I decided to throw this out there hoping some folks would have good information on the subject of wire insulation types.
I’m regularly frustrated by PVC insulation that is A) stiff, B) nicks really easily thus ruining the wire, and C) doesn’t strip cleanly i.e the insulation tears or stretches. B and C are at odds with each other which is weird.
This is pretty basic multi-conductor wire with PVC insulation. It’s pretty stiff and if you aren’t super careful removing the outer jacket, you might nick the insulation of one of the conductors. You might not even notice it too until you’ve spent a lot of time installing crimp connectors at which point you utter a lengthy stream of expletives. Or you try to solder a wire and the insulation softens just a little too much and pulls away.
Silicone wire is soft and flexible but it’s stupid expensive and hard to find multi-conductor cables. A quick glance at Mouser’s search engine shows 26 types of insulation material. Where can I find a comparison chart on the qualities of this stuff? Does anyone have any recommendations on more forgiving wire?
A further examination of wire availability at Mouser, for example, reveals several things. 1) Half of the products that are available aren’t stocked. 2) When it comes to wire, you can easily spend a ton of money on it. Before I spend $500 on a 100-ft. spool of wire, I want to be damn sure that it’s what I’m looking for. If I’m making a 1-foot cable and I have a choice between $5 a foot and $1 a foot, that $4 better buy less headache.
Beyond that, I found that PVC is by far the most common with the widest range of colors and gauges. But it also appears that Alpha and Belden are the largest suppliers. So if the PVC insulation for a multi-conductor cable from Alpha is questionable, is Belden likely to be the same? Are there different formulations of PVC that would be softer and more flexible than others? I have bought finished cables that are clearly softer but appear to be PVC (not really sure) so where did this cable come from?
Most of the wire I use is plain-vanilla stranded single conductor wire that I bought in bulk from McMaster-Carr back when I used to make wire harnesses. I never had any trouble stripping or soldering it even with the cheapest Klein strippers from Home Depot.
That said, insulation quality varies quite a lot. However, again, I’ve never had a problem with name-brand (e.g., Belden or Alpha) wire.
I have been used Belden and Alpha wire and I have bunchteen different strippers. Most of the them are useless particularly if you’re trying to work on a multi-conductor cable. I found that any stripper that requires you to hold the wire and pull is garbage as it will pull the whole conductor out of the bundle. My preferred type is the pistol-grip style because of the V-shaped cutter. But not the kind that clamps the wire because that can screw up the insulation too. Hell, I’m even considering a thermal stripper but that’s spendy.
But back to the insulation. I’m getting the sense that there are different formulas of PVC. I’ll get some pre-made harness that is very smooth and flexible but the stuff I get from Alpha is very stiff. On further inquiry, I learned that the aviation world often uses PTFE. Of course, that stuff is significantly more expensive. I’m also intrigued by mPE which is about half the price of PTFE but still more expensive than PVC. These two types seem to have the widest range of colors and gauges. Short of labeling each wire (which can be done but is expensive), lots of colors is a factor.
RogueWarrior65:
I found that any stripper that requires you to hold the wire and pull is garbage as it will pull the whole conductor out of the bundle. My preferred type is the pistol-grip style because of the V-shaped cutter. But not the kind that clamps the wire because that can screw up the insulation too.
It sounds like the strippers are not the right gage for the wire. I avoid the V shaped ones because they can nick the wire if it’s solid conductor.
The round cutters are best, but they have to be just the right size for the wire gauge or you run into the problem you’re having: it either drags the insulation along with it, or it nicks into the wire and pulls it that way. All around, I’ve found Klein strippers to work best.