Fray Resistant PET Braided Sleeving

What is PET braided sleeving?

Expandable braided sleeving is very similar to those "Chinese Finger Cuffs" that we've all gotten our fingers stuck in.. Called by many names including Nylon braided sleeving, sheathing, wire mesh, Expando, skuff jacket, snakeskin. When you push the end back, the sleeving expands to go over wires easily, and then when you let go, the sleeving comes back to its original diameter (or the diameter of your wire harness or bundle, whichever is larger).

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) braided sleeving is by far the most widely used expandable braided sleeve in the world. It is commonly referred to as General Purpose (GP). In many cases, sleeving referred to as Nylon is actually polyester. While Nylon monofilaments do provide better abrasion resistance in some cases, it also costs 40-60% more than PET, and is overkill in most applications.

As a generalization, PET performs better in gritty, sandpaper type applications, while the abrasion resistance of Nylon is better in both wet applications, and applications where the abrading substrate is smooth (for example, rubbing against a steel rod).

While the braiding process can be controlled to regulate the expandibility of the final braid, most expandable PET braided sleeving sold today is made in a standard construction that before further processing, varies very little between manufacturers. Standard braids can expand up to 2 times* their nominal size, allowing for easy installation in complex wiring harnesses, and a high degree of flexibility in the size used.

*please refer to the actual sizing guidelines in the table below for expandability of individual sizes

How is this braid different from all of the others on the market?

What most suppliers won't tell you is that all braid is not created equally. There are actually several different types of braided sleeves on the market. Most of expandable braided sleeving out there is a general purpose PET grade, which suits the needs of 75% of the world's customers. One problem with this braid is that unless it is cut with a hot knife, the material will fray at the ends. In many cases, this is not an issue since the end user puts a piece of heat shrink tubing on the end to improve its look and functionality.

To address the fraying issue, several products are available on the market. One particular type sold under the Bentley Harris name has a resin applied to the braid causing the individual filaments to stick to each other. This product is sold in the market at a very high premium (more than 2x the price of our general purpose sleeving). Other types consist of nothing more than smaller filaments in a tighter braid construction, causing the braid to fray less than normal when cut with scissors. While this is a fairly good product, the smaller filaments reduce the sleeve's abrasion resistance by 20-40%, are considerably more expensive, and are only available in very limited color selections.

We take a different approach. We do offer the Bentley Harris products (Expando PT Plus and Expando FR Plus) because they offer exceptional fray resistance, without the reduction in abrasion resistance that is seen in the thin, tightweave products. You will find the Bentley Harris products to suit most of your needs. A few (but not all) of the exceptions are: Space, high vacuum, and solvent applications are not good for the Expando Plus products because the fray resistant coating could contaminate critical systems. Cost critical applications would also require a suitable alternative. We invite you to look at the other pages on our site and choose the right product for you. A brief selection guide, along with links to other products on our site is listed below. Please note, clicking on the links below will open a new page on your computer so you don't lose your place:

1) Compare the prices of the many braids we offer along with your labor costs. You may find that our basic PET braided sleeving is fine for your applicaiton. If you require flame retardancy, try our flame resistant PET expandable sleeving. The use of a hot knife is very simple, and doesn't slow down your installation time by all that much. For a picture of our bench mount hot knife cutter, click here. For large jobs, we can even supply custom cut pieces.

2) If you determine you can't use the Bentley Harris Expando PT Plus or Expando FR Plus products, our tightweave fray resistant may be the right product for you. Besides it's fray resistance, it also provides better coverage when the braid is expanded (i.e. the braid will be less see-through due to the tighter construction).

3) Remember that other products on the market use smaller filaments, so your abrasion resistance will be compromised. Make sure you understand the individual monofilament size (ours uses 0.010" filaments).

4) Also, the environment should be given strong consideration. Please remember when using a hot knife to be sure you're in a well ventilated room, as fumes will be released.

Application information:

Look at the pictures below. The 1/2" sleeve ( Picture #1 - on the left) was cut clean with a sharp pair of scissors prior to being put on a 3/4" highlighter. It is clear that there is some end fray. This can easily be covered with heat shrink tubing to give a clean end. The next braided sleeve (Picture #2) was cut with a hot knife. This end would be fine without any heat shrink tubing. You may want to put a cable tie on the end to stop the sleeve from slipping. Picture #3 is our fray resistant braid. Clearly, no further processing is needed with this braid. You'll also notice that the braid is much less see-through when compared to the others. Picture #4 is Bentley Harris Expando PT Plus. Ths is a very good option

Picture #1 - Standard FR braid cut with scissors

Picture #2 - Standard FR Braid cut with hot knife

Picture #3 - Fray resistant PET braid cut w/ scissors

Picture #4 - Bentley Harris Expando PT Plus cut with scissors

Sleeving in these pictures with the white tracers is actually our Flame Retardant Grade.

Features of fray resistant PET Braided Sleeving:

• Excellent cut through and abrasion resistance
• Can be cut with sharp scissors instead of a hot knife for fray resistant ends
• High quality alternative to Bentley Harris Expando PT Plus®, Alpha GRP-110NF
• Continuous use temperature of -70°C to 125°C (-103°F to 257°F)
• Melt temperature of 230°C (446°F)
• Expands up to two times its resting diameter
• Halogen Free, ROHS compliant
• Self Extinguising - please click here to see the definition of LOI, and how it relates to the burning of materials
• Resists Gasoline, Engine Chemicals & Cleaning Solvents
• Braided from 10 mil polyethylene terepthalate (PET) monofilament yarns.
• Registered in the NASA database for low outgassing (under CS Technical as manufacturer)
• Colors Available: Black, Red