Heat Shrink Recovery Process

  • Accelerate Your Prototyping
  • Fast
  • Easy
  • Free

Heat Shrink tubing from Zeus provides a superior level of protection against extreme temperatures and hostile environments. Regardless of your application, we have a Heat Shrink solution to precisely match your requirements. Because the intricacies of every Heat Shrink material and application are different, there is no universal recovery method. The proper recovery of Heat Shrink tubing is just as vital as the material selection itself.

Dual-Shrink™ Heat Shrink Recovery Procedures

Click here for more information on Dual-Shrink™

  1. Always assure good ventilation in the immediate work area prior to beginning the heat shrink process. Caution: Fumes may cause nausea and dizziness.
  2. Dual-Shrink™ Tubing requires 650 °F ± 50 °F (343 °C ± 10 °C). This is a liberal and safe range.
         Note: The heat shrink temperatures listed here are general guidelines. Actual shrink temperatures may be higher or lower depending on the design and dimensions of the heat shrink, application techniques and other factors.
  3. The mandrel (part) to be covered by DualShrink™ must be able to withstand this range of temperature.
  4. The mandrel being covered may act as a heat sink – not allowing enough thermal energy to be transferred to the Dual-Shrink™ before it has a chance to recover completely and smoothly and reflow the inner material. Therefore, Zeus recommends preheating large diameter mandrels.
  5. Dual-Shrink™ needs to be allowed a fair degree of recovery. Highly restricted radical recovery tends to induce longitudinal loss, while excessive restriction tends to induce splitting.
  6. Even heating and returning to room temperature on all sides provides the best results. Uneven heating or cooling tends to split the PTFE side still in the “gel” state while the other side is in the hard or crystalline state – especially upon recovery.
         Note: The shrinking starts when the PTFE is brought upon the “gel” state but completes its recovery during the cooling cycle. In its gel state, the tubing becomes crystal clear and glassy in appearance. The FEP will melt and flow when the temperature of reflow is met.

Ovens are the most reliable way to recover heat shrink products due to their ability to ensure even heating and reduce the risk of overheating the material (which can lead to brittleness and cracking). However, heat guns can also be used successfully to recover heat shrink material.

PEEKShrink™ Heat Shrink Recovery Procedures

Click here for more information on PEEKShrink™

  1. Always assure good ventilation in the immediate work area prior to beginning the heat shrink process. Caution: Fumes may cause nausea and dizziness.
  2. PEEKShrink™ recovers at or near 650 °F ± 50 °F (343 °C ± 10 °C), which is close to PEEK’s melting temperature. This is a liberal and safe range.
         Please note: The heat shrink temperatures listed here are general guidelines. Actual shrink temperatures may be higher or lower depending on the design and dimensions of the heat shrink, application techniques and other factors.
  3. The mandrel (part) to be covered by PEEKShrink™ must be able to withstand this range of temperature.
  4. The mandrel being covered may act as a heat sink – not allowing enough thermal energy to be transferred to the PEEKShrink® before it has a chance to recover completely and smoothly. Therefore, Zeus recommends preheating large diameter mandrels.
  5. PEEKShrink™ needs to be allowed a fair degree of recovery. Highly restricted radical recovery tends to induce longitudinal loss, while excessive restriction tends to induce splitting.
  6. Even heating and cooling of all sides provides the best results. Uneven heating or cooling tends to wrinkle or split the material if not uniformly heated.
         Note: PEEKShrink™ may recover and have a translucent appearance or be more opaque in appearance.  This depends on the crystallinity achieved during shrinking due to varying temperatures and cooling rate of the material post recovery. Color differences should not affect the insulation properties of the material.

Ovens are the most reliable way to recover heat shrink products due to their ability to ensure even heating and reduce the risk of overheating the material (which can lead to brittleness and cracking). However, heat guns can also be used successfully to recover heat shrink material.

PTFE Heat Shrink Recovery Procedures

Click here for more information on PTFE Heat Shrink

  1. Always assure good ventilation in the immediate work area prior to beginning the heat shrink process. Caution: Fumes may cause nausea and dizziness.
  2. PTFE Heat Shrink Tubing requires a recovery temperature of 650 °F ± 25 °F (343 °C ± 5 °C). This is a liberal and safe range.
         Please note: The heat shrink temperatures listed here are general guidelines. Actual shrink temperatures may be higher or lower depending on the design and dimensions of the heat shrink, application techniques and other factors.
  3. The mandrel (part) to be covered by PTFE Heat Shrink must be able to withstand this range of temperature.
  4. The mandrel being covered may act as a heat sink – not allowing enough thermal energy to be transferred to the PTFE tubing before it has a chance to recover completely and smoothly. Therefore, Zeus recommends preheating large diameter mandrels.
  5. PTFE Heat Shrink needs to be allowed a fair degree of recovery. Highly restricted radical recovery tends to induce longitudinal loss, while excessive restriction tends to induce splitting.
  6. Even heating and cooling of all sides provides the best results. Uneven heating or cooling tends to split the side still in the “gel” state while the other side is in the hard or crystalline state – especially upon recovery.
         Note: Shrinking starts when the PTFE is brought upon the “gel” state but completes its recovery during the cooling cycle. In its gel state, the tubing becomes crystal clear and glassy in appearance.

Ovens are the most reliable way to recover heat shrink products due to their ability to ensure even heating and reduce the risk of overheating the material (which can lead to brittleness and cracking). Heat guns can also be used to recover heat shrink material.

FEP Heat Shrink Recovery Procedures

Click here for more information on FEP Heat Shrink

  1. Always assure good ventilation in the immediate work area prior to beginning the heat shrink process. Caution: Fumes may cause nausea and dizziness.
  2. FEP Heat Shrink Tubing requires 420 °F ± 50 º F (215 °C ± 10 °C). This is a liberal and safe range.
         Please note: The heat shrink temperatures listed here are general guidelines. Actual shrink temperatures may be higher or lower depending on the design and dimensions of the heat shrink, application techniques and other factors.
  3. The mandrel (part) to be covered by FEP Heat Shrink must be able to withstand this range of temperature.
  4. The mandrel being covered may act as a heat sink – not allowing enough thermal energy to be transferred to the FEP Heat Shrink before it has a chance to recover completely and smoothly. Therefore, Zeus recommends preheating large diameter mandrels.
  5. Because of the nature of FEP Heat Shrink, you may experience some longitudinal change depending on the amount of recovery.
  6. Even heating and cooling of all sides provides the best results. Uneven heating or cooling tends to split the side still in the “gel” state while the other side is in the hard or crystalline state – especially upon recovery.
         Note: Shrink starts when the FEP is brought upon the “gel” state but completes its recovery during the cooling cycle. In its gel state, the tubing becomes crystal clear and glassy in appearance.

Ovens are the most reliable way to recover heat shrink products due to their ability to ensure even heating and reduce the risk of overheating the material (which can lead to brittleness and cracking). Heat guns can also be used to recover heat shrink material.

Contact Us