Should Zip Ties (Cable Ties) Have a Warning Label? [Archive]

Wayne C.

06-11-2007, 09:47

Should zip ties have a warning label?

As recent events at BE6 have shown, young people have a tendency to do less than safe things with them.

Your thoughts and stories......

:rolleyes:

Mark McLeod

06-11-2007, 10:02

It might be more efficent to put the warning labels on the humans...
"Delicate-handle with care"

Alan Anderson

06-11-2007, 10:10

WARNING
These devices are designed to wrap tightly around objects and not let go. Do not use them on things which should not be wrapped tightly, or on things which should be let go if they are wrapped tightly.

Actually, I think the standard Klingon warning label ought to be sufficient: yIQIpQo' (don't be stupid)

DanDon

06-11-2007, 10:12

I sincerely believe that when using zip ties for such nefarious and fun-giving purposes, all tools allowing these ties to be removed should be hidden away from said fun-goers. This would allow safe usage of these zip ties without providing for a chance of something like what happened to person M to occur.

The only damage to come out of this solution might be damage to the ego :D.

As for stories? I'll have to dig up a picture from last build season later today..

Alivia

06-11-2007, 10:26

I don't know if they should put warning labels on the zip ties, but people should be careful how they use them!

One time, while setting our robot up on a float for a Christmas parade, a team member thought it would be funny to put a zip tie on my wrist.
REAL TIGHT.
It was not fun, especially since it took a couple of minutes to get something to get it off!!

:)

Cynette

06-11-2007, 16:33

...a team member thought it would be funny to put a zip tie on my wrist.
REAL TIGHT.
It was not fun, especially since it took a couple of minutes to get something to get it off!!I also saw this happen at IRI, so fast, and then there was a zip tie around a wrist, turning pink, turning white, turning blue-purple as we all scrambled to dig for a tool to cut it off safely.

Somehow it just reinforced my perception that horseplay is never a good thing. :mad:

Richard Wallace

06-11-2007, 16:57

... and then there was a zip tie around a wrist, turning pink, turning white, turning blue-purple as we all scrambled to dig for a tool to cut it off safely. ...Bandage scissors (http://www.amazon.com/Listermate-Bandage-Scissors-Black-Handles/dp/B00062N45K) are a good thing to have in the toolbox. Most drugstores have 'em in stock and they're usually about $5. Or if someone on your team has a nurse or EMT in the family there might be some extras available.

And Cynette is right, horseplay is never a good thing.

Uberbots

06-11-2007, 17:02

You can reverse zip ties by lifting the little locking mechanism in there... i have gotten out of many of messes this way

Koko Ed

06-11-2007, 17:04

Should zip ties have a warning label?

As recent events at BE6 have shown, young people have a tendency to do less than safe things with them.

Your thoughts and stories......

:rolleyes:

The question should be: Should kids come with warning labels?
They tend to do silly dangerous things when they herd together, y'know.:rolleyes:

Zyik

06-11-2007, 18:25

I'm all for the "don't be stupid" label. Should work out well. :rolleyes:

As was said on the picture thread about this, 973 has experience with Zip-ties and emergency room visits.
- A student decided to tie a zip tie around his hand. It was tight enough to be hard to get off, but not tight enough to cut of circulation. However, to get it off the student got out his pocket knife... and cut down on the zip tie. Yes, this means he sliced his hand right open. I do believe stitches were involved after the mad rush to the emergency room.

Molten

06-11-2007, 18:31

Look at it this way. We have to put it on coffee, ladders, food, and countless other things. Why not put them on zip ties? Just a little print saves the company from law suits. That way the idiots of the world don't do something stupid and then turn a profit off of their own ignorance.

CraigHickman

06-11-2007, 18:38

technoL

06-11-2007, 18:52

So what is the proper way to remove yourself from a ziptie? My hands got ziptied while unalert during my freshman year at the Palmetto Regional 2006. I actually had to run up to the top of the stadium from the field level, almost falling several times to find someone with a pocket knife to free me. Is there really a safe way to get them off?

I really don't think they should have warning labels though. Its almost like putting a warning label on duct tape.

Jay H 237

06-11-2007, 18:52

- A student decided to tie a zip tie around his hand. It was tight enough to be hard to get off, but not tight enough to cut of circulation. However, to get it off the student got out his pocket knife... and cut down on the zip tie. Yes, this means he sliced his hand right open. I do believe stitches were involved after the mad rush to the emergency room.

You can slice yourself right open with zip ties too. Sometimes when you cut them and you leave a little tab or tail of the tie sticking out of the lock it can be a razor.

We use zip ties everyday in work with our robots and the IGUS energy chains. I've gotten sliced pretty good on several occasions. Some people have needed stitches, I've been lucky and only needed butterflys so far.

I use a small 4" pair of snips when cutting them as they can get real close. This way if I brush up against one or have to reach down inside one on our injection molding robots at work my hand and arm won't look like they were attacked by cats! ;)

basicxman

06-11-2007, 18:55

i think that if people are dumb enough to do something like this then a warning label isn't going to stop them

besides zipties are small do you think there going to be that readable?

Richard Wallace

06-11-2007, 18:55

Personally, I'm against the use of warning labels in general. It's a slightly negative view, but the population issue would be solved if there were no more warning labels on anything... that would also raise the average IQ.I like some warning labels. My all time favorite is this one (http://www.alamy.com/stock_photography/2/4/Bruce+Benedict/AT7A1D.html), familiar to anyone who has driven down Pike's Peak.

artdutra04

06-11-2007, 18:58

I think the better question to ask is would warning labels actually protect people from themselves?

http://www.team228.org/images/emoticons/confused.gif

Jay H 237

06-11-2007, 19:06

I think the better question to ask is would warning labels actually protect people from themselves?

http://www.team228.org/images/emoticons/confused.gif

That's only if they actually read them, understand them, and follow them. ;)

No matter what you do and how well you try to protect them,
some people are just out there to be candidates for the Darwin Awards! :rolleyes:

dtengineering

06-11-2007, 20:29

Zip ties don't bind people,
PEOPLE bind people. :]

Jason

hipsterjr

06-11-2007, 20:31

Personally, I'm against the use of warning labels in general. It's a slightly negative view, but the population issue would be solved if there were no more warning labels on anything... that would also raise the average IQ.

So, a "Modest Proposal" of sorts. I like the way you think. I believe that if you're not stupid with them, you can build half your robot from zip ties. (by the end of the championship at Atlanta, zip ties were holding half our bot together after getting beaten around:rolleyes: ).

wendymom

06-11-2007, 23:40

We zip tied one of our students to a chair during dinner break after IRI. It was kinda funny...theres a picture somewhere.

(no students were harmed during this act of horseplay)

Rickertsen2

07-11-2007, 01:00

JohnBoucher

07-11-2007, 05:17

They do make a tool specifically for removing cable ties without cutting the bundled wires or your bundled friends :ahh:

http://www.actfs.com/CatalogProducts.asp?nProductsID=173

StephLee

07-11-2007, 07:26

Zip ties by themselves don't seem to tempt my team too dangerously by themselves...zip ties plus a zip tie gun, however...now THOSE are tempting. Hence the zip ties on my shoe laces, every pencil at our shop, several locks of hair, a few near-misses on fingers, and random places on the robot...:)

AJ R

07-11-2007, 08:03

It is not only zip ties, but other things used for cable management. We had one person on our team stick two fingers in a thing used to bundle wires. It is a braided nylon tube that works like a finger trap. While he was stuck in it, it was fun to pull him around, but he eventually got out.

JaneYoung

07-11-2007, 11:25

Bungee cords can be dangerous if not handled correctly.

Warning labels can only do so much, it comes down to individual safety practices and responsibility.

KathieK

07-11-2007, 12:33

Warning labels don't usually help. Labels come on bags of balloons, which are meant to be decorations, not toys, and are not usually printed on each balloon. Yet everywhere they are handing out helium balloons, parents are seen giving one to little Junior, who promptly puts it in his mouth. Which is why I gave up making balloon animals and started doing only face painting when I was a clown. When a balloon is popped it explodes (as seen here (http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/imaging/23.html)) and can easily be inhaled.
It's like putting the Warning: Hot labels on coffee cups. What happened to common sense?

whytheheckme

07-11-2007, 13:22

I'm glad I don't have this problem because I use Bar-Loks.
:p

Adama

07-11-2007, 14:27

We tied all our wires down with wax Telcom string. No cuts and no hurt wrists:yikes:

JesseK

07-11-2007, 14:34

The answer is no, we do not want to pay higher prices for warning labels on zip ties.

vivek16

07-11-2007, 19:09

no. its like putting warning labels on knives. or fire. while they are useful they can be harmful in the hands of a stupid person.

-vivek

zakk

07-11-2007, 19:30

ah i agree with many of you about this subject, there shouldnt be warning labels, because it would bring up the price, and do you think that anybody ever reads the warning labels on stuff intentionally? and how many things that do have warning labels prevent people from doing stupid stuff with them?

but im not going to bash us special people out there, because i have a story too.
one time when i was probably about 7 i decided that zip ties resembled rings so i put them on ALL 10 OF MY FINGERS and pulled tight. long story short, my fingertips were turning purple and i nearly had to go to the emergency room, but thanks to papaw's knife, i didn't.

Blue_Mist

07-11-2007, 23:48

You can reverse zip ties by lifting the little locking mechanism in there... i have gotten out of many of messes this way

This usually requires a really small screwdriver or the suchlike. However, I must say that one of my favorite tools of all time (during Robotics or not, though I must say it is getting closer and closer to no difference) is the ubiquitous paper clip. I keep a large sharpened one (zip tie opener!) and many others of various sizes with me wherever I go. :D And yes, I have a fixation on trying to reuse zip ties whenever I can.

AdamC

08-11-2007, 10:03

I think it's preposterous to put warning labels on zipties. As always, responsible use of tools is imperative in FIRST, and zipties are no different. Needless to say, we've made more than our share of ziptie chains, ziptie art, and ziptie pen rings. However, ziptying your finger and cutting off circulation is a very stupid idea.
Also, ziptie reuse is rather hard in FIRST, since you have to cut your zipties to length. However, for anybody with a fixation for ziptie removal (like me, since I don't like breaking zipties when pulling them apart), use the tip of a knife, or micro screwdriver.