How to Strip a Wire Manually or via a Machine
Wires are everywhere.
They form the backbone of the modern world, whether it is for electricity, communications, etc.
Without them, we would be living in an era similar to that of the late middle ages.
Of the many challenges that are faced in maintaining this technological sophistry, connectivity and more, is dealing with wires.
There are an awful lot of connections that are to be done behind the scenes, often out of sight, making the world around us work the way they do.
And all of this comes with quite work load to deal with. One of the simplest tasks in this work load, is what is called ‘stripping of wires’. As much as it might not sound like much, it is the backbone for almost all connectivity work, whether it is the creation of new connections or the repair of old ones.
The term ‘stripping a wire’, is just another way to say that the protective outer layer of a wire is to be removed. This outer layer is the insulation used for preventing electric shocks, as well as providing other information such as wire thickness, voltage, etc.
Wires are stripped for a variety of purposes, ranging from repairs and maintenance, to a complete overhaul of the system. The process itself can be done in one of two ways, namely manually and with the help of a machine.
Given in the points below, are details on how to strip wires, using both manually as well as through machines.
The details of the same are divided into two parts, i.e. manual and machine, along with the necessary details.
1. Cutting Using Manual Means
One of the most common ways of stripping a wire, is through manual means.
Done using what are called cutting pliers or wire strippers, it is a great way to get the job done on an everyday level, whether personally or professionally.
In order to manually strip a wire using cutting pliers, the following steps need to be followed.
· Get the required wire that is to be stripped.
· Cut off any electrical connections, if it happens to be part of a live circuit.
· Figure out the exact location where the wire is to be cut.
· Use the cutting pliers to make an incision along the insulation. There are two things that can happen here, depending on the kind of cutting pliers being used.
o In the case of pliers with a flat cutting head, one will need to use moderate pressure to make a partial cut in the wire, and tear away the insulation. This is required for fully cutting the insulation will cause the copper to get cut as well.
o A way to get around this problem, is with the help of cutting pliers that have holes for the copper wire, but also provide for a cutting head to make incisions into the insulation. Additionally, these pliers have a several different holes, allowing for one to strip away wires of a wide variety of diameters.
· Once the incision has been made, pull off the insulation. Some amount of force may be required, if in case the insulation around the wire is too tight. Once pulled off, the fresh copper element is revealed underneath.
· Trim away any excess wire or insulation as necessary and the job will be done.
Also to add is that it is not always necessary to go for cutting pliers. On the contrary, one can use other tools as well, such as a simple scissor. All that one needs to do is to make the right incision along the edges of the wire, without actually cutting the metal. Once this has been achieved, the insulation layer can be ‘pulled’ away like the way it is done when using cutting pliers. Likewise, it is possible for one to use other tools as well, to get the job of stripping a wire done manually.
2. Cutting Using Machine Means
This is one of the rarer ways in which copper wires are stripped in everyday life, given the widespread use of cutting pliers.
At the same time however, machines play a key role in industrial applications. Given that industrial activities require work to be done on a vast scale, using cutting pliers will not be an effective or efficient task. It is here that machines come into the picture, as they allow for a tremendous amount of work to be completed, in comparison to cutting pliers.
There are a variety of cutting machines out there, each of which has their own functionality. This makes it very difficult to lay out a ‘standard’ on how they are to be used. But there are a few principles that hold true for them all.
For one thing, all machines will require the wire to be fed. Quite often, they will also have a separate ‘compartment’ for the wires to be placed, from which they are drawn for the stripping process. Do note that the exact location where the wire is to be fed, will be different. In certain cases, the part may be absent altogether, with the machine being only a cutting head and nothing more, and something to be used as an ‘attachment’ on an existing machine rather than a ‘standalone’ device.
Once the wires have been inserted or stored in the machine, it may be required to ‘feed’ it into the cutting head or tool that handles the actual work. This is the place where the wires are actually stripped of their insulation to expose the copper underneath.
After the above processes have been completed, all that is left is to turn on the machine and that would be it.
Other work may be done as required, depending on the model and make of the wire stripping machine.
In addition to the details mentioned above, it must be added that these are just the basics of how to go about stripping a copper wire.
There may be instances where the details may vary a bit, depending on the material used for insulation. This will warrant the need for other approaches to get to the metal that lies underneath.
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