zootielolo

First off, I hope this is the right subforum to post in, forgive me if it is not. I am trying to sleeve all the cables in my case, and started with the usb cables shown below. The problem I am having is that it is quite easy to see where i burned the sleeving material because it flares outwards. I used a lighter to do this and passed it back and forth after cutting the sleeving material with siccors. is there a technique to cutting and/or cauterizing the sleeving so that it does not flare out and it does not show through the heatshrink tubing?

Attached Thumbnails

         

__________________
steam id: boo this man

zootielolo

Anyone???

__________________
steam id: boo this man

bavarianblessed

Those are SATA cables

I know you that's what you meant though.
The shrink will obviously form and shrink around whatever shape it's applied to.

If you want it to form a straighter line across the connector(I think this is what you're asking) you can try cutting it semi-circular at the top and line the shorter portions of the semicircle at the sides of the connector. That way the shrink will hopefully line up more evenly.

Different types of heatshrink also shrink differently. If you can find it in the color you want look for 3M rubber heat shrink.

__________________

Windows 7║Fan Club

HAFenvy

When you singe the ends of cut sleeving like that, it is best not to melt it too much. You just need to singe it just slightly enough to make some of the strands melt together but not all off them. It keeps most of the sleeving from fraying when you expand it over the connector but not so much that it causes your end to become expanded like what you showed. From what I can see, you melted it a bit too much. I would take some offcuts and practice just barely melting the end of your sleeving to keep it from becoming too melted so you get a feel for it before working with a finished length. I had the same problem with the SATA sleeving when I did it and just a mild singe job on the sleeving worked perfect.

As for keeping from burning marks on your shrink, keep your eyes open for deals on "Heat Guns" from local hardware stores - makes your life so much easier when you have a lot of shrink to do and won't put burn marks on your colored shrink.

__________________

zootielolo

Lol ya I guess I wasnt paying attention while I was typing! Anyways, I think I figured out my problem for the most part: I was over singeing the sleeving so that the sleeving end would flare outward. I tried just barely heating the sleeving to prevent fraying and the end result was much nicer. I had to leave the house before I could snap a pic but I will post one later. Also, I like the semicircle idea bavarianblessed, I will try that out and see how it looks!

Thanks
Zootie

__________________
steam id: boo this man

arjo_reich

also, it looks like you're using 3:1 heatshrink, if you buy some appropriately sized 2:1 heatshrink it won't conform so tightly... the trick is to only heat activate the ends thoroughly and only lightly activate the middle portion. takes a little practice but you can get the hang of it with about an extra foot's worth for practice material.

another trick is use a piece of electrical tape wrapped around the cable in a tapered fashion around the but of the connector... :shrug:

__________________