Major Varieties of Copper Wire Used in Electrical Industry

Copper is a very useful chemical element that is ductile and possesses very good heat and electrical conductivity. Copper find its application across diverse industries like in construction industry as a building material, in metallurgy as a constituent of metal alloy, as an industrial raw material, and most importantly in the electrical industry for making electrical wires. In fact, copper is considered an ideal metal for making wires due to the various benefits that it provides.

These days there are many types of copper wires used in the electrical industry. Some major varieties out of them are mentioned below:

Tin Coated Copper Wire: The manufacturing process of tin coated wire involves three stages. In the first stage a specific size of wire is drawn by using Electrolyte (C.C. Rod). In the second stage, annealing process is done, and finally tin platting is done. Tin coated copper wires are primarily used in industrial machinery like heaters, high temperature instruments, etc.

Tinsel Copper Wire: This wire is manufactured by wrapping multiple strands of thin copper foil around a textile core. This wire is used in application areas where greatest mechanical flexibility is required. The use of this wire is very popular in telephone cords, especially the handset cords. The use of this wire could also be seen in audio devices like speakers, loudspeakers, and tweeters.

Braided Copper Wire: As the name suggests, braided copper wire is manufactured by braiding several wires. Braided wire is most commonly used as a flexible connector for electrical appliances, electric stoves, and storage batteries. These wires can be designed as per individual requirements.

Flat Copper Wire: This wire is also known by another name, viz., copper flat fire. It has excellent thermal stability and is widely used for making the commutator of DC motors and also in motor amplifiers. The enameled flat copper wire is mostly used in the windings of several industrial machineries, transformers, and refrigerant resisting electric equipment.

Stranded Copper Wire: This wire is composed of several small gauge wires, those when combined together form a large conductor. Stranded wire is quite flexible, yet durable and long-lasting in comparison to other wires of same diameter. This durability comes from the presence of thinner conductors in the stranded wire. Stranded wire is mainly used as a construction material.