There has been Exponential Growth in the Amount of Shielded Twisted Pair Cable being Processed for Wire Harness Manufacturing
There has been exponential growth in the amount of Shielded Twisted Pair Cable being processed for wire harness manufacturing. This type of cable is needed to handle high-speed data circuits. There are many specifications, part numbers, and application options for High Speed Data Cable which adds to the complexity of processing these cables.
Removing the outer jacket for termination of the shield and inner wires presents a problem for people working with this type of cable, due its irregular (not-round) cross-sectional shape. The original Twist-Strip™ tool was invented by a maintenance engineer who was working with aerospace wiring. DMC Licensed and introduced the innovative Twist-Strip™ Tool and Die System into the wire harness industry, and the first generation of Twist-Strip™ Tooling was well received by users and maintainers who process High Speed Data cable.
By applying what was learned from the first generation Twist-Strip™ tools and dies, the DMC Engineering Team has enhanced the user friendly features and added blade depth adjustability to compensate for the variations commonly seen between cable lots and multiple manufacturers. These additions further the user’s ability to consistently remove the outer jacket with no damage to the shielding or inner conductors. DMC is proud to introduce the TSK8000 as the next-generation Twist-Strip™ Tool.
Historically, the most common tool for removing the outer jacket of shielded twisted pair cable has been a razor blade. This is a dangerous and difficult way to remove the jacket from any type of electrical cable. A razor blade offers significant unreliability in depth of cut which often results in a poor quality strip, cuts or scrapes on the shielding, and increases the probability of injury to the operator.
Other methods for removal of the jacket from multi-wire shielded cable are laser strippers, but they are costly, and not portable. Laser stripping of multi wire cable can penetrate the insulation on the inner conductors, and create a shorting path for solder and humidity which can cause failures on sensitive digital circuits.
The Twist-Strip™ Solution:
The DMC TSK8000 Twist-Strip™ product line gives the user a system with the maximum capabilities, while keeping the system portable, self-contained, affordable, and operator-friendly. The precise blade adjustment, zero friction ball bearing design, articulating/locking arms, and changeable dies makes the Twist-Strip™ a very easy, understandable, and repeatable system for cable prep.
Micrometer Adjustable Blades are an important new feature of the TSK8000. This allows the tool to accommodate variances in the cable, whereas previous models of the Twist-Strip™ had fixed blades, which were non-adjustable.
A cable track is precisely machined into each die set. This feature creates a controlled rotation of the dies/blades as the cable is moved along the track. This produces a longitudinal score in the cable jacket, which is deep enough to allow cracking and peeling the outer insulation from the cable, but not deep enough to damage the shield or inner wires.
Once the correct dies are installed in the tool, and the adjustments are made, the Twist-Strip™ performance is consistent and repeatable through thousands of strip cycles on a particular cable. When it is time to change to a different cable application, a simple set-up process is followed, and the TSK8000 Twist-Strip™ Tool is ready for the next application/use.
This system is robust enough for high production line operations, yet portable and versatile enough for maintenance, and second end terminations (wire prep operations) on wire harness form boards.
DMC provides an upgrade incentive in the pricing for users who elect to upgrade from the original Twist-Strip™ fixed blade system to the new TSK8000 Adjustable Blade tool and die package.
PO Box 593872, Orlando, FL 32859-3872 USA
526 Thorpe Road, Orlando, FL 32824-8133 USA
Tel: 407-855-6161
Fax: 407-855-6884
Email: dmc@dmctools.com
Contact: Ty Fitzgerald
Marketing
Email: tyronef@dmctools.com
