This is why I'm glad I shared this article, because it's the one thing on HN I'm qualified to give an opinion on - making harnesses is my job! The wire insulation is an extruded polymer, not a heat shrink, so we can't use the same material as nice as that would be.
We had an issue with Airbus a few months ago where their own approved heat-shrink actually failed the flammability new testing (it smokes profusely...) We can now only use it in 50mm increments for protecting wire bundles from potential high abrasion sections (around connecters, through holes, grommets etc.) The weight aspect has never been discussed. It's so insubstantial that it's not even accounted for on our units. Occasionally we'll use shielded round-it for high voltage cables to prevent arcing, or sensitive data cables to prevent noise, but below that round-it is still wire and lacing cord. It's simply the most practical assembly method. The same applies to freighter ship looms too; lacing is not just relevant the aerospace industry!
We had an issue with Airbus a few months ago where their own approved heat-shrink actually failed the flammability new testing (it smokes profusely...) We can now only use it in 50mm increments for protecting wire bundles from potential high abrasion sections (around connecters, through holes, grommets etc.) The weight aspect has never been discussed. It's so insubstantial that it's not even accounted for on our units. Occasionally we'll use shielded round-it for high voltage cables to prevent arcing, or sensitive data cables to prevent noise, but below that round-it is still wire and lacing cord. It's simply the most practical assembly method. The same applies to freighter ship looms too; lacing is not just relevant the aerospace industry!