Cable Stripping

Introduction

Blue Robotics’ thrusters and cables come with tough urethane jacketed cable for reliable performance underwater. It can be a little tricky to strip the jacket from the cable but these steps should make it simple!

Safety

When working with tools, always use caution. This tutorial is provided as guidance and should be followed at your own risk.

Parts and Tools

  • 1 x Sharp knife (razor blade or X-Acto knife work well)
  • 1 x Protective glove
  • 1 x Wire strippers with slot for 18 AWG wire

Video Tutorial


Instructions

Stripping the Jacket

1. Wearing a protective glove, bend the cable at the point that you want to cut. Bending the cable makes it easy to see when you have cut through the outer jacket.

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2. Using the knife, gently slice the jacket open with a sawing motion.

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3. Stop once the jacket opens and you can see the white Teflon tape underneath.

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4. Turn the cable around and repeat on the other side.

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5. Once again, stop once the white tape is exposed.

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6. Pull the jacket away from the conductors and tape. The tape will probably come off with the jacket.

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7. If any tape is left, you can gently tear it away.

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Stripping the Conductors

1. With the 18 AWG slot on a standard wire strippers, remove the insulation from each conductor.

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That’s it!

We’d recommend practicing a few times on a spare piece of cable before you try this on your thruster. If you have one available, a thermal wire stripper makes this process much quicker.