1. Aluminum 铝丝
The fourth best conductor of electricity (behind silver, gold, and copper), California Fine Wire’s aluminum wire is used in many applications such as implanted cardiac devices, drift chambers, and semiconductor interconnects. The largest single use of aluminum wire and rod is for high power transmission lines. Aluminum is only about 1/3 as heavy as copper but has about 60% of its electrical conductivity.
Aluminum is alloyed with other elements to improve specific properties such as strength or elasticity. California Fine Wire supplies aluminum alloyed with elements such as silicon, manganese, chromium, zinc, magnesium, and copper. Aluminum 1% Silicon wire is used extensively for semiconductor bonding wire.
We can coat our aluminum with copper, gold, nickel, silver, or tin using an electroplating process. With its high ductility, low electrical resistance, light weight, and excellent resistance to corrosion, aluminum wire is well suited to many applications. Three additional characteristics of aluminum are that it is nontoxic, non-sparking, and non-magnetic.
California Fine Wire can draw aluminum alloys to diameters as small as 0.0005” and can supply the wire in various configurations, such as flat wire or stranded, and we can insulate your wire with various enamel materials or PTFE.
Whether you require ribbon or round in either high purity aluminum, or alloyed with another metal, call on California Fine Wire to handle your aluminum wire needs.
2. Copper
Humans have been using copper since the predynastic Egyptians and Sumerians. During the Roman Empire copper was principally mined on Cyprus, hence the origin of the name of the metal as Cyprium (metal of Cyprus), later shortened to Cuprum.
As technology has progressed copper has remained a highly useful element. Although the Copper Development Association reports that 0.7 trillion pounds of copper have been mined throughout history, there are still over five trillion pounds remaining in the earth. According to the May 26, 2007 edition of New Scientist, the earth has an estimated 61 years supply of copper left. Fortunately however, copper has an infinite recyclable life and has one of the highest recycling rates of any other engineering metal. The fact that premium grade scrap has about 95 percent of the value of newly mined metal ensures that this rate remains high. The wire industry uses primarily newly refined copper for its products.
Second only to silver in its electrical conductivity, this reddish, lustrous metal is highly ductile and malleable. Surpassing both gold and aluminum in its electrical conductivity, copper is now being used for bonding wire. When alloyed with nickel and/or manganese, it finds use in resistance wire applications.
Copper and its alloys have excellent ductility and are supplied by California Fine Wire in ribbon and round forms. Round diameters can be drawn as small as 0.0005 and ribbons rolled as small as 0.00025” x 0.010”. Call us to discover our capabilities on your specific wire needs.
Copper wire can be readily plated with such materials as gold, nickel, silver, tin, or solder. We process a wide range of copper wire. From high silicon bronze to brass; from copper with cadmium to copper with zirconium, California Fine Wire has a wire to suit your needs. Whether your application requires the strength and corrosion resistance of berrilyium modified copper or the purity of 99.999% copper.
