Differences Between Solid Copper Wire and Stranded Copper Wire

Online, June 8, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Solid and stranded copper wire are two of the most important wires used for electronics, and each type of wire has its own advantages and disadvantages. In order to help the customers choose the most suitable wire, Whirlston, the professional manufacturer of copper cable granulator and wire stripping machine, will compare the two different wires.

Uses
In most cases, stranded wire is used in the situations where need a great deal of flexibility, while solid wire should be used when strength and rigidity is required. So, stranded wire is mostly applied in the circuit board connections, connection areas around moving joints and audio headphones, and solid wire is largely used in coils, magnet wiring and electric motors.

Flexibility
Seen from the above uses, stranded copper wire has good flexibility, while solid copper wire can only be used in the situations where require little movement. Besides the fact that stranded copper wire is much more flexible than solid wire, it has a much larger range of motion.

Impedance
It is widely known that the frequency of the current determines the type of wire that should be used. When currents travel through the wires, the current that travels through the outer layer tend to be lost into the air, which makes solid wire a better choice due to its decreased surface area. However, it is also a fact that several stranded wires have also been designed for higher frequencies, insulating each single wire in the bunch, which greatly reduced the impedance.

Weaknesses
Stranded wire needs to be used in the controlled atmosphere for it can be corroded easily. Because of the decreased surface area, solid wire is more resistant to corrosion, weathering and atmospheric exposure.

Costs
Solid wire is much cheaper compared with stranded wire.