PTFE Tubing

[JonAdkins]

Hi there,

I'm just about to start building my printer and am collecting the final few things from list in the manual. I live in Vancouver, Canada and was having a bit of trouble figuring out where to get PTFE tubing or a suitable alternative.

Can you get this stuff at Home Depot, Canadian Tire or any other place such as that? I was having trouble locating anything like it in their online catalogs leading me to believe that it either goes by another name or they just don't have it.

I'm trying to avoid placing a $5.00 order with McMaster Carr and then having to eat a $10.00 shipping bill just for this one last thing. Any advice on a Canadian source for this stuff would be appreciated.

-jon

[Eaglezsoar]

Hi there,

I'm just about to start building my printer and am collecting the final few things from list in the manual. I live in Vancouver, Canada and was having a bit of trouble figuring out where to get PTFE tubing or a suitable alternative.

Can you get this stuff at Home Depot, Canadian Tire or any other place such as that? I was having trouble locating anything like it in their online catalogs leading me to believe that it either goes by another name or they just don't have it.

I'm trying to avoid placing a $5.00 order with McMaster Carr and then having to eat a $10.00 shipping bill just for this one last thing. Any advice on a Canadian source for this stuff would be appreciated.

-jon

This is what I found by searching for PTFE sources Canada - Grainger should carry PTFE Tubing sometimes called Teflon tubing.

Acklands-Grainger, Inc.

Founded in 1889, Acklands-Grainger is Canada’s largest distributor of industrial, safety and fastener products with more than 300,000 products available from 175 branches and six distribution centers coast to coast.

Call: +1 888 602 0000
Email: [email protected]
Website: Acklands-Grainger, Inc.

[Jimustanguitar]

Are you looking for a bowden tube, or do you need to insulate wire leads?

SeeMeCNC.com sells the bowden tubing on their website in custom lengths. I haven't had to source the really small diameter stuff yet.

[JonAdkins]

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately, Acklands Grainger only sells massive rolls of the stuff, but knowing that it's also commonly called Teflon Tubing helps as I can widen my search parameters.

I'm looking for this one that's listed in the Manual:

High temperature insulating material for the resistor wires. I recommend PTFE tubing from
McMaster-Carr, P/N: 5335K13.

My local electronics store sells Fiberglass Tubing with the proper diameter, will that suffice?

[dpmacri]

You can also just wrap the wires in Kapton tape (assuming you have that).

[Eaglezsoar]

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately, Acklands Grainger only sells massive rolls of the stuff, but knowing that it's also commonly called Teflon Tubing helps as I can widen my search parameters.

I'm looking for this one that's listed in the Manual:

High temperature insulating material for the resistor wires. I recommend PTFE tubing from
McMaster-Carr, P/N: 5335K13.

My local electronics store sells Fiberglass Tubing with the proper diameter, will that suffice?

Yes, that should work.
Wrapping in kapton tape as suggested by dpmacri would also work as long as you are careful how you apply it.

[Eaglezsoar]

Are you looking for a bowden tube, or do you need to insulate wire leads?

SeeMeCNC.com sells the bowden tubing on their website in custom lengths. I haven't had to source the really small diameter stuff yet.

McMaster Carr is the best source by far but I guess there is no division in Canada and the VAT is a killer.

[Jimustanguitar]

Is it a controlled product that cannot be shipped internationally, or is it just hard to locate?

I'm sure that if you contact SeeMeCNC, they can ship you some in an envelope. They pack it in their Hot-end kits, so they should have some on hand.

[JonAdkins]

It just seems to be difficult to locate locally. I'm going to pick up some of the flexible fibreglass tubing as it was mentioned that that would be a good alternative. It's rated to handle 200c temperatures so it seems like this will do the trick.

Thanks for all of your help =)

[Captain Starfish]

Presumably you got the uber skinny stuff in the pack with the thermistor, so you're just looking to insulate the resistor wires up to the point where they are twisted together?

Australia has similar problems getting stuff from McMaster Carr.

I followed the logic that:
1. All I needed was a heat proof insulator that wouldn't melt and would stop accidental short circuiting of the wires against the hot end.
2. The resistors are held in place with alfoil but then ends plugged with something that's a heat proof insulator.

So I just coated the resistor wires with a little blanket of Permatex out a centimetre or so along the lead when I installed them, so the twist starts on shiny metal but it's protected back from the twist.

Early days yet, but no dramas so far.

[AndThenSome09]

You could also use some PTFE thread tape or plumbers tape. That's what I used and it is still holding strong after a few months.