What is Metal Detectable Cable Ties
Metal detectable cable ties are made of nylon 66 material and intentionally added with metal components during the production process. This key design enables them to be effectively identified by X-ray detection systems, metal detectors, or simple magnet adsorption tests on the production line. Even if metal detectable cable ties break and produce tiny fragments, they can still be reliably detected because of the metal powder inside. This product is mainly used in food processing and pharmaceutical industries with strict foreign body control, aiming to eliminate potential foreign body contamination risks from the source, and is an important tool to ensure the quality of end products and consumer safety.
Material
The material of metal detectable cable ties is mostly composed of nylon 66 and magnetic metal powder. Nylon 66 accounts for a large proportion, maintaining most of the properties of nylon cable ties. The proportion of metal powder needs to be ≥11%, and it must be evenly distributed in the cable tie metal detectable during processing. Due to modification, the flame retardant grade is 94HB, and the high and low temperature resistance is also relatively weakened.
Structure and Size Table
Structure:
- Self-locking structure: Most metal detectable cable ties belong to this type. Through the internal ratchet locking mechanism, they are fixed once and suitable for long-term use in factories.
- Releasable structure: A small part has the need for repeated use, we can customize it, but the tensile strength is relatively weaker, only suitable for short-term or temporary use.
Size:
The specifications of cable ties metal detectable are as follows, with 7 commonly used sizes. Of course, as long as the minimum order quantity is met, any model can be customized.
Metal detectable cable tie length: usually 4 inches (100mm) to 15 inches (380mm), and can also be customized according to customer requirements.
Metal detectable cable tie width: ranging from 2.5mm to 7.6mm, suitable for fixing objects of different sizes.
Metal detectable cable tie thickness: usually 1mm to 1.4mm, the longer and wider the cable ties metal detectable, the thicker they are, to ensure tensile strength.
| Type | Length (Inch) | Length (mm) | Width (mm) | Max. Bundle Dia. (mm) | Min Tensile Strength (lbs) | Min Tensile Strength (kgs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD-3x100MD | 4″ | 100 | 2.5 | 22 | 18 | 8 |
| WD-4x150MD | 6″ | 150 | 3.6 | 35 | 40 | 18 |
| WD-4x200MD | 8″ | 200 | 3.6 | 50 | 40 | 18 |
| WD-5x200MD | 8″ | 200 | 4.8 | 50 | 50 | 22 |
| WD-5x300MD | 12″ | 300 | 4.8 | 82 | 50 | 22 |
| WD-5x380MD | 15″ | 380 | 4.8 | 102 | 50 | 22 |
| WD-8x380MD | 15″ | 380 | 7.6 | 102 | 100 | 45 |
Advantages and Application Fields
Advantages:
- Enhanced safety: Can be detected by metal detectors and X-ray inspection, preventing metal detectable zip ties from becoming foreign bodies causing contamination.
- Compliance with regulations: Meets food safety standards and other industry quality requirements, especially in food and pharmaceutical fields.
- Strength and reliability: Self-locking design, sufficient and stable tensile strength, suitable for long-term wiring and bundling in factories.
Application fields:
- Food processing and packaging lines: Used to fix equipment sensor cables and pipelines in meat sorting and packaged food sealing processes. The metal detectability ensures that any accidentally broken fragments can be detected in time, fundamentally preventing the risk of plastic foreign bodies mixing in.
- Pharmaceutical and health product manufacturing: Widely used for bundling cables, gas pipes, and fixing equipment labels on production lines in clean areas. Even tiny fragments can be 100% intercepted by high-precision metal detectors or X-ray machines, ensuring patient medication safety.
- Tobacco and daily chemical industries: Used for organizing complex wiring inside high-speed equipment such as cigarette machines and filling lines. Their unique metal detectability prevents contamination of final products such as soap and cosmetics, significantly reducing customer complaints and batch recalls caused by contamination.
How to Choose the Right Metal Detectable Cable Ties
- Choose by material: Select those with metal powder content ≥11%. The higher the content, the better the sensitivity of metal detectability. Usually, complete metal detectable cable ties and ≥2mm fragments should be 100% detectable.
- Choose by size: Select the appropriate length and width according to the size of the items to be fixed. Larger or heavier items require higher tensile strength, and wider and thicker metal detectable zip ties should be chosen.
- Choose by structure: If long-term fixing is required, choose self-locking metal detectable zip tie; if flexible adjustment or repeated use is needed, choose the releasable type.
FAQ
Q1. What is the working principle of metal detectable tie wraps?
A1. By adding magnetic metal powder components into the material, they are given the performance of metal detectability.
Q2. Which industries are suitable for using metal detectable tie wraps?
A2. They are mainly used in industries such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, and medical fields where prevention of foreign body contamination and high safety requirements are necessary.
Q3. Apart from blue metal detectable cable ties, what other colors can be customized?
A3. The stock is usually blue. As long as the minimum order quantity of a single specification and single color is met, any color can be customized, such as red metal detectable cable ties.
Q4. Is the metal detectable cable tie suitable for outdoor use?
A4. Not suitable. After modification, the material performance is not as good as ordinary nylon 66 cable ties, and it is only suitable for indoor use.