Wire strippers

[CaveMannDave]

Hi, all:

Are there any Dedicated engineers here?  The kind that Build something, rather than following only what others say, and make an Arduino act like a 555 and some logic gates?

Sorry, that was TERRIBLY harsh, but not THAT long ago, Hacking was a way of life, not a weekend sidetrack to make some LEDs flash.  We were ALWAYS on alert for stuff we could re-purpose, re-use, modify, adapt, or even outright DUPLICATE to achieve our OWN needs.

How DO factories strip wires?

It is often with expensive Thermal strippers, out of reach of many DIY engineers.
But taking an IDEA can educate and serve as a lesson in Principles that little else can.
Here are a few examples:
http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/hakko-ft801-31-thermal-knife-blade-wirestripper-with-hot-knife-blades/p/477-915
http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/patco-pts-10-thermal-wire-strippers/p/118-866
http://www.series4.co.uk/prodeqpt/section01/ds5.htm

That was 3, one listed under $100.00US, and there were Ideas Abundant in the photos and descriptions.

PLEASE don't whine that an ex-microwave-oven transformer, a few feet of heavy copper wire, some nichrome or iron wire (or, even Exotics, like Platinum or Tantalum), miscellaneous metal and insulating material fabricated pieces, a switch and perhaps relay or timer, and some good-old thinking and craftiness prices you out of the market:  The hot wire should be the sole consumable, and a well-thought-out power circuit and Mechanical assembly should outlive the future use of copper wire and/or soldering.

Multiple methodologies and details are visible in those links, and any man or woman with a mind to Create should be able to make a Production-Quality stripper that NEVER nicks wire!

I wish you all the best of fortune!
HTH

Cheers,

Dave

[KL27x]

^I have a DIY handheld thermal stripper, specifically for smaller wires. Mostly 30AWG-20AWG. I figured out a way to make it work with a single li ion battery.

Photo of my somewhat older-looking automatic wirestripper. This one looks a little different than all the other clones, anyway. It only works for what it wants. Depending on the insulation it might do 28AWG. And it will strip ribbon cables. But it's mostly good for 26AWG and up for single wires.


The $10.00 parrot-head strippers work reasonably well, but they certainly don't last very long.

[Paul Price]

I have used these since I first started playing around with electronics..I always remove the spring so that I can adj. the clamping with my grip sense after tuning the limit nut for optimal stripping of #32 kynar wire. Never try to substitute skill for complexity and high price.

[nanofrog]

Although I've a few lying around somewhere, I've never been fond of those ^ as I switch between different wire gauges frequently (PITA to set all the time, and too easy to get wrong IME). But I get your comment on skill (just as easily developed to use cutters instead of a dedicated wire stripper, which I still use on 30AWG & smaller).

[hemdale]

Just ordered today a Weidmuller Stripax, can't wait ! 
Now I have to find a crimping plier and a good set of ferrules...will browse this forum a bit more   

[Paul Price]

I adj. the screw-not setting only once, the the finest wire I have to work with.

For all other wires sizes and cable I rely on technique, using just a light grip, rotating the stripper, examining the cut depth into the insulation(if I have a doubt I've underdone it or nicked the wire)  and then re-apply the stripper, lightly squeeze and pull, if all looks well.

What is so nice about this simple tool is that it is able to strip very close to the end of a wire, often the task when repairing or making connectors, it is compact and fits easily into a small tool kit, and it is cheap enough to have more than one, each tuned for wire sizes that I am often dealing with.

I can also say I really like not having to deal with a large, clumsy in tight-spaces tool.

[kerrsmith]

I use to work at a job where I needed to do loads of wire stripping to make small bodge wires for fixes on PCbs, I tried many different types so I thought I would mention the wire strippers I used, they are pretty expensive but work great. 

The ones I found best for me were C.K Precision wire strippers.  You can set the diameter of the wire with the flower shaped end and then the length to strip off using the sliding part inside. I preferred them as you could have them set exactly right within seconds and know that the perfect amount of wire will be stripped. They also are quite small so are very easy to use with one hand.

There are lots of different versions but the ones I found to be most useful were the 330011.

30009 0.12 to 0.4mm diameter
30011 0.3 to 1.0mm diameter (perfect for breadboard sized wire)
30013 0.25 to 0.8mm diameter

[Gyro]

Agreed, those are really the only type that work well for kynar / wire-wrap wire for PCB mods.

For normal wires try this sort:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Automatic-Electric-Cable-Wire-Stripper-Pliers-Adjustable-With-Extra-Blade-416322-/291529647165?hash=item43e085643d:g:md4AAOSw3ydVvmdB

They're cheap and effective and don't scuff the wire strands like the self adjusting types.

[npelov]

Sorry for reviving this thread, but maybe some people would like to know what happened. The ones that I made work relatively nice. The problem with commercial ones of this type is that bevel is in different direction. That's why it's nicking the wires. The ones that have the strippers on the handle have the bevel in the same direction (same side), but they are not convenient to use. Ideally you want the stripper to be near the end.

So they work fine, but I bought Knippex 12 40 200. They work really nice, but I hope they last forever because they are really expensive. I really don't know why they cost so much. The only problem I have with them is that I wish there were numbers on the strength dial so I can remember which number for which wire to use. They usually work just fine on middle setting, but for some thin and some thick wire they need adjustment (and for different materials).

But I still use the old ones. For example the knippex do not work well on LAN cable - I use pieces of scrap lan cable for breadboards and other stuff. You really need round blades for these

[bson]

Al those automatic strippers that come along here are based on the original AMP automatic stripper.

Is this really the case?  I first used Stripax in the early 80s, and have had one for 30 years myself.  Still works perfectly fine.

Edit: oh, nvm, dead threads are walking.