Copper Clad Aluminum Wire VS Pure Copper Wire: What's the Difference?

Since 2004, the price of raw copper has more than doubled and manufacturers have been fighting to keep the cost of products low, as one must do in a highly competitive marketplace. Several companies began producing a different kind of wire as a more cost-conscious alternative. High prices make for innovation and now we have "Copper Clad Aluminum" (CCA) wire that costs about half the price of pure copper cables.

While this can be a great alternative to expensive copper, it can also lead to problems if misapplied and its limitations aren't fully understood. Here is the difference between copper clad aluminum wire and pure copper wire.

1. Mechanical Properties

The strength and elongation of the pure copper conductors are larger than the copper-clad aluminum conductors, which means that pure copper is better than copper-clad aluminum in terms of mechanical properties.

Copper-clad aluminum conductors are much lighter than pure copper, so the overall weight of copper-clad aluminum cables is lighter than pure copper conductor cables, which will bring convenience to cable transportation and cable erection. In addition, copper-clad aluminum is a little softer than pure copper, and cables produced with copper-clad aluminum conductors are a little better than pure copper cables in terms of flexibility.　　

2. Electrical Performance

Because the conductivity of aluminum is worse than that of copper, the DC resistance of copper-clad aluminum conductors is greater than that of pure copper conductors.

When the frequency exceeds 5MHz, there is no obvious difference in the AC resistance attenuation under these two different conductors. In the case of 5MHz, the current flows in a thickness of about 0.025 mm near the surface, and the thickness of the copper layer of the copper-clad aluminum conductor is about twice this thickness. For coaxial cables, because the transmitted signal is above 5MHz, the transmission effect of copper-clad aluminum conductor and pure copper conductor is the same. To a certain extent, it can be said that the cable with copper clad aluminum has a better return loss index than the cable with pure copper conductor.

3. Economical

The price of copper-clad aluminum conductors is more expensive than pure copper conductors of the same weight.

However, the copper clad aluminum of the same weight is much longer than the pure copper conductor, and the cable is calculated according to the length. With the same weight, copper-clad aluminum wire is 2.5 times the length of copper wire, and the price is only a few hundred yuan per ton. Taken together, copper-clad aluminum is very advantageous. Because the copper-clad aluminum cable is relatively light, the transportation cost and installation cost of the cable will be reduced, which will bring a certain degree of convenience to the construction.　

4. Easy Maintenance

The use of copper-clad aluminum can reduce network failures and prevent network personnel from "cutting the core in winter and cutting the skin in summer" (aluminum strip longitudinal packaging or aluminum tube products) during maintenance.

Due to the large difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the copper inner conductor and the aluminum outer conductor of the cable, in the hot summer, the aluminum outer conductor stretches greatly, and the copper inner conductor is relatively retracted, and cannot fully contact the elastic contact piece in the F header; in the severe cold In winter, the aluminum outer conductor shrinks greatly, causing the shielding layer to fall off. When the coaxial cable uses a copper-clad aluminum inner conductor, the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between it and the aluminum outer conductor is small. When the temperature changes, the cable core-pulling failure is greatly reduced, which improves the transmission quality of the network.

The Advantages of Copper Clad Aluminum Wire for Pure Copper Wire

● Mechanical properties. Copper clad aluminum is lighter and softer.

● Electrical performance. Copper clad aluminum has a better return loss index than pure copper cables.

● Economical. Please sign and seal to confirm our quotation, and we are ready to purchase steel products for production.

● Easy maintenance.When the temperature changes, the cable core-pulling failure is greatly reduced, which improves the transmission quality of the network.