Metal cables for automotive cable harnesses

The function of wiring harness is expanded from ordinary signal transmission to data transmission. Due to the limitations of wire transmission signals, more and more hinder the development of the vehicle, so a large number of optical cables, will make the automotive wiring harness manufacturing technology ushered in the third leap, optical cables with fast transmission speed, large capacity, small size, strong confidentiality, good anti-interference and other advantages, will soon become the future automotive data processing and exchange of important preferred materials, The power and signal distribution system has entered a new historical stage of development.

Car cable, also known as low-voltage cable, it is different from ordinary household wires. Ordinary household wire is copper single core wire, there is a certain hardness. The car wires are copper multi-core flexible wires, some soft wires are as thin as hair, several or even dozens of soft copper wires are wrapped in plastic insulated tubes (polyvinyl chloride), soft and not easy to break.

Automotive wiring harness material requirements are very strict: including its electrical performance, material dispersion, temperature resistance, etc., are higher than the general wiring harness requirements, especially when it comes to safety: such as the direction control system, brake these important components of the wiring harness, the requirements are more stringent. Metal materials for automotive wiring harness cables are as follows:

Copper: electrical conductivity is second only to silver, thermal conductivity is second only to gold and silver; Corrosion resistance, non-magnetic, good plasticity, easy to weld, a wide range of uses. Copper alloy is mainly used to improve the wear resistance, corrosion resistance and mechanical and physical properties of copper.

Silver: the metal has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity, good corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance, easy to weld; Mainly used for coating and coating layer; It is mainly used as a high temperature resistant wire and (note: according to the skin effect principle) as a high frequency communication cable conductor.

Aluminum: electrical conductivity second only to silver, copper, gold; Good thermal conductivity, good corrosion resistance, general mechanical strength, good plasticity, small proportion. The disadvantage is low tensile strength and is not easy to weld. Aluminum alloy is mainly used to improve the mechanical strength, heat resistance and weld-ability of aluminum.

Gold, nickel: used as high temperature resistant wire.

Iron (steel) : often used as a strengthening material for composite conductors, such as steel core aluminum stranded wire, copper clad steel, aluminum clad steel wire, etc.

Zinc: Used as a coating of steel wire/steel strip/iron conductor to prevent corrosion.

Tin: Used as a coating of steel wire/copper wire to prevent corrosion and facilitate the welding of copper wire.