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
Precision Copper Foil
Precision Copper Foil
Extremely fine gauges produced for winding at 0.04 mm to 0.40 mm conductor diameters.
Overview
What Precision Copper Foil Is For
Extremely fine copper foil is both one of our main products and the raw material behind our tinsel wire. Wound over a fiber core it is what allows a conductor to place its conductive cross-section at the surface instead of packing it into a solid centre, which is why a multi-layer copper foil design significantly reduces conductor resistance without growing the outer diameter. Supplied on its own, it is used where a thin formable copper layer is needed rather than a wire: shielding layers, flexible interconnects and contact parts. It is available bare, plated in tin, nickel or silver, or in tin-copper, iron-copper and silver-copper alloy.
Value
Why Engineers Choose This Construction
Key benefits
- Extremely fine gauges produced for winding at 0.04 mm to 0.40 mm conductor diameters.
- Multi-layer foil construction lowers conductor resistance without added outer diameter.
- Bare, plated or alloy foil from one supplier who also winds it.
- Plating uniform and continuous, free of discoloration, particles and mechanical damage.
Problems it solves
- Conductive cross-section is needed at the surface of a conductor, not at its core.
- Foil has to stay continuous when wound at very small diameters without splitting.
- Uneven plating on foil propagates defects along the entire length of the wound conductor.
Fit
Where It Is Used
Application scenarios
- Foil layer in tinsel wire construction
- EMI shielding layers
- Flexible interconnect and contact parts
- Multi-layer conductor designs targeting low resistance
Who it is for
- Conductor and cable manufacturers winding their own constructions
- Shielding and EMI component makers
- Buyers of plated and alloy copper foil to a thickness spec
- Developers prototyping fine flexible interconnects
Engineering
Construction And Materials
Technical features
- Extremely fine copper foil for winding applications.
- Bare, tin-plated, nickel-plated or silver-plated.
- Alloy options in tin-copper, iron-copper and silver-copper.
- Plating thickness customizable from 0.3 um to 2 um.
- Produced by a manufacturer who also winds it into finished conductors.
Materials
- Copper, tin-copper alloy, iron-copper alloy, silver-copper alloy
- Plating: tin, silver, nickel
Specifications
Precision Copper Foil Technical Data
Values that depend on your application are set against your targets rather than fixed here.
| Material | Copper, or tin-copper, iron-copper, silver-copper alloy |
|---|---|
| Surface | Bare, tin-plated, nickel-plated or silver-plated |
| Plating Thickness | 0.3 um - 2 um, customizable |
| Coating Quality | Uniform, continuous, strong adhesion, smooth, no discoloration, particles or mechanical damage |
| Typical Use | Wound conductor at 0.04 mm - 0.40 mm outer diameter |
| Minimum Order For Samples | None |
Production
How It Is Made And Checked
Manufacturing process
- Draw and roll copper or alloy to extremely fine foil.
- Apply plating where specified, at 0.3 um to 2 um.
- Inspect the coating for uniformity, continuity, adhesion and surface defects.
- Slit and spool, or wind directly into tinsel wire construction.
- 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
process guide
Plating Fine Conductors: Tin, Silver, Nickel And Why Thickness Is A Decision
What plating does for a fine conductor, how thickness is chosen between 0.3 and 2 microns, and what a good coating looks like.
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
Precision Copper Foil: Frequently Asked Questions
Can you supply foil rather than finished conductor?
Yes. Extremely fine copper foil is one of our main products in its own right, as well as the material we wind into our tinsel wire.
What alloy foils are available?
Tin-copper alloy, iron-copper alloy and silver-copper alloy foil, in addition to bare copper and the tin, nickel and silver plated versions.
How is coating quality judged?
The coating must be uniform, continuous and strongly adhered, with a smooth surface that has not discoloured and is free of harmful defects such as particles and mechanical damage.
Quote Precision Copper Foil
Tell us the resistance, outer diameter and flex life you need. Samples on conventional and customized products carry no minimum order quantity.