additional wraps can be added easily. If you have
Wire wraps are normally removed with a wire-
to remove a lower wire wrap, first remove each
wrap removal tool (fig. 10-3). This prevents stress
wrap above it. Do not remove a wire wrap by try-
and possible damage to the wire-wrap pin.
ing to pull it along its axis (see fig. 10-4).
However, if you have to remove the wire by hand,
Remember, each wrap is easily identified because
unwrap the wire without applying stress to the pin.
it is formed from the multiple turns of a single
You can best accomplish this by gently uncoiling
solid wire.
the wire with a slight rotating movement over the
When removing a wire wrap from a pin, you
point of the pin. Make sure that the manner in
must be careful not to disturb other wraps on the
which the wire is removed does not cause move-
same or adjacent pins or to dislodge the pin. This
ment of the pin itself (fig. 10-4). If a pin is bent,
it will probably break when an effort is made to
straighten it. If a pin breaks, first ensure that the
broken length is not left in the wiring to cause
Advantages
possible shorts. Then take the necessary steps to
install a new pin. Normally, inner wire wraps are
Some of the advantages of wire wraps are as
placed near the bottom of the pin to ensure that
follows:
1. Simplified technique for repairs (wires are
merely uncoiled to remove and replaced
with the proper simple tools)
2. No solder spill (makes repairs possible
without removing components)
3. No danger of components overheating as
during soldering
4. More in-equipment repairs and faster
repair times
5. No danger of burning personnel (as from
a hot soldering iron)
6. Durable electrical contact (as good as have
nique, and superior to those connections
Figure 10-3.--Wire-wrap removal with wire-wrap removal
tool.
Disadvantages
Some of the disadvantages of wire wraps are
as follows:
1. Use of solid wire (increases the likelihood
of wire breakage)
2. Problems with insulation
3. Unsuitable to subminiature assemblies
4. Lack of a wire color code in machine-
wrapped assemblies
5. The necessity of clipping off the wrapped
portion of the wire and stripping the insula-
tion back to expose new wire in making the
next wrap. (If the wire is too short to
permit this, it must be replaced. The reason
the same portion of wire is not reused in
the new wrap is that this area will have been
weakened structurally by nicks from its
previous use and will be weakened further
if reused.)
Figure 10-4.--Manual method of removing a wire wrap.
10-4