IEC 60684-3-216:2019

Overview

IEC 60684-3-216:2019 is an IEC specification for flexible insulating sleeving for electrical purposes - specifically heat-shrinkable, flame‑retarded, limited‑fire‑hazard sleeving with a thermal endurance rating of 105 °C. It defines four classes of sleeving (A–D) by wall thickness and shrink ratio, typical colour options, and the property requirements that materials must meet to be considered compliant.

Key scope details:

• Class A: thin wall, 2:1 shrink ratio, recovered ID up to 102.0 mm
• Class B: medium wall, 2:1 shrink ratio, recovered ID up to 60.0 mm
• Class C: thick wall, 2:1 shrink ratio, recovered ID up to 51.0 mm
• Class D: medium wall, 3:1 shrink ratio, recovered ID up to 40.0 mm
• Normally supplied colours: black, red, green, blue, white, yellow, green/yellow
• Notable change in this edition: pre‑test oven shrink temperature was raised to 200 ± 5 °C for the specified shrink procedure.

Key topics and requirements

The standard concentrates on measurable properties and test methods (many referenced to IEC 60684‑2). Major technical areas include:

• Dimensional and mass requirements for expanded and recovered internal diameters and wall thickness (per class and size codes).
• Mechanical properties: tensile strength, elongation at break, secant modulus and dimensional stability.
• Thermal performance: heat‑shock/thermal endurance tests and specified pre‑shrink conditions.
• Low‑temperature flexibility: resistance to cracking after conditioning at low temperatures.
• Electrical properties: breakdown voltage and volume resistivity requirements.
• Fire performance: flame propagation limits (time and length burned) and oxygen index requirements to ensure limited fire hazard.
• Chemical resistance: resistance to selected fluids and aging tests as referenced.
• Conformance testing is normally carried out on specified representative sizes and colours (black samples for dimensional/physical tests; colour fastness assessed for all colours).

Applications and users

This sheet is intended for:

• Manufacturers of heat‑shrink tubing and cable accessories who need to design or certify products to IEC requirements.
• Design and procurement engineers specifying heat‑shrinkable, flame‑retarded sleeving for wire harnesses, splices, terminations, insulation repair, and component protection in industrial, electrical distribution and general electronics applications.
• Test laboratories and conformity assessors performing performance, safety and quality verification.
• OEMs and maintenance teams selecting sleeving for applications where limited fire hazard and controlled thermal endurance are required.

Related standards

• IEC 60684‑1: Definitions and general requirements
• IEC 60684‑2: Methods of test
• IEC 60757: Colour designation
• ISO 1817, ISO 846: referenced test methods for fluid resistance and biological action

Keywords: IEC 60684-3-216:2019, flexible insulating sleeving for electrical purposes, heat-shrinkable flame-retarded limited-fire-hazard sleeving, heat‑shrink tubing standards, sleeving specifications.