Heater Wire
Heater Wire
High resistance in a conductor that is still flexible enough to sew, wind or route.
View specifications
Tinsel Wire
Conductive Textile Wire
A soft textile fiber core at the centre, so the conductor handles like yarn.
Overview
What Conductive Textile Wire Is For
Smart clothing asks a conductor to behave like a thread. It has to be sewn or woven, survive the stretch and abrasion of being worn, tolerate washing, and still carry a signal or a heating current at a resistance the electronics were designed around. Tinsel wire is well suited to it because a soft textile fiber core is already at the centre of the construction, so the conductor bends and drapes closer to yarn than to wire, while the foil on the surface does the electrical work. Textile wires are one of the established application areas for our conductors, alongside medical, robot and automotive cable.
Value
Why Engineers Choose This Construction
Key benefits
- A soft textile fiber core at the centre, so the conductor handles like yarn.
- Foil-over-fiber construction survives repeated bending and abrasion.
- High resistance versions available for heating textiles.
- Fiber core chosen for washing, wear and temperature conditions.
Problems it solves
- A wire stiff enough to carry current is too stiff to be sewn or worn.
- Textile conductors abrade and break where the garment creases.
- Heating textiles need a resistance value in a conductor that still drapes.
Fit
Where It Is Used
Application scenarios
- Smart clothing and wearables
- Heated apparel and gloves
- Conductive textile panels
- Anti-wave sleeving and shielded textiles
Who it is for
- Smart clothing and wearable developers
- Heated apparel manufacturers
- Technical textile producers
- Teams integrating electronics into garments
Engineering
Construction And Materials
Technical features
- Tinsel wire construction with a soft textile fiber core.
- Fiber options including nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber.
- Bare or plated foil surface.
- High resistance constructions for heating applications.
Materials
- Metal foil: bare copper foil, tin-plated copper foil, nickel-plated copper foil, silver-plated copper foil, tin-copper alloy foil, iron-copper alloy foil and silver-copper alloy foil
- Fiber core: nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber
Specifications
Conductive Textile 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 |
|---|---|
| Single Wire Outer Diameter | 0.04 mm - 0.40 mm |
| Fiber Core Options | nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber |
| Surface Options | bare copper foil, tin-plated copper foil, nickel-plated copper foil, silver-plated copper foil, tin-copper alloy foil, iron-copper alloy foil and silver-copper alloy 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
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
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
Questions
Conductive Textile Wire: Frequently Asked Questions
Why is tinsel wire suited to textiles?
Because the core of the conductor is already a soft textile fiber. The metal is a foil wound on the outside, so the conductor bends and drapes far closer to yarn than a solid wire of the same conductivity would.
Can the same conductor be used for heating?
Yes. Heating products with high resistance requirements are one of the characteristics of our tinsel wire, which is widely used in heating wires.
Which fiber core handles washing and abrasion best?
Aramid offers good abrasion resistance, high strength and a melting point above 500 degrees Celsius. Liquid crystal polymer adds wear resistance, bending resistance, fatigue resistance, excellent chemical resistance and low moisture absorption.
Quote Conductive Textile Wire
Tell us the resistance, outer diameter and flex life you need. Samples on conventional and customized products carry no minimum order quantity.