Spiral Cable Wrap: Organize Your Mess of Wires with a Simple Protection

While working with a wire harness, you commonly find yourself loaded with loose and messy cables. After all, finding the correct wire for repair and maintenance won’t be easy. The only thing that can save you is a spiral cable wrap, which is not only a good option for wire management but also abrasion resistant.

What are Spiral Cable Wraps?

This product has many names. You may know it as a spiral wrap, spiral wire wrap, spiral cable wrap, or spiral wrap tubing. It wraps cables and wires around into bundles.

Spiral wraps could all appear the same at first glance. However, looking closely, you will notice that many cable wraps are available for various purposes.

Spiral wrap tubing in rough areas must be able to survive particular conditions, even if you use many cable organizers in workplaces or photo studios. They must, for instance, be heat- and chemical-resistant or flame-resistant.

Outstanding friction and crush tolerance are traits of some tubing, and others provide a tool that makes installation simple. However, cable bundles and protection are two functions that all cable wraps do simultaneously.

Caption: Black spiral guard on industrial housing

The Benefits of Spiral Cable Wraps

There are wire harness wrap options to bundle cables and prevent them from becoming tangled or damaged. However, spiral wraps have an advantage over them.

Routes cables efficiently

Their flexible design and construction make routing the bundle easy at any time. If you decide to re-route your cables in the future, you may easily remove them by unwinding the spiral wire wrap a small amount. Thus, it makes the product versatile enough for application in multiple ways.

Makes cables accessible

Spiral cable wrap allows for more straightforward cable access in case of maintenance or repair.

Available in multiple colors

Spiral wrap is an easy and efficient way to label wires and tubes for better organization and safety. Many industries rely on spiral wrapping color code for their wire harnesses.

The application of Spiral Cable Wraps

 A spiral wrap best shields most assemblies of hydraulic, pneumatic, and industrial hoses. In addition, it is widely used whenever cables are involved, including but not limited to:

• Robotics
• Automation in the factory
• Control Systems
• Utilities
• Electro-mechanical systems
• Computer Network Systems
• automobile parts
• Aeronautical
• Buildings

The spiral wrap is your best bet for flexible tubes for cable management. Since so many wires come out of computers, the spiral wrap has many applications in this sector. You can resolve this mess of cables with the help of spiral wrap.

Spiral wrap is available for even the most rugged applications, such as protecting pipes in the mining industry from the harsh conditions below the earth.

The automotive spiral wrap has two purposes: it conceals unsightly bundles of hoses and protects vulnerable hydraulic hoses from friction that could lead to a puncture. The spiral wrap protects a hose and extends its useful life, especially when the line you have to drag over the floor from one location to another in a manufacturing environment.

Caption: Spiral wrapping on data cables

Spiral Wire Wrap Materials

Spiral wraps are available in a wide variety of materials, including polyethylene, Nylon, PTFE, and fire-resistant polyethylene, so there’s sure to be one that works for you. 

Polyethylene

The most cost-effective option is polyethylene, which is also the best material to use if a temperature rating is not required. Since the sun rays cannot degrade the black polyethylene wrap, you can easily use it outdoors.

Nylon

Nylon is self-extinguishing and durable, making it an ideal material for enclosed spaces where fire is risky. The automotive industry frequently uses Nylon in engine components, and industrial settings employ Nylon to shield hydraulic lines from wear. You can get Nylon in a dark color resistant to the sun’s rays, black if you like.

PETE

PTFE has the most extensive usable temperature range, making it ideal for high-temperature applications. It is offered in its natural hue as standard but can be made in black or other colors on demand. It is also chemically inert and non-flammable.

Fire Resistant Polyethylene

Polyethylene treated to resist fire is a cheaper alternative to PTFE that serves the same purpose.

Caption: A simple spiral cable wrap

What sizes are available?

The size depends on the substance. The outside diameters begin at 1/16″ and go up to 1 1/2″. Wrapping a package with one of these will accommodate a circumference anywhere from 1/8″ to 10″.

How to Choose Spiral Wraps for your application?

Spiral wrap, like other components, is available in a wide variety of widths, lengths, and materials, offering you a wealth of options that are guaranteed to meet your needs. When deciding on a spiral wrap, you should think about the following.

• If your project won’t be subjected to harsh elements like high heat or corrosive chemicals, polyethylene spiral wrap is a good, inexpensive option. So, you can use it both indoors and out, and it retains its quality over time.
• When it comes to temperature flexibility, PTFE-made spiral wraps are incomparable.
• For applications where smoke, moisture, flame, and other pollutants exist, there is nothing better than a chemically inert material.

If there’s a high chance of fire and smoke, Nylon is the material to use. It can withstand wear and tear and even put out fires by itself. For this reason, most people use it in engines and other industrial applications, particularly for shielding hydraulic lines. Moreover, Nylon spiral wraps that are unaffected by the sun are also available. 

DIY Spiral Wire Wraps

You can make your own with simple materials and steps in most areas.

Step 1: Gather the Materials 

Following are the things that you can use for spiral cable wrap.

• Sharp knife
• Half-inch plastic tubes
• A loop of tangled wires

Step 2: Cut Down Your Tubing

Measure the length of the wire that you want to wrap. For example, if you have a wire bundle of 5 inches, you should cut the tubing around the size using a knife.

Step 3: Spiral Cutting!

Start by holding the knife at a 30-degree angle to one side of the flexible tubing. Keep the point pressed firmly into the tube and start to twist. Keep your knife at a constant 30-degree angle. There is one more turn to go before you get there. You can let the tube feed into the blade as you rotate it.

Step 4: Wrap the Wires

And you have got yourself a spiral wire wrap. To use it, you will wrap it around the straightened wires and stretch it for more length.

Caption: Yellow spiral tubing on wires

How to install spiral cable wrap

• Determine the size of your cable bundle’s outer sheath.
• Then make sure the spiral wrap is smaller than your bundle to prevent it from unwrapping. The sizes of the available spiral cable wraps make it simple to get exactly what you’re looking for.
• Now, cut the required length of the spiral wrap.
• Starting at one end of your tangled cables, begin winding the spiral wrap around the wires and work your way to the other. That’s how you’d put on electrical tape.
• In the end, if there are any wires you need to run separately from the package, run them now.

Conclusion

Spiral wrap tubing is essential when you want to organize your cables. With its vast applications, it is a standard product to find in stores. However, you can always DIY it if you don’t see any by using some simple steps and tools. Here at Cloom, we offer wiring harnesses and cable assembly with types of protection available, so your connection can be safe and reliable.