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Today, I want to talk about cable ties, or zip ties as they are sometimes known
A thread
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A thread
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Although engineers had been bundling cables together with waxed cordage and steel wire for some time, the cable tie we know today traces its origins back to the the late fifties
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In 1956, Thomas and Betts designer Maurus C. Logan visited a Boeing aircraft factory to examine the the wiring of an aircraft harness. He observed workers using waxed nylon string but also listened to how this caused damage to workers hands and come loose quite easily
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The damage to the workers fingers by tightening the nylon cordage was called ‘hamburger hand’
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For the next two years Maurus worked on a number of concepts until settling on the one that worked the best, patenting it in 1958 as the ‘Ty-Rap’
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By 1962, the original design had changed to the more familiar plastic form, with horizontal teeth secured by a plastic pawl, making it non return.
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Of course, they were a huge success and from that point, the design and utilisation of cable ties has grown and diversified significantly
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Other manufacturers such as Panduit, Legrande, Hellerman Tyton, and ABB for example all followed. There are numerous manufacturers now with all manner of variations on the theme
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Different materials for use outdoors and indoors, hazardous environments, detectable ones for use in food and pharmaceutical applications, serrations on the inside and outside, specialised for children’s play areas or even for use in space
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Steel, fabric, Velcro, those with labeling or fixing elements are also other variations on the theme
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And you can get them in any colour your like, with or without RFID or releasable, or not
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There are even tools and automated systems for production line environments where throughput and precise tensioning are important
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Cable tie standards are numerous, although the main ones are BS EN 62275:2015, BS EN 4056-003:2016 and IEC 62275 (3rd Edition) depending on application, electrical installation or aerospace for example
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There will also be specific approvals where needed, this one, for example, covers the EH101 (Merlin) programme for Agusta Westland
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https://www.hellermanntyton.com/binaries/content/assets/downloads/uk/certifications--approvals/augusta_westland_cable_tie_spec_october_20061.pdf
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https://www.hellermanntyton.com/binaries/content/assets/downloads/uk/certifications--approvals/augusta_westland_cable_tie_spec_october_20061.pdf
So in addition to their widespread use in pretty much every industry, cable ties have entered popular culture
/15 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/09/21/london-fashion-week-accessories-trend-spring-summer-16-christopher-kane_n_8172098.html
/15 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/09/21/london-fashion-week-accessories-trend-spring-summer-16-christopher-kane_n_8172098.html
And if one were so included, one could even make a dress from cable ties
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And let’s not get into the use of cable ties in the porn industry, after the duct tape thread, probably best if we don’t!
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There is even a whole blog dedicated to cable ties (and you thought I had a problem)
/18 https://ziptieguy.wordpress.com/
/18 https://ziptieguy.wordpress.com/
Maurus died in 2007 at the age of 86, leaving a long line of patents and ingenious designs behind him, including many of the fibre optic systems in use today. What a legacy!
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https://patents.justia.com/inventor/maurus-c-logan
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https://patents.justia.com/inventor/maurus-c-logan
