Tinsel Wire
Tin-Plated Alloy Tinsel Wire
Alloy foil strength combined with a tin-plated, oxidation-protected surface.
View specifications
Tinsel Wire
Copper Alloy Tinsel Wire
Alloy foil raises the mechanical ceiling over pure copper at the same construction.
Overview
What Copper Alloy Tinsel Wire Is For
When the conductor has to be stronger than pure copper allows, the answer is to change the foil rather than to thicken it. Copper alloy tinsel wire uses tin-copper, iron-copper or silver-copper alloy foil wound over the fiber core, which raises the mechanical properties of the conductor while keeping the foil-over-fiber construction that gives it its flex life. This is the version specified for stranded, high-swing constructions where breaking load is the governing number and a pure copper foil would reach its limit first.
Value
Why Engineers Choose This Construction
Key benefits
- Alloy foil raises the mechanical ceiling over pure copper at the same construction.
- Suits stranded, high-swing conductors where breaking load governs the design.
- Available in tin-copper, iron-copper and silver-copper alloy.
- Can be twisted into strands or combined with copper wires for further bending strength.
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
- High-swing speaker leads
- Drag chain and robot cable
- Aerospace and military special equipment cable
- Cables with a governing breaking load
Who it is for
- Engineers designing to a breaking load figure
- Robot and drag chain cable makers
- Audio manufacturers pushing excursion life
Engineering
Construction And Materials
Technical features
- Foil-over-fiber construction: tin-copper, iron-copper or silver-copper alloy 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.
- Alloy foil rather than plating carries the mechanical improvement, so the strength gain is in the conductor material itself.
Materials
- Metal foil: tin-copper, iron-copper or silver-copper alloy foil
- Fiber core: nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber
Specifications
Copper Alloy 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 | tin-copper, iron-copper or silver-copper alloy 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 |
| Foil Alloy | Tin-copper, iron-copper or silver-copper |
| Plating | Optional tin, silver or nickel at 0.3 um - 2 um |
| 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
Tinsel Wire
Silver-Plated Alloy Tinsel Wire
Silver-copper alloy foil with silver plating: strength and surface both at the top of the range.
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.
View specifications
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
Copper Alloy Tinsel Wire: Frequently Asked Questions
Which alloy should I pick?
It follows the property you need to lift. Tin-copper, iron-copper and silver-copper alloy foils are all available, and the choice is made against the resistance, tensile strength and swing targets you give us rather than from a fixed catalogue.
Does an alloy foil raise conductor resistance?
Alloys generally trade some conductivity for mechanical strength, which is why resistance is one of the values we set as a target at the start. The multi-layer foil design and multi-strand twisting are the levers we use to bring resistance back down without growing outer diameter.
Can alloy tinsel wire be plated?
Yes. Tin, silver and nickel plating are available over the alloy foil, at a customizable coating thickness between 0.3 um and 2 um.
Quote Copper Alloy Tinsel Wire
Tell us the resistance, outer diameter and flex life you need. Samples on conventional and customized products carry no minimum order quantity.