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
Tinsel Wire
Tin-Plated Tinsel Wire
Tin layer protects the copper foil surface from oxidation through storage and handling.
Overview
What Tin-Plated Tinsel Wire Is For
Tin plating is the practical default for tinsel wire that has to be stored, shipped and then soldered reliably in volume. The tin layer keeps the copper foil surface from oxidizing, which is what makes the difference between a solder joint that wets first time on an assembly line and one that needs rework. The coating goes on uniform and continuous with strong adhesion and a smooth surface, free of discoloration and free of particles or mechanical damage, at a thickness set between 0.3 um and 2 um according to what the application needs rather than what a stock reel happens to carry.
Value
Why Engineers Choose This Construction
Key benefits
- Tin layer protects the copper foil surface from oxidation through storage and handling.
- Consistent solder wetting in volume assembly, including on rework.
- Coating thickness customizable between 0.3 um and 2 um.
- Keeps the flex and tensile advantage of the foil-over-fiber construction.
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 and earphone lead wire
- Medical sensor cable
- Consumer electronics cable
- Heating elements needing reliable termination
Who it is for
- Cable assemblers soldering fine conductors at volume
- Manufacturers holding conductor stock before use
- Quality teams chasing intermittent solder defects
Engineering
Construction And Materials
Technical features
- Foil-over-fiber construction: tin-plated 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.
- Tin plating at a customizable 0.3 um to 2 um, uniform and continuous, with strong adhesion and no discoloration, particles or mechanical damage.
Materials
- Metal foil: tin-plated copper foil
- Fiber core: nylon, polyester, aramid, liquid crystal fiber, heat-resistant cotton yarn and glass fiber
Specifications
Tin-Plated 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-plated 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 | Tin |
| Plating Thickness | 0.3 um - 2 um, customizable |
| 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.
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
Tin-Plated Tinsel Wire: Frequently Asked Questions
How thick should the tin plating be?
It depends on how long the conductor will be stored before termination and what the finished cable is exposed to. The range we work in is 0.3 um to 2 um and the thickness is customized according to the performance requirement.
Will the plating crack when the conductor flexes?
The coating is applied uniform and continuous with strong adhesion, which is what keeps it intact on a conductor designed to bend. Adhesion and surface quality are checked as part of the plating requirement, alongside freedom from particles and mechanical damage.
Can you plate an alloy foil rather than pure copper?
Yes. Tin plating is also available over tin-copper, iron-copper and silver-copper alloy foils, which is what the alloy versions of this product use.
Quote Tin-Plated Tinsel Wire
Tell us the resistance, outer diameter and flex life you need. Samples on conventional and customized products carry no minimum order quantity.