The Little Explored History of the Zip Tie

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The educational channel New Mind took a look at the little explored history of the zip tie, a seemingly ubiquitous modern invention with origins that actually date back to the late 19th century, with a realization in the mid-20th century.

In this captivating journey through history, we explore the evolution of cable management and the birth of cable ties, a seemingly simple yet revolutionary invention.

The idea came from Scottish immigrant Maurus C. Logan, whose inspiration came from a cable lacing, a particular way of tying cords to secure bunches of cables together. Logan was working for Thomas and Betts, and later ABB Installation, at the time of his discovery.

Logan&#;s breakthrough came in with a patent submission for a nylon strap with an integrated oval aperture, designed to loop around cables and secure itself through friction. Despite initial indecisiveness on the latching mechanism, Logan&#;s design marked the birth of the cable tie.

Since that time, many other companies have come up with their own version of the zip tie. While some are more robust than others, they all seem to follow Logan&#;s design of the Ty-Rap cable tie, which was patented in .

The Ty-Rap cable tie evolved into specialized versions, including heat-resistant and space-grade variants. Offshoot products like Ty-Met, made of stainless steel, and Ty-Fast, a nylon tie with an integrated ratchet barb, gained popularity globally, earning the colloquial name &#;zip ties&#; or &#;tie wraps.&#; Today, over 45 companies globally produce cable ties, with an estimated annual production of 100 billion units.

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Ratcheting fastener for electrical cable

"Cable ties" redirects here. Not to be confused with Cable Ties (band)

Assortment of cable ties

A cable tie (also known as a hose tie, tie wrap, wire tie, zap-straps, or zip tie) is a type of fastener for holding items together, primarily electrical cables and wires. Because of their low cost, ease of use, and binding strength, cable ties are ubiquitous, finding use in a wide range of other applications. Cable ties were first manufactured by Thomas & Betts under the brand name Ty-Rap.

The common cable tie, normally made of nylon, has a flexible tape section with teeth that engage with a pawl in the head to form a ratchet so that as the free end of the tape section is pulled the cable tie tightens and does not come undone. When the mouthpiece is inserted through the grooves and pulled tight, it creates a secure, adjustable loop, which locks in place like a knot. Some ties include a tab that can be depressed to release the ratchet so that the tie can be loosened or removed, and possibly reused. Stainless steel versions, some coated with a rugged plastic, cater for exterior applications and hazardous environments.[1]

Design and use

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The ratchet mechanism on the head of a cable tie Cable ties used to attach shade cloth to scaffolding at a construction site in Singapore

The most common cable tie consists of a flexible nylon tape with an integrated linear ratchet gear rack, and on one end a pawl within a small open case. Once the pointed tip of the cable tie has been pulled through the case and past the ratchet, it is prevented from being pulled back unless a large amount of force is applied; the resulting loop may only be pulled tighter. This allows several cables to be bound together into a cable bundle and/or to form a cable tree.

A cable tie tensioning device or tool may be used to apply a cable tie with a specific degree of tension. The tool may cut off the extra tail flush with the head in order to avoid a sharp edge which might otherwise cause injury. Light-duty tools are operated by squeezing the handle with the fingers, while heavy-duty versions can be powered by compressed air or a solenoid, to prevent repetitive strain injury.

In order to increase resistance to ultraviolet light in outdoor applications, nylon containing a minimum of 2% carbon black is used to protect the polymer chains and extend the cable tie's service life.[citation needed] Blue cable ties are supplied to the food industry and contain a metal additive so they can be detected by industrial metal detectors.[2] Cable ties made of ETFE (Tefzel) are used in radiation-rich environments. Red cable ties made of ECTFE (Halar) are used for plenum cabling.

Stainless steel cable ties are also available for flameproof applications&#;coated stainless ties are available to prevent galvanic attack from dissimilar metals (e.g. zinc-coated cable tray).[1]

Plastic handcuffs are based on the cable tie design and are used by law enforcement to restrain prisoners.[3] Cable ties are also sometimes used to prevent hubcaps (also known as wheel trims) from falling off a moving vehicle, and some are sold specifically for this purpose.[4] The use of cable ties in medicolegal cases is infrequent, being involved in situations of neck compression or restraint.[5]

History

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Cable ties were invented by Thomas & Betts, an electrical company, in under the brand name Ty-Rap. Initially they were designed for airplane wire harnesses. The original design used a metal tooth, and these can still be obtained. Manufacturers later changed to the nylon/plastic design.[6][self-published source]

Over the years the design has been extended and developed into numerous spin-off products. One example was a self-locking loop developed as an alternative to purse-string suture in colon anastomosis.[7]

Ty-Rap cable tie inventor, Maurus C. Logan, worked for Thomas & Betts and finished his career with the company as Vice President of Research and Development. During his tenure at Thomas & Betts, he contributed to the development and marketing of many successful Thomas & Betts products. Logan died on 12 November , at the age of 86.[8]

The idea of the cable tie came to Logan while touring a Boeing aircraft manufacturing facility in . Aircraft wiring was a cumbersome and detailed undertaking, involving thousands of feet of wire organized on sheets of 50-foot-long plywood and held in place with knotted, wax-coated, braided nylon cord. Each knot had to be pulled tight by wrapping the cord around one's finger which sometimes cut the operator's fingers until they developed thick calluses. Logan was convinced there had to be an easier, more forgiving, way to accomplish this critical task.

For the next couple of years, Logan experimented with various tools and materials. On June 24, , a patent for the Ty-Rap cable tie was submitted.[9]

Reuse

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Cable ties are generally designed as single-use devices, however they can be reopened with little or no damage by inserting a small flat object between the ratchet and the pawl, and pulling the pawl out. Some models have a mechanism to release the pawl and allow re-use.

Speciality types

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A cable tie with an in-built security tag

Beaded

Beaded design allows them to be releasable and reusable

Releasable

Reusable cable ties with a releasable ratchet

Ladder style

For intermediate bundling and retail applications

Identification

Built-in flags for written or printed identification

Parallel entry

Tamper-proof, low profile heads

Tear-off

Quick release design requires no cutting tools

Pull-tight seals

Tamper-evident seals

Steggel

Heavy duty, multipurpose ties

Alternatives

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Other methods of bundling cable together securely and semi-permanently include cable lacing, strapping, binding knots such as the surgeon's knot or constrictor knot, Velcro brand hook-and-loop strips, conveyor belt hooks, twist ties, Rapstrap fasteners, or metal buckle.

See also

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References

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For more information, please visit Stainless Steel Cable Ties.