Wow... didn't think one could write so much about a 3 wire plug ! I don't understand half of it, will need to read it 3 or 4 times I guess.... yes pics would help here.. while you search for them, I will do my own research to figure out what the hell is this " polyolefin " that you are talking about...
Hey, buddy... we don't mind when you get all anal about our knobs, lovingly hand-crafted of PLA and hand-painted to the finest detail we can muster... now you get to hear it about how you fab cables.
I couldn't find the pics I was thinking of... but I have a extra-long 90° IEC cord that I need but has the GND lug borked off, so here's how I do mine. I'll try and be as detailed as I can, so you can understand not only the technique, but the thought process as well.
PVC vs Polyolefin Heat-Shrink TubingThere are two
common types of heat-shrink tubing; PVC and polyolefin. Yes, there are oodles of specialty formulations, but when you're shopping heat-shrink tubing,
most of the time the manufacturer will list these two primary product lines. PVC is the stiff, shiny, crunchy kind usually used to build battery packs. Polyolefin is the soft, flexible kind with a satin finish usually used for cable fab.
Getting StartedHere's the IEC cable I'm going to reterminate; I'll do the whole deal, as if I were color-coding as well. This "hospital-grade" plug is not best quality; probably why it has languished at the bottom of my
Bin o' Cords for years. But it will do for this example. Note the order of the conductors on the cut end; they match the order of the terminals on the plug. I have seen molded plugs assembled to the end of the cable where the black and white are reverse order: Obviously, when your cable comes by the kilometer, you're going to assemble from the end the manufacturer gives you on the reel.
Laid OutHere I've laid out the heat-shrink and the outer housing. Note that I've moved everything a little extra far from the end to allow for "adjusting" the sheathing.
Skinning the Cable SafelyThere are more ways to skin a cable than there are to skin a rabbit; this is how I prefer to do it when I have the time & tools and want to make extra-sure I don't nick the insulation on the inner conductors. I fully expect to get roasted on this one; I'm putting on my flame-proof jammies right now.
Assembled ConnectorHere the plug end is assembled; this one is relatively easy to keep the inner conductor tails properly short and still able to work with them. On this particular plug, the clamp is plenty far away that the tails could be even longer than this and still have proper contact area between clamp and sheathing.
What's important is to ensure that when you hold the plug and wiggle the wire, there is sufficient radius (it only
needs to be a few mm) that it bends in the middle,
not right where the copper wire clamps under the screw.
Next comes "adjusting the sheathing" using the process I described earlier; I'm just going to cut/paste here.
Once you've connected the wires, pull the cable through the housing such that you have ~500-1000mm to work with. Using your heat gun, heat the outer sheathing of the cable at the connector end such that it is hot to the touch, but not hot enough you that it starts to melt and you can leave fingerprints in it.
Now, grip the cable with the cold part in one hand (get a right proper "wanking for all yer worth" grip here
) and the heated part of the cable in the other, then pull/slide that hand down the length of the hot part of the cable towards the just-finished connector. It usually does not take much force to make the outer sheathing walk down the individual wires such that your "too much too long tails" are again covered in the sheathing, and all nice and tidy again. Lay the cable out flat on your bench, and wait for the sheathing to cool completely.
If you've done your prep work correctly, the difference between "tails just long enough to work with" and "sheathing exactly where it needs to be for the clamp to work" is literally just a few millimeters. Do your best to learn to work with tails absolutely as short as you can deal with. First Layer of Heat-ShrinkHere I've applied the first layer of heat-shrink; I've "adjusted" the sheathing a little too far, so when I reheat for the 2nd layer of heat-shrink, I'm going to
very gently adjust it back a few mm.
2nd Layer of Heat-ShrinkHere I've applied the 2nd layer of clear polyolefin heat-shrink and "adjusted" the sheathing back a bit just to where the wire bends in the middle of the radius again. As you can see, the conductor and insulation on the tails is not harmed; but net "adjustment" of the sheathing is probably at most ~2mm.
Tightening the Clamp This is a pet peeve of mine... so many times I'll see this kind of plug end where the clamp has been tightened down too far... sometimes even to the point of stripping out the plastic screw holes.
This runs the risk of crushing the cable to the point that conductors can cross...
Just DON'T!FinishedHere's my finished IEC cable. You can see the double heat-shrink strain-relief, and you can see the matching color-coding at the other end.
You may now critique to your heart's content.mnem