Design and use of cable ties

The most common cable tie consists of a flexible nylon tape with an integrated linear ratchet gear rack, and on one end a pawl within a small open case. Once the pointed tip of the cable tie has been pulled through the case and past the ratchet, it is prevented from being pulled back unless a large amount of force is applied; the resulting loop may only be pulled tighter. This allows several cables to be bound together into a cable bundle and/or to form a cable tree.

A cable tie tensioning device or tool may be used to apply a cable tie with a specific degree of tension. The tool may cut off the extra tail flush with the head in order to avoid a sharp edge which might otherwise cause injury. Light-duty tools are operated by squeezing the handle with the fingers, while heavy-duty versions can be powered by compressed air or a solenoid, to prevent repetitive strain injury.

In order to increase resistance to ultraviolet light in outdoor applications, nylon containing a minimum of 2% carbon black is used to protect the polymer chains and extend the cable tie's service life.^{[citation needed]} Blue cable ties are supplied to the food industry and contain a metal additive so they can be detected by industrial metal detectors.^[2] Cable ties made of ETFE (Tefzel) are used in radiation-rich environments. Red cable ties made of ECTFE (Halar) are used for plenum cabling.

Stainless steel cable ties are also available for flameproof applications—coated stainless ties are available to prevent galvanic attack from dissimilar metals (e.g. zinc-coated cable tray).^[1]

Plastic handcuffs are based on the cable tie design and are used by law enforcement to restrain prisoners.^[3] Cable ties are also sometimes used to prevent hubcaps (also known as wheel trims) from falling off a moving vehicle, and some are sold specifically for this purpose.^[4] The use of cable ties in medicolegal cases is infrequent, being involved in situations of neck compression or restraint.^[5]