Shrink Wrap

[Edrick]

What do you guys shrink wrap when making cables? I tried seeing if this was discussed but haven't seen it.

Option A) when making cables such as XLR, DMX, Com etc do you guys do it over the cable jacket where the individual pairs come out and one over the sheild?

How about when doing installs say you have a bunch of stripped jackets going into a terminal block do you cover the jacket in that case?

Or if you have wiring going into an amp
Is there any reason to shrink wrap the jacket?

Are there other times you use it?

 

[BGW]

Shrink wrapping the jacket isn't always nessecary, but I often do it anyway for durability. For example, things you really want to use shrink tubing for are the individual connections to the pins inside of an XLR connector. There's no possibility of them shorting if you do that.

 

[derekleffew]

Try searching for shrink tube rather than shrink wrap.

 

[Edrick]

Try searching for shrink tube rather than shrink wrap.

No idea why I said shrink wrap

 

[n1ist]

I prefer to use heat shrink over the drain wire so it can't short to anything, and then a piece over the end of the jacket so I don't have any issues from the cut bits of braid or spacer strings. It's neater that way, reduces the chances for shorting, and makes things more mechanically robust.

On connectors with small solder cups (like sub-D series), I tend to put a piece of clear shrink over the joint between the solder cup and wire too.
/mike

 

[FMEng]

I prefer to use heat shrink over the drain wire so it can't short to anything, and then a piece over the end of the jacket so I don't have any issues from the cut bits of braid or spacer strings. It's neater that way, reduces the chances for shorting, and makes things more mechanically robust.

On connectors with small solder cups (like sub-D series), I tend to put a piece of clear shrink over the joint between the solder cup and wire too.
/mike

Give the man a gold star!

 

[WooferHound]

If the wire is going to be used frequently , I like to put a 3 inch shrink tube on the end of the wire before I assemble the connector shell to it. This strengthens the wire where it bends most where it comes out of the shell, and provides some strain relief.

 

[TimmyP1955]

I prefer to use heat shrink over the drain wire so it can't short to anything, and then a piece over the end of the jacket so I don't have any issues from the cut bits of braid or spacer strings. It's neater that way, reduces the chances for shorting, and makes things more mechanically robust.

On connectors with small solder cups (like sub-D series), I tend to put a piece of clear shrink over the joint between the solder cup and wire too.
/mike

I tin the drain wire - it won't short to anything unless the cable is mishandled AND the strain relief fails.

I never shrink the connections, as it makes later joint inspection impossible.

The only failure I've had was an open shield owing to too little heat when soldering pin 1 of a Neutrik right angle connector. Had the mic in question been a dynamic, I might never have noticed. Had I heatshrunk the connection, I'd likely have had an intermittent instead of an open. I prefer the latter.

 

[bishopthomas]

In my opinion, if your ground is long enough to put heat shink on then it's too long. I have hundreds of cables in use every day and the failure rate is practically zero. As for shrinking the insulation, I think the strain relief covers that well enough. I'm a heat shrinking junkie. I keep every size in black and clear in stock, and some colors too. But I rarely ever use it when making xlr cables. Rack panels, installs, and snakes are a different story. I love shrinking and soldering multipins, especially Elcos...

 

[howlingwolf487]

...I love shrinking and soldering multipins, especially Elcos...

Somebody's having a good time…

I prefer to use heatshrink to reinforce the strain relief area of the connector's chuck and/or to color code its length or who it belongs to. If you're worried about strain relief on the actual solder joints, use better connectors and keep your exposed wires as short as possible (also strip them as short as possible to eliminate the chance of shorting pins).

The Neutrik "X" and "XX" XLR connectors and Switchcraft "AA" XLR connectors are as solid as they get when it comes to strain relief. Also do realize that any connector has limitations on what diameter cable its strain relief mechanism can deal with. Most connectors are available with larger bushings for larger diameter cable. Neutrik has 'em and I'm almost positive Switchcraft would have them, too… although their connectors can take a pretty hefty cable if needed.