jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) (02/28/85)
> Power wire-wrap (tm) tools seem a rather frivolous idea at first, however > they give a much better wrap in less time than the hand tools. The > best ones are those powered directly by 110V AC. We use Gardner-Denver rechargeable wire-wrap tools here, and they are very reliable, run for hours per charge, and cost a bundle. We did once experiment with self-stripping bits (>$100!!) but found that they tend to break a lot of wires--the idea is that the wire goes into the bit with insulation on it, but a little tang at the end of the bit pulls off the insulation as the wire wraps. Has anyone had good experiences with these? Also, has anyone tried Speedwire? With this system sockets are in two parts, or else you push individual contacts into the board; what sticks down are two little prongs, and you shove a wire between them, and as this happens the insulation is cut and the prongs press into the wire. The sockets cost more than w-w but the wiring tool has no moving parts, so it is light and cheap. Plus you never have to strip any insulation, and daisy chaining is trivial. Also, the resulting board has a lower profile and is less prone to snag other wires, and the manufacturer claims that noise pickup is less from the smaller pins. It's easier to remove wires, too. Vero makes the system. John Purbrick decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!mit-hermes!jpexg jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA