Tinsel Wire
Tin-Plated Tinsel Wire
Tin layer protects the copper foil surface from oxidation through storage and handling.
View specifications
Tinsel Wire
Bare Copper Tinsel Wire
Highest conductivity per unit of foil in the range, with no plating layer in the current path.
Overview
What Bare Copper Tinsel Wire Is For
Bare copper tinsel wire is the baseline construction in the range: ultra-thin bare copper foil wound over a soft textile fiber core. It is what you specify when conductivity and cost matter more than long-term surface protection, and when the conductor will be terminated soon after it is made rather than sitting in stock. Because the conductive layer is on the outside of a fiber core rather than packed into a solid centre, it keeps the bending strength and tensile strength advantage over a traditional solid wire of comparable size, with a low specific gravity that keeps mass off moving assemblies.
Value
Why Engineers Choose This Construction
Key benefits
- Highest conductivity per unit of foil in the range, with no plating layer in the current path.
- Lower cost than plated and alloy versions where surface protection is not the constraint.
- Bending strength and tensile strength greatly improved over a solid wire of comparable size.
- Low specific gravity keeps the conductor light in moving assemblies.
Problems it solves
- A solid conductor of the same gauge fatigues at the flex point; foil over a fiber core does not.
- Resistance and outer diameter can be met together instead of traded against each other.
- Oxidation resistance and weldability stay workable at very fine gauges.
Fit
Where It Is Used
Application scenarios
- Speaker lead-out wire
- Earphone and in-ear monitor cable
- Consumer electronics internal wiring
- Drag chain and robot cable cores
Who it is for
- Driver and transducer manufacturers
- Consumer electronics cable assemblers
- Buyers optimising conductor cost at a fixed resistance
Engineering
Construction And Materials
Technical features
- Foil-over-fiber construction: bare copper foil on the surface, a soft textile fiber core inside.
- Single-layer or multi-layer copper foil structure.
- Can be twisted into strands or mixed with copper wires to raise bending strength.
- Low specific gravity, high bending strength and high tensile strength for the size.
- No plating layer, so the foil surface is bare copper and the conductor is best terminated without a long shelf interval.
Materials
- Metal foil: bare copper foil
- Fiber core: nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber
Specifications
Bare Copper Tinsel Wire Technical Data
Values that depend on your application are set against your targets rather than fixed here.
| Construction | Metal foil wound over soft textile fiber core |
|---|---|
| Surface Material | bare copper foil |
| Single Wire Outer Diameter | 0.04 mm - 0.40 mm |
| Foil Structure | Single-layer or multi-layer |
| Fiber Core Options | nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber |
| Stranding | Single, twisted into tinsel strands, or mixed with copper wires |
| Plating | None (bare copper foil) |
| Conductor Resistance | Customized to your target |
| Minimum Order For Samples | None |
Production
How It Is Made And Checked
Manufacturing process
- Select the metal foil material and the fiber core for the electrical and thermal requirement.
- Draw and roll the copper to extremely fine foil.
- Apply plating where specified, at a coating thickness between 0.3 um and 2 um.
- Wind the foil around the soft textile fiber core, single layer or multi-layer.
- Twist into tinsel wire strands, or mix with copper wires, where extra bending strength is needed.
- Test resistance, tensile strength and elongation, then pack with a loading report.
Quality control
- DC resistance measured on a resistance tester to confirm the conductor lands on the agreed value.
- Tensile testing for tensile strength, yield strength, elongation and elongation after fracture.
- Elongation rate measured during stretching to evaluate mechanical properties and mechanical strength.
- Salt spray testing where the finished cable will face a corrosive environment.
- A comprehensive loading report issued with every shipment.
Customization
What You Can Change
Customization options
- Conductor resistance set to your target value.
- Outer diameter held to your ceiling.
- Tensile strength and breaking load specified to the application.
- High swing performance tuned to the flex life the cable has to reach.
- Solderability matched to your termination process.
Certifications
No third-party certification is published for this product line. Test data from our own resistance, tensile, elongation and salt spray equipment is supplied with samples and with every shipment loading report.
Related
Other Conductors To Compare
Reference
Background Reading
technical guide
What Tinsel Wire Is, And Why It Outlasts Solid Wire Where Cables Bend
The construction, the materials and the reason a foil-over-fiber conductor beats a solid wire of the same size on flex life.
Read the guide
material guide
Choosing The Fiber Core: Aramid, Liquid Crystal Polymer And The Alternatives
What each fiber core actually gives a tinsel wire, and which service conditions should point you at which one.
Read the guide
Questions
Bare Copper Tinsel Wire: Frequently Asked Questions
When should I choose bare copper over tin-plated?
When conductivity is the priority, the termination happens without a long storage interval, and the finished cable is not exposed to a corrosive environment. If any of those change, tin-plated or silver-plated is the safer specification.
Does bare copper tinsel wire still solder well?
Tinsel wire in general is easier to weld than comparable solid wire, because the solderable surface is the foil on the outside of the conductor. Bare copper does not carry the plating protection that keeps that surface clean over time, so soldering is most consistent when the conductor is used rather than stored.
Can it be twisted with other conductors?
Yes. It can be twisted into tinsel wire strands or mixed with copper wires, mainly to increase the bending strength of the finished conductor.
Quote Bare Copper Tinsel Wire
Tell us the resistance, outer diameter and flex life you need. Samples on conventional and customized products carry no minimum order quantity.