essentially the same product, collectively referred to as a heat shrink tube. Due to its property of shrinking when heated, it is an indispensable and important protective pipe in various industries. The inner diameter specifications are very complete, ranging from the smallest diameter of 0.5mm to the largest diameter of 250mm. The colors can also be diversified, with all the common ones including red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple available. The target audience is also very wide. Heat shrink tubes are usually made of soft materials, and the heat shrinkage ratio can reach 2 times. This means that a heat shrink tube with a diameter of 6mm can have a diameter reduced to 3mm after heating and shrinking.
Heat shrink tubing was recognized by many developed countries in the 1960s, mainly benefiting from the rapid development of the automotive and home appliance industries. In the 1970s, heat shrink tubes experienced rapid development, and heat shrink materials began to be industrialized. Domestic research and development of heat shrink tubes also started very early. After nearly half a century of rapid development, the quality stability of heat shrink tubing has been effectively improved. Therefore, heat shrink tubing is now also jokingly referred to as a special band-aid for industrial, electrical, mechanical, high-speed rail, and automotive cable lines. Why can heat shrink tubing be called a cable line band-aid? The main reasons are as follows:
一、Cable connection
Heat shrink tubing can be used for the connection at the welding points of wires. When wires are welded to each other, the exposed weld points are exposed to the air, posing safety and quality risks. To enhance the tensile strength at the connection points and provide better safety protection for the wires, heat shrink tubing can be used at the welding points to increase tensile strength and safety, which also indirectly improves quality reliability and avoids safety hazards.
二、Insulation Protection
Terminal blocks are very common in electrical equipment. After the wire is welded to the terminal block, a long part of the conductor is exposed outside, but in fact, only the circle of the conductor that is lifted by the screw is exposed. If the injection molding process is used, the cost is very high. Because the heat shrink tube has excellent insulation performance, at this time, we can solve the problem very well by using the heat shrink tube.
三、 Protective Function
The physical properties of heat shrink tubing are extremely excellent, featuring electrical insulation performance and aging resistance. It can be widely used in cable insulation protection in various industries, insulation protection at connection ends and cable connection points, as well as stress relief, providing very good protection.