There are many forums out there that discuss wire jacket flexibility but just mainly with “easy, medium or hard to flex.” Its hard to see what the wire actually does without buying it. Some actually crease , others just round out when put under pressure or weight. Can it spiral ? How ridgid is that jacket? Does the wire have memory ? Will it keep its form ? How does the jacket feel ?
If you research how wire flexibility is tested it requires a lot of equipment , time and certain standards to be met . So I decided to do something within my means , especially since I don’t have access to that type of testing equipment. Also, working from home (COVID-19) limits what I can use , so this experiment is something that I came up with. It does not reflect any kind of standard , but it could help people see how the jackets react and see the differences.
I went through several trials of using fishing weights either on each end or in the middle of the wire as it was hanging . This was not turning out how I wanted for accuracy. So in the end as you can see in the pictures I had one end of the wire tied down and the other hanging freely over the edge of the board . I am only using one fishing weight (3/8 oz) so I can see what it does to each wire I selected. The wires are all 24 awg and cut to 12 inch length. I kept all the wires to 24 awg so they were somewhat comparable to each other for my experiment. Each is a different type of jacket , along with solid or stranded conductors.
The following tests were done to each wire so I can compare and make a chart .
Please see below for the links to each wire I tested . I also have a chart with the findings below .
Picture 1: Set up of wire test with part number https://www.digikey.com/products/en?keywords=a132412-ds-nd Polyvinyl Fluoride (PVF)
Picture 2: Reaction with fishing line and weight hooked on to the wire
Picture 3: Reaction after the fishing weight is taken off
Picture 4: How it reacted after I creased it
Picture 5: How it reacted after I spiraled it around my finger.
A132363-ND - Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) (120.4 KB)
CN160GY-25-ND Polyphenylene Ether (PPE) (179.5 KB)
C2003V-5-ND Poly-Vinyl Chloride (PVC) (161.6 KB)
CN119R-25-ND Silicone Rubber (175.4 KB)
T1327-1-ND Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) (180.4 KB)
CN481Y-25-ND Poly-Vinyl Chloride (XLPVC), Irradiated (171.3 KB)
CN112B-25-ND Fluorinated Ethylene-Propylene (FEP) (177.9 KB)
Wire Jacket Flex Chart (12.0 KB)