Important tubing characteristics to consider when planning a design that incorporates the use of heat shrink tubing.

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Below are important tubing characteristics to consider when planning a design that incorporates the use of heat shrink tubing.

• Dimensions & size range
  • Size selection
    • Expanded inner diameter (EID)
    • Recovered inner diameter (RID)
• Shrink ratio
• Wall thickness
• Longitudinal change
• Concentricity
• Unresolved recovery
• Expansion ratio
• Operating temperature range
• Full recovery temperature
• Flame resistance
• Specifications (Industry, Military, Customer)
• Chemical & solvent resistance
• Mechanical properties (mechanical toughness, abrasion resistance, lubricity)
• Electrical properties
  • A method to estimate the dielectric strength for any thickness of the same material* This can be done using the formula developed by Carl J. Tautscher below:

VxPm = Vpm

Where           Vpm = Dielectric strength at thickness t in mils

                     Vxpm = Dielectric strength at thickness tx in mils

                     t = The thickness of the known test specimen

tx = The thickness in mils of the insulation for which the strength can be calculated

*Given that an accurate dielectric strength measurement is known along with a sample thickness used to obtain said measurement. 

In general, it is necessary that both the sample thickness and the test temperature are known for each product in order to compare their dielectric strengths in a meaningful way.

• Flexibility/ stiffness
• Aesthetics (“feel”, finish gloss vs. matte)

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