Effective Pressure During Tape Application

The calculator above can be used as an aid to determine the effective pressure during the tape winding application before shrink force and also provides material yield based on the dimensions of your part, width of tape and the overlap.

Variables Affecting Compressive Force

• Tape Thickness: The thicker the tape, the more compressive force as it shrinks
• Number of layers of tape: Same principle as using thicker tape, more layers = more compaction
• Shrink percentage of the tape: The higher the shrink percentage of the tape, the higher the shrink force
• Taping tension: Increasing taping tension increases the compressive force on the part.  Applying the tape under tension will immediately begin to compact the part.  When the tape begins to shrink under application of heat, the compaction force applied to the part will increase further. 
• Diameter of object being wrapped: Inversely related to shrink force, the larger the diameter of the part being wrapped, the lower the shrink force. Large diameters usually require thicker tapes and/or more layers of tape to achieve desired compaction.