Wire wrap tools are used for making wire connections on stripboards. There are three types of tools: electric, mechanical, and manual. Stripboards are now mainly used in prototypes and telecommunications. Electric tools are the most common for initial installation, while mechanical tools are used for light adjustments. Manual tools are slower but more accurate for complex systems.
A wire wrap tool is a tool specially designed for making wire wound connections on a specific type of circuit board. Wire wrapped boards, called stripboard, look like a plastic board covered in tiny holes. Each of these holes has room for a cable connection. To insert a wire into one of the holes, the installer needs a wire wrapping tool. There are three types of tools; electric, mechanical and manual tools. Each has certain advantages and there are situations where each is the tool of choice.
Stripboards were a common method of making electronic connections before the invention of printed circuit boards. Since then, their use has declined significantly in most areas. While a stripboard has more solid connections than most printed circuit boards, their cost is also significantly higher. Now, these cards are usually only common in two places, prototype machines and telecommunications.
An electric tool and a mechanical one look very similar. They are shaped like a small pistol with a pole extension at the tip. In a power tool, a small motor turns the pole. In the mechanical wire winding tool, pulling the trigger causes a manual rotation on the post. A hand tool for wrapping wire is shaped like a pen; essentially, the whole tool is the post on the other two.
A power tool is the most common style for initial cable installation. To use a mechanical tool, the user threads the wire through the post, inserts it into a special socket, and pulls the trigger. The motor wraps the wire quickly and tightly, creating a secure connection. The socket is then inserted into one of the holes on the board. Because an electrical wire wrapping tool is so fast, it’s typically used on new installations.
A mechanical tool works in almost the same way as an electrical wire winding tool. The biggest difference between the two is in the force and speed applied to the winding. Because the power tool uses hand pressure to create the casing, a variable amount of force can be applied to a connection. On the other hand, the shape and mechanics make this instrument almost as fast as the electric version. This type of tool is common when very light adjustments need to be made quickly.
The last type of tool is completely manual. These tools are shaped like metal pens with a narrow pole on one end. The actual threading process is the same, but to wind it, the user simply spins the tool. This creates a less secure connection than the other tools and takes longer to use. The biggest advantage of a hand tool is its accuracy; in a complex system, a hand tool can be threaded through several layers of wire to access a specific connection.
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