What is a Cable Tie?

A cable tie, available in different colours and textures is a sort of a snap that is used for the purpose of fastening several assortments of cable or wires together. It has both commercial and military uses. Moreover, it has many colloquial terms such as, 'rat belt', 'quick draw', 'mouse belt', 'tie wrap'.

Cable Ties have a tough nylon strip with a cog included and the other end having a ratchet with a small case for tying up together. The pointed tip of the cable is used to pull through this open case for fastening things together, be it a bundle of wires or any other thing meant to be tied securely. In other words, it helps keep them organized into a cable tree. However, once the cable tie goes past the ratchet, the resultant loop can only be made tighter and cannot be pulled in the reverse direction.

Furthermore, a cable tie tensioning device is also useful to achieve a particular extent of tension while tying things up and it also cuts off any extra tail to keep away from injuries as a result of any sharp edge left behind.

It is also used as an improvised handcuff in places like USA, UK and Panama. These, specifically made for the prisoners are also known as 'plasticuffs' which are made keeping the cable tie design in focus. One of its other uses is to avoid wheel trims termed as 'hubcaps' from falling off vehicles while in journey. Therefore, various designs and sizes of cable ties are available according to different uses these days.

Since sunlight carries ultra violet rays, it usually ruins light and transparent nylon colours, therefore, black cable ties are becoming very useful for outdoor applications and have been the most preferred too . Similarly, red cable ties are used for plenum cabling and they are made of 'halar' (ECTFE), whereas, the blue ones made of 'tefzel' (ETFE) are used in environments which are rich in radiation.

These days it is common practice that manufacturers of electronic goods maintain a standard of including some essential cable ties in their delivered products. This not only makes the product organized but helps in reaching the customer safe and sound.

The concept of Cable Ties has gone far beyond the orthodox thinking. They are not only limited to nylon but are available in many varieties such as stainless steel cable ties, non releasable nylon cable ties, millipede cable ties etcetera. Moreover, the internet paves way for further knowledge and use of cable ties that are now available easily. Many websites have eased out online purchase of cable ties and the industry has expanded so much that information seekers can now be a phone call away from knowing about the various stocks of cable ties available in their cities and states. This category has a vast market of its own and usually caters to manufacturers and wholesalers dealing in the sale and distribution of their units. Other than this, it has a diverse range of uses.

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History Of Cable Tie

Before the invention of cable ties, the early methods of tying and securing items were quite unorganized. The manufacturers had to adhere to friction tapes, hand wrapping through lacing cords and twines. However, though they used to be secure initially, things like adhesive tape used to be at risk of getting peeled off once dry and lacing cords used to put the insulation wires at risk of being cut through. Therefore, there emerged a need for a better securing product that would not only hold the wires together but also protect them from damage through its own use.

The inventor of cable ties, Thomas & Betts was established in 1898 by two engineers, Robert Thomas and Hobart Betts after they graduated from Princeton University. The purpose of the company had always been to educate the end users about its products and, therefore, was quite successful in this regard. This was the company’s strategy to generate a customer pull also by aiming at keeping the distributor’s shelves occupied by T & B products. It was in the 1930’s when the company expressed concern about it’s mutually beneficial goals through having a business partner like relationship with the distributors who were very prominent in reaching the target audience.

Cable ties were first invented in the year 1958 by an electrical company known as Thomas & Betts. Built for aero plane harnesses, they were introduced under the brand name, ‘Ty-Rap’ and were patented in the same year. However, the only difference at the commencement of manufacturing was that the ratchet was not made of nylon but metal instead. The first cable ties had a steel pawl attached due to which the manufacturing process was more time consuming and therefore comparatively less efficient.

The result was a need to have two separate manufacturing processes, that is first molding the tie and then inserting the metallic pawl to complete a mere single tie. Moreover, the pawl used to be vulnerable to breakage while getting loose in the process, or creating havoc if fell in electrical circuits.

Industrial advance paved way for the production of a finely adjustable, complete nylon cable tie. The attributes it had were self locking and a two component product. Although the new cable tie had an innovative design, fine adjustment quality and reduced installation time, it still had the time consuming two way manufacturing process. However, with the span of time, the cable tie industry witnessed further progress. Hence, a self locking, one piece cable tie was produced. Later on, came the period of modifying the design of cable ties and thus the manufacturing process further enhanced to get the product known as a ‘wire bundling device’.

1968 witnessed the time when a clamp manufacturer acquired the patent for a unique cable wire design. This company was the first to produce a one piece nylon tie in the entire United States of America. Also the manufacturing process was not very time consuming as compared to the initial setup of the past and thus came an era of a wide assortment of applications and colours of cable ties that we see today.

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