Everything You Need To Know About Bootlace Ferrule
Any electrical equipment requires multiple wiring connections. And when it comes to industrial equipment, the number of wiring connections gets dialed up to 11!
Now, these connections need to be perfect and extra secure, because if a single strand of wire (a “hair” or a “whisker”) becomes loose and separated from the rest of the wire, you’re in for an intermittent failure. Or a costly downtime, in the case of industries.
Moreover, such failures are hard to isolate – as there are numerous electrical connections. Not to mention, the chances of failure get insanely high in situations that require frequent insertion and removal of wires.
These are only some of the situations that require better wiring, which is why we use bootlace ferrules.
What Is A Bootlace Ferrule?
Bootlace ferrules are metal (or copper) tubes used to create a reliable electrical connection at the end of an electrical wire. These tubes can be placed over the top of a stranded wire, which is then pressed into place, so the strands of wire are properly secured together and can’t come loose.
When terminating wires, the bootlace ferrules prevent the fraying of stranded wires and help ensure that the wires are fully seated between the two connection points. Now, the wire ferrules may increase the cost of wiring, but they increase the overall quality and consistency of your work.
Types of Bootlace Ferrules
There are two main types of bootlace ferrules that are mentioned below:
1. Insulated Bootlace Ferrules
As the name suggests, insulated bootlace ferrules provide insulation at the base of the wire to protect against any exposed wire that can cause short circuits or shock hazards.
Insulated bootlace ferrules are available in a broad range of colors, which serve the main purpose of making them easy to spot or recognize.
These are also available in two versions: singular and TWIN. The singular version is used for a single wire and a terminal. But when you need to join two cable ends with a single terminal, you will want to use a TWIN bootlace ferrule, otherwise also known as dual or double wire ferrule.
2. Uninsulated Bootlace Ferrule
Uninsulated bootlace ferrules do not have an insulation sleeve like the insulated bootlace ferrules, and therefore, are colorless. These are particularly useful when the termination space is tight, and a shoulder will cause obstruction. Additionally, uninsulated bootlace ferrules are more flexible than their insulated counterparts.
Why Are Bootlace Ferrules Important?
Bootlace ferrules serve a variety of important functions, the top 6 are mentioned below.
- They increase the overall quality of your work.
They greatly reduce the chances of failure and therefore reduce the chance of you having to come back at a later date to fix a troubled connection (after spending a lot of time diagnosing and isolating the source of the problem). - They provide a clean and safe method of combining wire(s) at a single connection point, with a solid connection that will last a lot longer.
- They provide consistency against all your joints and connections and offer you the peace of mind that a connection made is secure.
- They are versatile and can be used in different applications ranging from very small wires, that require intricate control work, to larger wires for heavy-duty applications.
- They can be safely reused multiple times and provide easy connection/reconnection without degrading the ends of a wire.
- They increase the overall safety of your wiring and prevent any short circuits as well as shock hazards.
Where Can I Buy Bootlace Ferrules?
TME Electronics offers 509 types of bootlace ferrules, including Insulated as well as Uninsulated bootlace ferrules. So, you can choose the one best suitable for your requirements. You can also bulk order bootlace ferrules as TME maintains more than 358 thousand pieces in warehouse stock.
TME Electronics has been around for over 3 decades since 1990 and offers electronic parts and products to 133 countries. It ships more than 5,000 packages every day packed with ISO-certified quality certifications. Visit this link to purchase your bootlace ferrules: https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/katalog/bootlace-ferrule-and-butt-splice_100041/
