Marking wires

[Garys]

Hi Gary,
The 4200 does look affordable. A lot of my wiring is 22 and 24 gauge. I'm wondering if the shrink tube for this unit would work on small gauge wiring.

I use the 1/4 size heatshrink. On that size wire I don't heat shrink all the way as it would be too small for me too read, so leave it a little larger much like in Bernards picture above.

[Ed]

Jim, Gary, thanks for the tips on shrink tubing sizes. Good point about being able to read the markings

[ifeliciano]

before you all get excited   this is a very very expensive option .. my suggestion get wire printing machine

Bernard,

The Rhino 5200, 4200 and Rhino Pro 3000 are more affordable solutions and have the heat shrink tubing roll available also. I believe the 3000 has been discontinued.

[ifeliciano]

Do you put in the actual heat shrink and print directly on that and is it one piece at a time or is it a roll, sort of like the label roll?

John

John,

Not sure about the label maker that Sam is using, but the Rhino heat shrink tubing does come in a roll (cartridge).  With my model label maker, I use 1/4" and 3/8" shrink tubing.

[ifeliciano]

The 4200 does look affordable. A lot of my wiring is 22 and 24 gauge. I'm wondering if the shrink tube for this unit would work on small gauge wiring.

Ed,

if you look at the picture I added in one of my previous replies, the cables marked DIR-, DIR+, are 22 gauge and the heat shrink fits them quite well after heating.
I used the 1/4" heat shrink with those cables. I believe the tubing is a 3:1 shrink ratio.

[Ed]

The 4200 does look affordable. A lot of my wiring is 22 and 24 gauge. I'm wondering if the shrink tube for this unit would work on small gauge wiring.

Ed,

if you look at the picture I added in one of my previous replies, the cables marked DIR-, DIR+, are 22 gauge and the heat shrink fits them quite well after heating.
I used the 1/4" heat shrink with those cables. I believe the tubing is a 3:1 shrink ratio.

Went back and had a look at that picture. That looks great! 

[Sam Llorca]

Sorry for the delay John,
this label machine was given to me by a friend, don't know the cost but you can get almost the same one for about $107.00 at Grainger.

https://www.grainger.com/product/20XW96?cm_mmc=PPC:+MSN+PLA&s_kwcid=AL!2966!10!8973610596!1102900013525&ef_id=Wiq3pwAAALVJ4zWw:20180216113848:s

[Ed]

Hi All,

Well lady luck struck. As it happens my son had a 5200 that I can borrow. This brings me to part 2 of Marking wires What type of ID configurations do you all find the most user friendly? Do you stick to the aviation standard method as in the PDF below? I looked at this and it results in quite the long numbers. I'm looking for a  more simpler way.

[navymustang]

In our shop we have chosen to take the route of labeling the ends of wires with their destination, versus function.

For example, if we have a data acquisition module (e.g. Leo Bodner card), the label would be LB1-4 indicating that it goes to pin 4 on Leo Bodner card #1. Then the systems wiring diagrams can be referenced to gain further information.

If it is something simple like going to a power strip, it can just be labeled 12vdc without need for a terminal and pin number.  After all, our sims are not production runs and the likelihood of whole wiring harnesses being removed after construction are very low.

We believe in KISS - keep it simple "s"

[Ed]

In our shop we have chosen to take the route of labeling the ends of wires with their destination, versus function.

For example, if we have a data acquisition module (e.g. Leo Bodner card), the label would be LB1-4 indicating that it goes to pin 4 on Leo Bodner card #1. Then the systems wiring diagrams can be referenced to gain further information.

If it is something simple like going to a power strip, it can just be labeled 12vdc without need for a terminal and pin number.  After all, our sims are not production runs and the likelihood of whole wiring harnesses being removed after construction are very low.

We believe in KISS - keep it simple "s"

Great advice Jim. I like the idea. Thank you.

[Ed]

Hi Everyone,

Looking for a little help using the Rhino 5200 with 1/4 shrink tube. I can print vertically down the shrink tube 5 characters or numbers. I would like to add a couple more characters/numbers. Is this possible or is this a limitation.

Example: I can print PE1(space)1  --->  5 characters/numbers

I would like to extend this to say...  PE1(space)-12 ---> 7 characters or more.

I have Cable and 22-16 AWG     Label on top line of Rhino window
xxs auto caps  in the right mid section of Rhino window

Can anyone familiar with the Rhino offer some advice. There doesn't seem to be much for tutorials online and the User Manual is woefully light.