Electrical wire labels

[bagarre]

Anyone have experience with various wire label systems?
Are any of the hand held heat shrink printers worth while?

[Metal Master]

Bagarre,
I bought this brother label maker. It connects to my lap top and and allowed me to make the labels I used on my instrument panel for the IO-360 install required placards. It allowed making long lines of placards for the circuit breaker switch panel the fuel pump and master switches. Contrary to what the add says to have full functionality for the unit you have to down load data from the internet which also allows me to save my labels and fonts in a P touch file. In the software package it has a wire label function. I have not used it for that purpose. And I do not know if it will print on anything but brother label tapes which would mean the wire label would have to wrap around wire which would work.
Regards,
Jim

http://www.brother-usa.com/Labeling_Sol ... oqLi0b09aw

[bagarre]

I have a handheld Brother label maker as well and love it for placards and panel markings. I use the white font on transparent tape and trim the tape right to the height of the font. You can barely tell it's a label.

I'd have to be really careful to get it around a wire and look good tho.

[lowNslow]

Timely subject David. I am in the process of replacing my wiring, probably should have asked the same question before ordering a K-Sun LABELShop BEE3-EZ shrink tube printer. I haven't received it yet but will let you know how it works out.

[bagarre]

You can also order tubing preprinted from Spruce, if you were so organized to know everything up front.
At least stock wire part numbers would be known.

[n2582d]

AC43.13-1B, Chapter 11, Section 16 is about labeling wires.

That K-Sun machine looks like a great way to do it. At $108 the price seem quite reasonable too, especially when compared to other alternatives.

I borrowed a Kingsley hot stamp machine from a friend with an avionics shop to mark all the standard wires every foot or so. For the additional wires I used a laser jet printer with the smallest font on my computer to make labels. After cutting them out I secured the labels with clear heat shrink on each end of the wire.

Wire Hot Stamp.jpg

Wire Laser Printed Label.jpg

[lowNslow]

Thanks Gary. While the 43.13 has you mark every 15" the original wiring I'm removing only has markings near the terminals. Since the longest runs are through the wings and can only be seen at the ends and through the inspection cover at the strut attach point I don't plan on labeling every 15" with those. The Cessna wires use the wire numbers from the parts manual and not the actual function so I'm thinking that's what I'll go with that as well.

[lowNslow]

Got my K-SUN label maker Tuesday as I was walking out the door to go on a 4 day trip so didn't get to try it until today. The unit looks like a toy and is not all that user friendly to configure but once it was it set up it actually produced very good labels. For $149 it certainly adequate for owner/homebuilder use. Not sure it would hold up really well with heavy use in a commercial environment.
Here is a picture using some different gauge wire and 1/8" tubing that came with the unit. The tubing also comes in bigger sizes for labeling bigger gauge cables and hoses etc.

[n2582d]

I like the look of that a lot better than my clear heat shrink over a paper label. 1/8" is smallest size heat shrink the machine can use. Does that shrink tight enough to hold its position on the 22 ga. wire you pictured?

[lowNslow]

I like the look of that a lot better than my clear heat shrink over a paper label. 1/8" is smallest size heat shrink the machine can use. Does that shrink tight enough to hold its position on the 22 ga. wire you pictured?

It will stay in position but you can slide it if you push on it.

[bagarre]

I'm a little confused.

11-208. PLACEMENT OF IDENTIFICATION
MARKINGS. Identification markings should be placed at each end of the wire and at 15-inch maximum intervals along the
length of the wire. Wires less than 3 inches long need not be identified. Wires 3 to 7 inches in length should be identified approximately at the center. Added identification marker sleeves should be so located that ties, clamps, or supporting devices need not be removed in order to read the identification.

The wire identification code must be printed to read horizontally (from left to right) or vertically (from top to bottom). The two methods of marking wire or cable are as follows:

a. Direct marking is accomplished by printing the cable’s outer covering. (See figure 11-23.)

b. Indirect marking is accomplished by printing a heat-shrinkable sleeve and installing the printed sleeve on the wire or cables outer covering. Indirect-marked wire or cable should be identified with printed sleeves at each end and at intervals not longer than 6 feet. The individual wires inside a cable should be identified within 3 inches of their termination. (See figure 11-24.)

Why the two lengths of 15" and 6'?