4 ms·

Anyone have any examples of what they use this for? I don't have much that needs to be taped AND fireproof.

jcims 4y ago
Had the same question. I always have a roll of that aluminum tape around and find uses for it in hot spots. This seems like it could be better in cases where there’s some flex. It’s probably got a lot higher tensile strength than most tapes, too.
CamperBob2 4y ago
If, say, you had a crystal oscillator or voltage reference that is temperature-compensated or oven-stabilized, but also vulnerable to short-term instability due to convection currents or other airflow-related issues, you might wrap it in this type of tape, or use the tape to secure an aluminized heat wrap material that doesn't adhere well enough on its own. Or if you're out of https://www.grainger.com/product/3M-Duct-Tape-Nuclear-Grade-52ND50 https://www.grainger.com/product/3M-Duct-Tape-Nuclear-Grade-...? and need something in a pinch. Obscure thing to see here, for sure.
waiwai933 4y ago
The recommended applications seem like they make sense? > * Permanent sealing of high temperature ducts or chambers > * Applications requiring heat treatment followed by clean removal of the tape with little or no stain > * Protect surfaces against abrasion > * High temperature masking > * Bundling, holding and wire harnessing
deleted 4y ago
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exmadscientist 4y ago
It is expensive enough that you only want to use it when necessary, but they [1] built this place [0] with it. The hot water drill they used to bore into the Antarctic ice cycled between +100 degrees C and -40 degrees C daily, which caused it to develop leaks. This tape is one of the few materials that can survive in those conditions and hold the thing together. Nothing else they tried could do it. [0]: https://icecube.wisc.edu/ https://icecube.wisc.edu/ [1]: http://www.psl.wisc.edu/projects/large/icecube http://www.psl.wisc.edu/projects/large/icecube
- twawaaay 4y ago
  These specialty tapes seem expensive but when you need them you need them and nothing else will help. And then the price does not matter that much.
- joshvm 4y ago
  Winterover '20-21 here (there are other WOs on HN). We call it "driller tape" because it's was used all the time when the strings were installed (i.e. during drilling). Generally useful stuff for sticking things outdoors, though you do need to be quick with it. We also have a lot of teflon coated cable on station because everything else goes rock solid within a few minutes in winter. I rewired a bunch of people's heated goggles with that stuff (with an adapter for an off-head battery) because the factory cabling would break. However it's not made by 3M, the stuff we have at Pole now is Nitto P-212 [0][1]. It's possible we or other experiments used 3M in the past - given it's been a decade since we broke the ice - but the stuff on station definitely has that blue/white branding on the inside of the roll. Just to give an idea of how oddly stringent we are down there, and how experimental a lot of this is - regular things break all the time even in relatively controlled environments. Simple solutions like that tape are preferred where possible. The year before I wintered, the IceCube summer crew had to replace over 100 PSU fans in the cluster with equivalent Noctuas because the OEM ones would fail weekly. We did the same with DOM power supplies - I think we use exclusively Meanwell now. Never had any issues with those in my deployment, so it made quite a big difference. It's a harsh continent :) [0]: https://www.nitto.com/eu/en/products/e_parts/heat_resistant020/ https://www.nitto.com/eu/en/products/e_parts/heat_resistant0... [1]: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annals-of-glaciology/article/icecube-enhanced-hot-water-drill-functional-description/F2A93B250A9FDB4E8A94101787BA3A68 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annals-of-glaciology...
  - exmadscientist 4y ago
    To be fair I never spent time on the Pole myself (though I did get to ship one piece of Irreplaceable Science Stuff* thataway...) (*Containing punch cards! Real genuine punch cards! ...as shims.), I just spent some time about a decade ago onsite in China with Jeff, where he talked quite a bit about driller's tape and how we didn't have any there in China. I tracked down the stuff myself based on his description, so I'm not surprised if I got the specific manufacturer wrong.
dtgriscom 4y ago
Myself, I often use it as a back-up strip for submerged arc welding. (Well, I would if I did any submerged arc welding...)
code_duck 4y ago
I recall running into glass cloth tape, and it having some savvy use in glassblowing… but I can’t remember what.

Had the same question. I always have a roll of that aluminum tape around and find uses for it in hot spots. This seems like it could be better in cases where there’s some flex. It’s probably got a lot higher tensile strength than most tapes, too.

CamperBob2 4y ago

If, say, you had a crystal oscillator or voltage reference that is temperature-compensated or oven-stabilized, but also vulnerable to short-term instability due to convection currents or other airflow-related issues, you might wrap it in this type of tape, or use the tape to secure an aluminized heat wrap material that doesn't adhere well enough on its own. Or if you're out of https://www.grainger.com/product/3M-Duct-Tape-Nuclear-Grade-52ND50 https://www.grainger.com/product/3M-Duct-Tape-Nuclear-Grade-...? and need something in a pinch. Obscure thing to see here, for sure.

waiwai933 4y ago

The recommended applications seem like they make sense? > * Permanent sealing of high temperature ducts or chambers > * Applications requiring heat treatment followed by clean removal of the tape with little or no stain > * Protect surfaces against abrasion > * High temperature masking > * Bundling, holding and wire harnessing

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

exmadscientist 4y ago

It is expensive enough that you only want to use it when necessary, but they [1] built this place [0] with it. The hot water drill they used to bore into the Antarctic ice cycled between +100 degrees C and -40 degrees C daily, which caused it to develop leaks. This tape is one of the few materials that can survive in those conditions and hold the thing together. Nothing else they tried could do it. [0]: https://icecube.wisc.edu/ https://icecube.wisc.edu/ [1]: http://www.psl.wisc.edu/projects/large/icecube http://www.psl.wisc.edu/projects/large/icecube

twawaaay 4y ago
These specialty tapes seem expensive but when you need them you need them and nothing else will help. And then the price does not matter that much.
joshvm 4y ago
Winterover '20-21 here (there are other WOs on HN). We call it "driller tape" because it's was used all the time when the strings were installed (i.e. during drilling). Generally useful stuff for sticking things outdoors, though you do need to be quick with it. We also have a lot of teflon coated cable on station because everything else goes rock solid within a few minutes in winter. I rewired a bunch of people's heated goggles with that stuff (with an adapter for an off-head battery) because the factory cabling would break. However it's not made by 3M, the stuff we have at Pole now is Nitto P-212 [0][1]. It's possible we or other experiments used 3M in the past - given it's been a decade since we broke the ice - but the stuff on station definitely has that blue/white branding on the inside of the roll. Just to give an idea of how oddly stringent we are down there, and how experimental a lot of this is - regular things break all the time even in relatively controlled environments. Simple solutions like that tape are preferred where possible. The year before I wintered, the IceCube summer crew had to replace over 100 PSU fans in the cluster with equivalent Noctuas because the OEM ones would fail weekly. We did the same with DOM power supplies - I think we use exclusively Meanwell now. Never had any issues with those in my deployment, so it made quite a big difference. It's a harsh continent :) [0]: https://www.nitto.com/eu/en/products/e_parts/heat_resistant020/ https://www.nitto.com/eu/en/products/e_parts/heat_resistant0... [1]: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annals-of-glaciology/article/icecube-enhanced-hot-water-drill-functional-description/F2A93B250A9FDB4E8A94101787BA3A68 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annals-of-glaciology...
- exmadscientist 4y ago
  To be fair I never spent time on the Pole myself (though I did get to ship one piece of Irreplaceable Science Stuff* thataway...) (*Containing punch cards! Real genuine punch cards! ...as shims.), I just spent some time about a decade ago onsite in China with Jeff, where he talked quite a bit about driller's tape and how we didn't have any there in China. I tracked down the stuff myself based on his description, so I'm not surprised if I got the specific manufacturer wrong.

dtgriscom 4y ago

Myself, I often use it as a back-up strip for submerged arc welding. (Well, I would if I did any submerged arc welding...)

code_duck 4y ago

I recall running into glass cloth tape, and it having some savvy use in glassblowing… but I can’t remember what.