Cut Dupont Heat Shrink to Size

by hkjr in Circuits > Electronics

44 Views, 0 Favorites, 0 Comments

Cut Dupont Heat Shrink to Size

PXL_20240707_204846176.MP.jpg

Simple hack, cutting Dupont heat shrink to a clean, consistent length.

Supplies

paper_cutter.png
PXL_20240707_203654936.MP.jpg
hs.png

Inexpensive A4 paper cutter ($2) and one from my supply of razor blades (in bulk those blades are inexpensive (200 for $20). 2mm heat shrink tubing (its 2$ from Aliexpress for 5M vs this Amazon one I got).

Prepare

PXL_20240707_202019331.MP.jpg

Push the heat shrink under the bar till it just reaches the end of the bar on the other side of the gap.

Cut

PXL_20240707_202051452.MP.jpg

Hold the bar down firmly near the tubing and drag a razor blade over the tubing with the blade in the cutters channel. A fresh blade will slice through easily. You can lift the plastic bar off of the cutting surface after to remove the cut piece of tubing.

Result

PXL_20240707_202156794.MP.jpg

You should now have a piece of cut tubing a tidge longer than the crimp connector. I think this length is reasonable. The win here is it is now of consistent length and a clean edge vs wire cutters etc that often yield inconsistent edges and inconsistent lengths. As the first image shows, its less than $2 from Temu for that cutter (Aliexpress has similar). Now, you might wonder why I don't just use the blade on the cutter. The blade on the cutter is not as sharp as a those razor blades and it was not able to cleanly cut the tubing.