Author Topic: Labeling Wires and Cables  (Read 11903 times)

Offline awemawson

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Labeling Wires and Cables
« on: July 22, 2013, 06:52:24 AM »
I've recently had to label a load of wires and cables, and for most things the coloured numbering sleeves that slip over the wires are fine:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2013, 06:54:48 AM »
However sometimes just numbers isn't enough - here we have the connections to a three phase AC servo amplfier:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2013, 06:56:24 AM »
These labels are produced on my trusty Brother QL-550 printer, and are self adhesives, so can be rolled arround the wires
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2013, 06:58:42 AM »
Only problem is that the label tries to revert to being flat - so it gradually unrolls, and in warm places can fall off!

I thought that the obvious solution was to slip a clear heat shrink sleeve over the label and shrink it in place:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2013, 07:01:58 AM »
 :bang: Only problem is that you end up with an illegible label   :bang:

Why: well thinking about it it is obvious - the label printer is using thermal paper, and the heat of the shrinking is converting the rest of the label to black.

So, try printing out on a laser printer, cutting out the text with a scalpel, and shrinking :
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline awemawson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2013, 07:04:13 AM »
Well it works, and produces a good legible label that won't come off, but it's ever so fiddly to do  :scratch:
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2013, 09:09:37 AM »
Andrew, I often make paper patterns for cutting out sheet metal by first printing them out, and then spraying the back of the sheet with 3M 5200 (a tenacious spray adhesive available her in the States). It essentially gums the back, and I then can stick it onto the sheet metal.

Maybe that would help position the label before you heat shrink it. Or maybe it is a good enough adhesive to not require heat shrink? Or maybe there is a better spray adhesive that would be resistant to heat?
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline vtsteam

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2013, 09:14:25 AM »
One other thought -- could you use strips of laminating film instead of heat shrink tubing? I have a big roll of that stuff that I used to cover model airplane wings. You iron it on -- heat sensitive adhesive, and it also shrinks to fit.


Comes in a variety of types:

http://www.laminationdepot.com/Shop/Laminating-ROLL-FILM/
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline awemawson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2013, 12:24:06 PM »
One other thought -- could you use strips of laminating film instead of heat shrink tubing? I have a big roll of that stuff that I used to cover model airplane wings. You iron it on -- heat sensitive adhesive, and it also shrinks to fit.


Comes in a variety of types:

http://www.laminationdepot.com/Shop/Laminating-ROLL-FILM/

Steve, I like the 'dry mount' idea, but the laminating 'iron on' will still turn the whole label black I think
Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline John Stevenson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2013, 12:52:23 PM »
Wondered how the laser would handle shrink tubing ?
Expected it to just shrink it but it's that fast it didn't.



Having said that it's not that neat but worth a try.
John Stevenson

Offline andyf

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2013, 01:09:37 PM »
Here's a posh solution, but at a price: http://www.sharpmark.com/Cable-labels

Bit tough if you don't get the printing on an A4 sheet of them registered right first time, so it's half on and half off the areas where it's supposed to be.

Andy
Sale, Cheshire
I've cut the end off it twice, but it's still too short

Offline awemawson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2013, 01:22:07 PM »
Nice one John!

I wonder if the tubing will tear when shrunk round a wire due to the laser etching?

I have a magic 'cable brander' that has 5 wheels that get hot and press hot foil into the cable:

(top image)

http://www.hotmarker.co.jp/english/seihin/top2.htm

It works well on larger cables but rather limited to the text you can put on them.

Andy: Thanks for the link. That system is very nice if rather pricey (did I say I'm a tight b***** !)

Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline Deko

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2013, 04:23:36 PM »
You think you have problems !  I have to pass 72 of 1.5mm and 120 of 1mm plastic fibre optics through various brass tubes and get them all in the right order at the other end, or my fibre optic clock will be just a random light show.  No room for labels in the tubes, so I will just have to place them one at a time.  :scratch:

Cheers Dek. :med:

Offline Deko

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2013, 04:32:05 PM »
The fibre optic clock build so far is in the general crafts section, any (sensible) suggestions ?  No rude ones
please. :poke:

Cheers Dek.

Offline awemawson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #14 on: July 22, 2013, 04:34:43 PM »
Good luck with that Dek !

I'm sure my Traub lathe was originally wired point to point one at a time from a drawing, so labeling wasn't critical - the problem only arises when something needs removing, resulting in a clutch of cables all floating about disconnected at the same time. When I worked on defence kit for Ferranti, every cable was numbered and cross referenced on the drawings - and all the cables were pink !!!! But then the customer (we tax payers!) was prepared to pay !

Andrew Mawson
East Sussex

Offline John Stevenson

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #15 on: July 22, 2013, 04:56:49 PM »
In a previous life when I used to work on Rolls Royce Merlins [ big huff and puff and pull myself up to me full hight of 5'10", {used to be 6' 1" before decimalisation }]  :wave:

We used to use yellow rubber ferrules that had the legend hand written in Indian ink by various ladies in a very broad sense of the word.

This was in an era when Ross Courtney terminals flourished. and no he wasn't an author or bred race horses.



John Stevenson

Offline z3t4

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #16 on: July 23, 2013, 07:25:10 AM »
I've just finished re-wiring an old Land Rover and found exactly the same problem. The clip-on labels are no use, unless you constrain them either side with heatshrink (otherwise they just slide axially into oblivion). Laser-print under transparent heatshrink sometimes works, usually doesn't. In the end I used an ordinary Brother hand-held tape printer set for small print, with the tape making roughly a 'P' shape around the cable; the cable in the circle of the 'P' with the print on the tab formed by the limb of the 'P'. The end result looks a lot like that in AndyF's linky. It's oil-proof, waterproof and cheap.

Offline Pete W.

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #17 on: July 23, 2013, 09:52:40 AM »

SNIP

This was in an era when Ross Courtney terminals flourished. and no he wasn't an author or bred race horses.



They'd still flourish here if I knew where to get them (in small quantities).   :scratch:   :scratch:   :scratch:  The modern crimp-on terminals are OK for some applications but they don't leave much room in, say, the terminal chamber of a 1/2 HP lathe motor.   :bang:   :bang:   :bang: 

Ross Courtney must have been a diverse outfit - I still have a Ross Courtney hydraulic jack (only surviving part of the kit of the Alvis TA14 on which I learned to drive).  I understand that it uses leather seals, I wonder if they're still available?
Best regards,

Pete W.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you haven't seen the latest design change-note!

Offline PekkaNF

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #18 on: July 24, 2013, 04:18:24 AM »
I have seen several ones, but only durable one I have seen is Partex PA

Use mix of:
http://www.partexmarker.com/pa.html
and:
http://www.partexmarker.com/paginated.html

Tool for insertting:
http://www.partexmarker.com/applicators.html

Don't use the clip-ons, they will slip when you have bunch of cables unistalled and you need it least.

There is also an accessory - sort of tie wrap - to use the same markkers for cables.

Best system I know has a cable label and then separate wire "number" that is cross-referenced with drawings. Trying to code information on wire number works only on small system that is hardly never updated or maintained, othervice legend gets too long and confusing.

PekkaNF

Offline Mayhem

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #19 on: July 24, 2013, 07:11:03 AM »
May not be of use on smaller wires, but I use to run a DJ & Lighting business and all my cables were labelled using the following technique:

1. a length of coloured heat shrink was applied first (colour designated cable length)
2. a label was applied (smaller length than the coloured heat shrink)
3. with the exception of the text on the label, the remainder of the label, the coloured heat shrink and a 1/4" of cable each side were painted with vulcinizing fluid (puncture repair glue).
4. a length of clear heat shrink was then applied

This resulted in a very hard wearing label that remained legible.

Offline Lampy

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #20 on: July 27, 2013, 02:18:23 PM »
At work I use a KROY labeler (K3100-PC if you care to Google it). It uses cassettes of shrink tube and prints labels on the shrink tube. A bit spendy for once in a while use or in the home work shop. If you can find white shrink tube and a fine tipped marker I would think that would be a great way to label wiring. I don't shrink the labels as they will no doubt end up facing the wrong way.

Offline ddmckee54

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Re: Labeling Wires and Cables
« Reply #21 on: August 01, 2013, 01:58:08 PM »
Make friends with an electrical contractor, especially one that has a Brady label maker or the equivalent.  If you make a list of the wire labels you need, and how many of each you need, you could probably bribe them into printing your labels with some donuts.

In a lot of cases if you tell them what your doing and show them some pictures of your project you might even get them for nothing, or you might wind up swapping a little machine work that they need done for your labels.

Don
Too many irons, not enough fire.