Electrical tape (or insulating tape) is a type of pressure-sensitive tape used to insulate electrical wires and other materials that conduct electricity. It can be made of many plastics, but PVC (polyvinyl chloride, "vinyl") is the most popular, as it stretches well and gives effective and long-lasting insulation. Electrical tape for class H insulation is made of fiberglass cloth.
A wide variety of electrical tapes is available, some for highly specialized purposes. "The primary tapes used in electrical applications are vinyl, rubber, mastic, and varnished cambric." [1] Electricians may use various colors of tape to insulate wire and to indicate the voltage level and phase of the wire (colored tape sometimes is called "phasing tape"). When wires are phased, a ring of tape is placed on each end near the termination so that the purpose of the wire is obvious. The following table(s) describe the use of electrical tape.
| Tape color | Usage (U.S.) | Usage (U.K.) | Usage (International – new) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Insulation Low voltage, phase A | Insulation Low voltage, phase C | Low voltage, phase B |
| Red | Low voltage, phase B | Low voltage, phase A | Sheath, 415 V 3 phase |
| Blue | Low voltage, phase C | Low voltage, phase C | Low voltage, neutral Sheath, 230 V |
| Brown | High voltage, phase A | Low voltage, phase A | Low voltage, phase A |
| Orange | High voltage, phase B | Sheath, garden tools | |
| Yellow | High voltage, phase C | Low voltage, phase B | Sheath, 110 V site wiring |
| Green | Earth ground | Earth | |
| Green with yellow stripe | Isolated ground | Earth ground | Earth |
| White | Low voltage, neutral | ||
| Grey | High voltage, neutral | Low voltage, phase C |
Tape that is approved for electrical applications will carry an approval label from an agency such as Underwriters Laboratories. [3] [1]
Today, electrical tape is simply "another form of insulation". [4] The original electrical insulating tape was made of cloth tape impregnated with Chatterton's compound, an adhesive material manufactured using Gutta-percha. This type of tape was often used to insulate soldered splices on knob and tube wiring. It was commonly referred to as "friction tape", and had the unique property of being sticky on both sides. Because of this, no matter how it was used it stuck to itself very readily.
In the early 1940s, vinyl plastic emerged as a versatile material for a wide range of applications, from shower curtains to cable insulation. A major ingredient in vinyl film was tricresyl phosphate (TCP), which was used as a plasticizer. Unfortunately, TCP tended to migrate, giving the surface of the vinyl film an oily quality and degrading every tape adhesive known. Research chemists and engineers at 3M set out to create a dependable, pressure-sensitive tape made of a vinyl film that would have the required electrical, physical and chemical properties.
Experiments were conducted by combining new plasticizers with the white, flour-like vinyl resin. Finally, in January 1946, [5] inventors Snell, Oace, and Eastwold of 3M applied for a patent for a vinyl electrical tape with a plasticizer system and non-sulfur-based rubber adhesive that were compatible. The first commercially available version of the tape was sold for use as a wire-harness wrapping. This original electrical tape wasn't black. [5] Tapes formulated for high-temperature were yellow, and later versions were white. Electrically insulating tapes are essential for enhancing functionality and reliability in a wide range of applications. Some of the most popular types include electrically insulating adhesive tape and electrically insulating film, both of which provide reliable electronic isolation and ensure that a direct electrical connection is not made between two or more circuits or their adjacent parts. There is also electrically conducting tape for shielding and similar applications. [6] White tape, because of its instability in ultraviolet light, was eventually replaced with black tape, although colored vinyl tapes are still used as identification and marking tapes. Black became the standard industry color for vinyl standard tape, primarily because of its ultraviolet resistance. Thicknesses originally were 4 mil (100 μm), 8 mil (200 μm) and 12 mil (300 μm). These were standardized to 7 mil (180 μm) and 10 mil (250 μm) in 1948.
An electrical insulator is a material in which electric current does not flow freely. The atoms of the insulator have tightly bound electrons which cannot readily move. Other materials—semiconductors and conductors—conduct electric current more easily. The property that distinguishes an insulator is its resistivity; insulators have higher resistivity than semiconductors or conductors. The most common examples are non-metals.
A wire is a flexible, round, bar of metal.
Duct tape is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. There are a variety of constructions using different backings and adhesives, and the term 'duct tape' has been genericized to refer to different cloth tapes with differing purposes. A variation is heat-resistant foil tape useful for sealing heating and cooling ducts, produced because the adhesive on standard duct tape fails and the synthetic fabric reinforcement mesh deteriorates when used on heating ducts.
Components of an electrical circuit are electrically connected if an electric current can run between them through an electrical conductor. An electrical connector is an electromechanical device used to create an electrical connection between parts of an electrical circuit, or between different electrical circuits, thereby joining them into a larger circuit.
In materials science, a thermosetting polymer, often called a thermoset, is a polymer that is obtained by irreversibly hardening ("curing") a soft solid or viscous liquid prepolymer (resin). Curing is induced by heat or suitable radiation and may be promoted by high pressure or mixing with a catalyst. Heat is not necessarily applied externally, and is often generated by the reaction of the resin with a curing agent. Curing results in chemical reactions that create extensive cross-linking between polymer chains to produce an infusible and insoluble polymer network.
A grommet is a ring or edge strip inserted into a hole through thin material, typically a sheet of textile fabric, sheet metal or composite of carbon fiber, wood or honeycomb. Grommets are generally flared or collared on each side to keep them in place, and are often made of metal, plastic, or rubber. They may be used to prevent tearing or abrasion of the pierced material or protection from abrasion of the insulation on the wire, cable, line being routed through the penetration, and to cover sharp edges of the piercing, or all of the above.
Kapton is a polyimide film used in flexible printed circuits and space blankets, which are used on spacecraft, satellites, and various space instruments. Invented by the DuPont Corporation in the 1960s, Kapton remains stable across a wide range of temperatures, from 4 to 673 K. Kapton is used in electronics manufacturing, space applications, with x-ray equipment, and in 3D printing applications. Its favorable thermal properties and outgassing characteristics result in its regular use in cryogenic applications and in situations where high vacuum environments are experienced.
Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of cabling and associated devices such as switches, distribution boards, sockets, and light fittings in a structure.
Masking tape, also known as painter's tape, is a type of pressure-sensitive tape made of a thin and easy-to-tear paper, and an easily released pressure-sensitive adhesive. It is available in a variety of widths. It is used mainly in painting, to mask off areas that should not be painted.
A voice coil is the coil of wire attached to the apex of a loudspeaker cone. It provides the motive force to the cone by the reaction of a magnetic field to the current passing through it.
A power cable is an electrical cable, an assembly of one or more electrical conductors, usually held together with an overall sheath. The assembly is used for transmission of electrical power. Power cables may be installed as permanent wiring within buildings, buried in the ground, run overhead, or exposed. Power cables that are bundled inside thermoplastic sheathing and that are intended to be run inside a building are known as NM-B.
Heat-shrink tubing is a shrinkable plastic tube used to insulate wires, providing abrasion resistance and environmental protection for stranded and solid wire conductors, connections, joints and terminals in electrical wiring. It can also be used to repair the insulation on wires or to bundle them together, to protect wires or small parts from minor abrasion, and to create cable entry seals, offering environmental sealing protection. Heat-shrink tubing is ordinarily made of polyolefin, which shrinks radially when heated, to between one-half and one-sixth of its diameter.
Hot-melt adhesive (HMA), also known as hot glue, is a form of thermoplastic adhesive that is commonly sold as solid cylindrical sticks of various diameters designed to be applied using a hot glue gun. The gun uses a continuous-duty heating element to melt the plastic glue, which the user pushes through the gun either with a mechanical trigger mechanism on the gun, or with direct finger pressure. The glue squeezed out of the heated nozzle is initially hot enough to burn and even blister skin. The glue is sticky when hot, and solidifies in a few seconds to one minute. Hot-melt adhesives can also be applied by dipping or spraying, and are popular with hobbyists and crafters both for affixing and as an inexpensive alternative to resin casting.
Pressure-sensitive adhesive is a type of nonreactive adhesive which forms a bond when pressure is applied to bond the adhesive with a surface. No solvent, water, or heat is needed to activate the adhesive. It is used in pressure-sensitive tapes, labels, glue dots, stickers, sticky note pads, automobile trim, and a wide variety of other products.
Knob-and-tube wiring is an early standardized method of electrical wiring in buildings, in common use in North America from about 1880 to the 1930s. It consisted of single-insulated copper conductors run within wall or ceiling cavities, passing through joist and stud drill-holes via protective porcelain insulating tubes, and supported along their length on nailed-down porcelain knob insulators. Where conductors entered a wiring device such as a lamp or switch, or were pulled into a wall, they were protected by flexible cloth insulating sleeving called loom. The first insulation was asphalt-saturated cotton cloth, then rubber became common. Wire splices in such installations were twisted together for good mechanical strength, then soldered and wrapped with rubber insulating tape and friction tape, or made inside metal junction boxes.
Friction tape is a type of woven cloth adhesive tape, historically made of cotton, impregnated with a rubber-based adhesive. Sticky on both sides, it is mainly used by electricians to insulate splices in electric wires and cables. The rubber-based adhesive provides a degree of protection from liquids and corrosion, while the cloth mesh protects against punctures and abrasion. It has been supplanted by PVC-based electrical tape except commonly used for over wrapping.
Tape or Tapes may refer to:
A high-voltage cable is a cable used for electric power transmission at high voltage. A cable includes a conductor and insulation. Cables are considered to be fully insulated. This means that they have a fully rated insulation system that will consist of insulation, semi-con layers, and a metallic shield. This is in contrast to an overhead line, which may include insulation but not fully rated for operating voltage. High-voltage cables of differing types have a variety of applications in instruments, ignition systems, and alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) power transmission. In all applications, the insulation of the cable must not deteriorate due to the high-voltage stress, ozone produced by electric discharges in air, or tracking. The cable system must prevent contact of the high-voltage conductor with other objects or persons, and must contain and control leakage current. Cable joints and terminals must be designed to control the high-voltage stress to prevent the breakdown of the insulation.
Self-amalgamating tape is a non-tacky silicone-rubber tape which when stretched and wrapped around cables, electrical joints, hoses and pipes combines or unites itself into a strong, seamless, rubbery, waterproof, and electrically insulating layer. Unlike many other polymers and fibers, it is heat-, sunlight-, and weather-resistant. This type of tape is also described, particularly in the United States, as "self-fusing", or "self-vulcanizing". In the US Air Force it is called centerline tape due to a colored line running down the center used to assist with even wrapping. It is also called "F4", "tommy", "rescue", "Tape 69", "magic tape", ToolMonks Tape, and "fix-it tape".
Pressure-sensitive tape or pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is an adhesive tape that will stick with application of pressure, without the need for a solvent or heat for activation. It is known also in various countries as self-stick tape, sticky tape, or just adhesive tape and tape, as well as genericized trademarks, such as Sellotape, Durex (tape), Scotch tape, etc.
