How Are Enamelled Copper Wires Made?

Enamelled Copper Wires are insulated wires used in electric motors and transformers, especially where high-voltage insulation is required. It is an insulating wire made up of a core conductor covered by an enamel coating, baked many times to form a tough insulating layer. The thickness of the enamel coating determines its mechanical, chemical and electrical properties. The enamel coating can be tinned, tin-lead or aluminium based. Enamelled copper wires are typically classed by their diameter (AWG number) or area, temperature classes and insulation class. A higher voltage rating is usually obtained by using thicker enamel coating.

Copper is the standard conductor material for enamelled wire and provides good electrical conductivity and windability, however it can be replaced by Aluminium for special applications where low weight and oxidation resistance is a must. A wide range of special conductor materials are also available, like low weight Aluminium Clad Copper or special alloys to achieve characteristics like better mechanical or bending performance. In addition, plated conductors are offered to meet specific application needs.

The bare copper wires are first annealed and softened in order to prepare it for the enamelling process. Then, it is spooled and rewound into coils. The rewinding process is closely monitored by a control system and the parameters such as spool speed, wire pitch and the spool's rotational direction are adjusted accordingly. This helps to achieve consistently good de-reeling performance and minimizes problems like trapped or tangled windings.

Next, the enamel coating is applied to the spooled copper wire. It is cured in a controlled oven temperature to guarantee good adhesion and bonding with the core conductors, resulting in high-quality enamelled wire. Then, the coated copper wire is cured again in a special UV-lamp to ensure that it will not be brittle and maintain its flexibility even after long periods of use.

When completed, the enamelled coils are often vacuum impregnated with an insulating varnish to improve its durability and resistance against chemical corrosion. They are then ready for use in a variety of electromagnetic equipment like transformers and motors, audio and microphone amplifiers, headphones and loudspeakers, hard drive headA positionable and potentiometers.

The production of enamelled coils requires a high level of skill to produce products that meet customer requirements. It depends on a lot of factors such as raw material quality, production equipment and environmental conditions. Having these conditions in mind, it is essential to implement and utilize best practices to achieve the highest possible reliability of the finished product. Elektrisola's expertise and knowledge of the industry standard is an important component in the success of our customers. We are proud to be a supplier of enamelled wires for many companies across the world and our production is audited regularly to ensure that we comply with the most up to date international standards. This includes the IEC, NEMA and JIS standards. We can produce enamelled coils to most of these standards, with the IEC being the harmonized worldwide basic standard.