The difference between cable conduit, wrap, sleeves and tubing
Components that encase cables are not interchangeable. Each has their own purpose. Here, we outline your choices and when each is suitable to use.
Braided cable sleeve
Your cable management sleeve serves a critical function and deserves thoughtful consideration. First, it’s purpose:
- Organizes your wires, optimizing space in the process
- Acts as a wire covering, giving protection from moisture, temperature changes, abrasions and if outside, the elements
- As a sleeve for wires, it prevents the wires’ currents from coming into contact with other conductors
Made of a mesh material, braided cable sleeving protects your wires while conforming to irregular shapes. It cuts cleanly with a hot knife, which cauterizes the new edges to prevent fraying.
Expandable sleeves made of polyester offer an open weave construction that makes installation fast and easy, reducing your assembly costs. It also allows for heat and moisture to dissipate. You can bundle multiple wires and still get flexibility that allows for easy motion when needed.
Expandable sleeves also come in polyphenylene. This type is meant for high temperature cable assemblies and has high chemical resistance, low wear and dimensional and low moisture stability.
Self closing braided sleeve is yet another option. Lightweight and abrasion resistant, it’s made of polyester and gives you a 25% overlap, which in turn provides easy access to the bundle inside. It can also be assembled over cables after they’ve been installed.
Another take on a braided option is the thermal protection sleeve. Made of Nomex™ fiber, this is high temperature wire sleeving, made for high-performance applications. It offers thermal protection and high abrasion resistance.
Ideal applications
| Braided sleeves | Flexing capability suited for: Machine tools Robotics Automated equipment |
| Thermal protection sleeve | Hydraulics (hoses) Military wiring Aerospace wiring Harnessing |
Heat shrink tubing
Heat shrink tubing is the process of encasing wires or cables in plastic tubes. A heat/hot gun – sometimes a blow torch – is used to shrink the tubes, which when heated, form a close-fitting casing.
Heat shrink tubing material is most often polyolefin for these reasons:
- Extremely durable
- Flexible
- Available in different colors for color coding to help with organizing cables
- High UV resistance
- Resists chemicals
- Excellent electrical properties
Heat shrink tubing does something other cable sleeves don’t, and that’s to provide strain relief. Cables and wires are often strained because they’re either not long enough or they’re stuffed into limited spaces, damaging the cables and wires and shortening their lifespan. Heat shrink tubing can significantly lessen the strain to keep your cables and wires performing as intended.
In addition to colors, you can get clear tubing. This is your best option when flame retardancy isn’t important, but electrical insulation and mechanical performance matter. It has a polished surface, which adds to the aesthetics of final application.
Ideal applications
| Heat shrink tubing, colors | Wireless and Telecoms Cable TV Electronics Automotive |
| Heat shrink tubing, clear | Appliances Electronics Automotive |
Cable wrap
Spiral cable wrap, or spiral wire wrap as some call it, provides cost-effective cable and hose protection. It’s crush resistant, flexible and easy to install. At any point in the spiral wrap, cables can be branched out, so it’s also a convenient cable management solution.
The two most popular material choices are heat-stabilized nylon and polyethylene. Heat-stabilized nylon means that the material contains a stabilizer that slows the loss of physical properties as heat increases. This makes cable wrap made of the material a heat resistant cable sleeve.
As a plastic spiral wrap, polyethylene is a durable material. It can be bent and flexed multiple times and will still maintain its strength and integrity. Cable spiral wrap isn’t just for industrial uses but can also be used in offices and homes to organize computer wires.
Hook and loop braided cable wrap comes in material choices of polyester and nylon. This is one of the easiest cable management solutions to assemble. You simply separate the hook and loop VELCRO® fasteners along the edge and then put the wrap around or under your cable or harness assembly. Another advantage is economics – they can be reused. And like spiral wrap, cable breakouts can occur, but cables are brought out by hook and loop.
Ideal applications
| Spiral cable wrap | Automotive – bundling cables for neatness Cover for hydraulic hoses Office environments |
| Hook and loop braided cable wrap | Non-industrial applications: Lighting Photography Office and home computers |
Cable conduit
Conduit protects and routes cables in buildings, other structures and machines. One advantage of conduit is that it ensures safety if wiring is frequently changed. The benefit of metal conduit is its grounding and bonding qualities. This is critical in minimizing electromagnetic interference. Conduit can also prevent emission of the power cables it’s housing.
Conduit is also available in plastics. A flexible cable conduit, plastic choices offer a high fatigue life. Plastics’ high impact strength enables swift recovery when crushed. It also has a high UV resistance, so it can be used in exterior applications. We’re expanding this table to include the different plastic materials.
| Plastic | Advantage | Application |
| PVC-coated metal | Corrosion resistant Designed to be liquid tight |
Factory wiring Connections to machines |
| HDPE | Corrosion and chemical resistant, flexible and highly durable | Used in trenching: Power utilities Telecommunications CATV |
| Nylon | Protection against abrasion and impact damage | Harness protection on vehicle applications Split conduit for harnesses and hydraulic hose protection |
| Polypropylene (PP) | Compression strength and highly flexible | Cable assemblies Underfloor wiring Embedding into walls |
Download free CADs and try before you buy
Free CADs are available for most solutions, which you can download. You can also request free samples to make sure you’ve chosen exactly what you need. If you’re not quite sure which solution will work best for your application, our experts are always happy to advise you.
Whatever your requirements, you can depend on fast despatch. Request your free samples or download free CADs now.
Questions?
Email us at sales@essentracomponents.com or speak to one of our experts for further information on the ideal solution for your application 800-847-0486.