Tricks of the trade: Twisting wire bundles

Tricks of the trade: Twisting wire bundles @ EMSL –

A common problem that you may come across when building “a box” to do something– whether a one-off gizmo or bona fide scientific instrument –is the rats nest of wires. A similar problem occurs when you need to run a bunch of basic wires out from your box to other devices. Unless there’s a standard cable lying around that does exactly what you need, you can end up with messy tangles of wires outside of your box as well. There are many well-known solutions of course, as varied as elegantly laced wiring harnesses, cable ties and teflon spaghetti sleeving, heat shrink tubing and cold shrink tape, and (possibly for the brave and/or insane) duct tape and paperclips.


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5 Comments

  1. funny, I’ve been doing that for about 20 years.
    Never thought it was a profound discovery.

    For an unusual twist, pair wires and twist individually in the same direction.
    Then clamp them all together in the drill chuck and twist all in opposite direction. Gives a braided look to the wires.

  2. @pillbox – there are many things people do that they consider common knowledge, but until it’s shared – you’ll never know 🙂

    good tip! you should make a video, take photos, do a tutorial, etc!

  3. While this looks cute, it is also possibly not very good for the wire. Might I suggest cable lacing instead. It’s way more crafty, old school and allows for the re-runing of wires for what ever reason.

  4. @jesee – please make your non-cute how-to / photos and post up a link 🙂

  5. If you run a heat gun over it after it is twisted, it wont unravel.

    Al

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