Medical tubes shrink at lower temperatures. (Keeping Up with Extrusion).

Anew line of micro-walled tubing shrinks at far lower temperatures than anything else on the market, says its maker, Advanced Polymers Inc., Salem, N.H. Micro-walled polyester tubing shrinks 5% at 185 F and up to 15% at 200-300 F, whereas conventional thicker-walled tube shrinks at 300-650 F. Lower shrink temperature is important because catheters and other medical devices secured by the shrink tube are often made of heat-sensitive materials like AtoFina's Pebax polyetheramide TPE. The low-temperature shrink tube comes in over 350 variations with walls 0.0002-0.003 in. thick and ODs from 0.008 to 1.0 in.