What Is The Difference Between Cable And Wire?

Cables and wires, collectively referred to as wire and cable, are mainly used to transmit electrical energy industrial products, only one word difference, what is the difference between cables and wires?

It can be clear that there is no essential difference between cable and wire, mainly composed of plastic skin and metal conductors (copper, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc.), the main use is the same, can be said to be two siblings, but not exactly the same, or some differences, here is a brief introduction.

1、Different structure：The structure of the wire is relatively simple, our common cables, including some household wires, are conductors and a layer of insulation layer is gone, basically are single-core wires, the cross-sectional area is not large, some overhead wires have no insulation layer, is a pure conductor, basically are single-core wires. The structure of the cable is complex and diverse, shielding layer, sheath layer, armor layer, a variety of specifications of the core combination, etc., the number of cores from a single core to dozens of cores and hundreds of cores, and the cross-sectional area of the core is small 0. Anywhere from a few squares to hundreds of squares. In terms of structural complexity, cables are hundreds of times more complex than wires.

2、There are some differences in functions:Wires are basically used to transmit electrical energy, and cables are mainly transmission cables, but some cables are used to transmit control signals, communication signals, etc., and the functions are more diverse.

3、More diverse cable characteristics:Wire is basically no characteristics, cable can have more characteristics, according to different working conditions to produce different characteristics of the cable, such as high temperature cable (800 ° C), low temperature (185 °C), tensile, wear-resistant, anti-UV, waterproof, acid and alkali corrosion resistance and so on.

4、Different uses:Wires are basically fixed installation in the use of the cable is divided into fixed installation use and mobile installation use, the requirements of fixed installation use is lower, the requirements of mobile use is high, the conductor must also be soft. It is used in many places, in space, under the sea, in water, floating water, under the mine, these complex and harsh environments, the basic power supply for the equipment is cable.

The difference between cable and wire is very easy to see, the wire structure is simple, simple use. The structure is complex and the special purpose is the cable, but as mentioned earlier, there is no difference in essence. Some people will call the cable a wire, which is fine, as long as the model is correct.