Introduction to Wire and Cable Materials

In today's highly electrified and information-based era, cables, as a key medium for transmitting electrical energy and signals, their performance and quality largely depend on the materials selected. Today, Wuxi Henglong Cable Materials Co., Ltd. will give a brief introduction to several important materials commonly used in cables. According to their roles in cable structures, they can be mainly divided into the following categories:

1、 Conductive materials

● Copper: Copper is one of the most commonly used materials in the manufacturing of wires and cables, due to its excellent conductivity, strong corrosion resistance, and long service life. Copper wire can be made from electrolytic copper as raw material, and can be made into low oxygen copper wire through continuous casting and rolling process, or into oxygen free copper wire through upward drawing method. Low oxygen copper wire has an oxygen content of 100-250ppm, a copper content of 99.9-9.95%, and a conductivity of 100-101%; Oxygen free copper wire has an oxygen content of 4~20ppm, a copper content of 99.96~9.99%, and a conductivity of 102%.

● Aluminum: Aluminum wires and cables have lower manufacturing costs and are lightweight, but their conductivity is not as good as copper, requiring the use of larger wire diameters. Aluminum wires used for electrical purposes generally require annealing and softening treatment, while aluminum wires used for cables usually do not require it.

● Composite materials, such as copper-clad aluminum, copper-clad steel, copper aluminum composite wire, etc., combine the advantages of copper and aluminum (or steel) to improve conductivity, reduce costs, or increase strength.

2、 Insulation material

● Plastics, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), etc., have good insulation properties and corrosion resistance, and are widely used in the insulation layer of wires and cables. PVC is one of the most common insulation materials, with a density of approximately 1.38-1.46g/cm ³.

● Rubber: Rubber has excellent insulation and heat resistance, and is suitable for manufacturing wires and cables in high-temperature environments.
Other materials such as paint, oil, synthetic resin film, paper, etc. are also commonly used as insulation materials.

3、 Protective layer material

● PVC: In addition to being used as an insulation material, PVC is also commonly used as a protective layer material to protect cables from mechanical damage, chemical corrosion, and environmental factors.

● Rubber: It also has good protective properties and is suitable for cable protection layers in specific environments.
Metals such as lead, aluminum, steel strips, etc. have higher mechanical strength and corrosion resistance, making them suitable for cables with higher protection requirements.

4、 Shielding material

● Copper wire weaving: The copper wire weaving layer can effectively reduce electromagnetic interference and improve the signal transmission quality of the cable.

● Copper tape and aluminum foil: These materials are also commonly used as shielding layers to improve the anti-interference ability of cables.

5、 Filling material

In multi-core cables, filling materials are used to fill the gaps between the insulated cores, ensuring the roundness and structural stability of the cable. Common filling materials include PP filling rope, filling strip, jute, cotton yarn, rubber strip, etc.

6、 Auxiliary materials

In the manufacturing process of cables, some auxiliary materials are also used, such as consumables used in the process, such as solvents in enameled wire paint. The selection of these materials plays a decisive role in the structure, manufacturing process performance, and service life of the cable.
In summary, the selection of cable materials requires comprehensive consideration of various factors such as the cable's usage environment, transmission requirements, and cost. Only by selecting appropriate materials can cables ensure good performance, reliability, and safety, meeting the needs of different fields and application scenarios. With the continuous advancement of technology and the development of materials science, it is believed that there will be more high-performance cable materials emerging in the future, providing better solutions for power and signal transmission.

Wuxi Henglong Cable Co., Ltd. has been engaged in the cable material production industry for more than 30 years, providing over 30 types of cable materials and supplying production materials to more than 400 cable production enterprises worldwide, including China ZTT Group, Prysmian Group (China Factory), Japan OCC, Japan Furukawa Electric, Indonesia CCSI, etc. The annual output value exceeds 350 million RMB, and it has developed into a leading cable material production supplier in China.