April 6, 1964 Electronics
[Table of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics.
See articles from Electronics,
published 1930 - 1988. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.
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Did you know that at least originally
the term "Wire-Wrap" was - and maybe still a - registered trademark of
Gardner-Denver
Company? Kynar insulation, whose full name is
Kynar polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resin, is most likely a
familiar type of insulation due to its widespread use on wire-wrap wire. It had
very recently been introduced to the electronics world when this advertisement appeared
in a 1964 issue of Electronics magazine. The contemporary name used by
its manufacturer, Arkema, is Kynar500®, and the coating's use has expanded well beyond
the electronics industry into architectural and mechanical coatings. I did a LOT
of manual wire-wrapping on Mil-Spec equipment while working as a technician at
Westinghouse Oceanic Division (now Northrop Grumman) in the
early and mid 1980s. The massive wire-wrapped board shown in the ad was done by
an automated machine. There were times that the guys in my work area (code-named
"HK") had to do rework based on an engineering circuit change. Most often it was
a nightmare because the manner in which the machines wrapped wires on posts (sometimes
three-high) required unwrapping and then re-wrapping dozens of wires because the
ones we really needed to access were below a wrap that was at the top of the post.
Workmanship standards prohibited (for good reason) unwrapping and then re-wrapping
the same wire because the sharp edges of the square posts (which created the gas-tight
connections) weakened the wire during straightening. Other than the dread caused
by needing to rework them, those machine-wrapped boards looked awesome.
Kynar Pennsalt Vinylidene Fluoride Resin Ad
Machine-wired backplanes for "Burroughs"
Computers now use hook-up wire insulated with "Kynar,"* Pennsalt vinylidene fluoride
resin. Why "Kynar"? No cold flow or cut-through when wire is pulled tight around
sharp corners. "Kynar" is tough ... withstands tension of machine application to
backplane. Has U.L. approval for "Burroughs" B-5000 computer operation.
Each "Burroughs" backplane is checked visually, tested electronically. Machine
wrapping with Gardner-Denver "Wire-Wrap"† drastically reduces incidence of error;
concentrates 100,000 circuits in same space that formerly allowed only 10,000 circuits.
For more data on "Kynar" ... sources of hook-up wire insulated with "Kynar,"
write Plastics Department, Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation, Three Penn Center, Philadelphia,
Pa. 19102.
"Burroughs" is a Registered trademark of Burroughs Corporation.
Kynar ... a fluoroplastic that's tough!
* "Kynar" is a Registered trademark of Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation.
Pennsalt Chemicals
Established 1850
† "Wire-Wrap" is a Registered trademark of Gardner-Denver Company.
Posted February 21, 2019
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