What Is The Difference Between Solid Conductor Cable And Multi-conductor Cable?

The development of the global economy has brought the world closer. This connection is thanks to different cables, one of the most important connecting devices. In order to establish a reliable connection, it is important to choose the right cable for a specific application. So the following will guide you how to choose the appropriate cable category from the side of the cable construction; solid conductor or stranded conductor.

Solid cable

Solid conductor cables consist of a single solid conductor. Solid conductors typically consist of bare copper wire with diameters between 22 and 24 AWG (American Wire Gauge Units). The general use diameter of jumper is 24AWG. The benefit of thick wires is that they provide excellent electrical characteristics to be stable over a wide frequency range. Therefore, solid cables are very practical.

Due to the larger wire diameter, solid conductor cables have lower DC resistance (which is not conducive to signal transmission) and are less sensitive to high frequency effects. Compared with stranded cable, this kind of cable can support longer transmission distance and higher usage efficiency. But the large wire diameter also brings disadvantages. The larger the core wire, the less rigid the cable is. If the cables are bent, they are likely to be damaged or affect electrical performance.

Stranded Conductor Cable

Stranded conductor cables are very common these days. Inside a twisted pair, each individual conductor consists of a bundle of smaller gauge strands. A single wire with six or seven strands around the center is usually used. The outer strands are helically wound around the centerline. The stranded wire forms a conductor with a similar diameter to a solid cable. However, due to the smaller diameter of each individual wire strand, the conductive area is smaller than that of a solid cable.

The twisted construction makes the twisted cable flexible. Even if the cable is bent, the cable is not easily damaged because each wire is independent of the whole wire. Let's see how this works. When the cable is bent, all the individual strands are pulled towards the center. The total stress is distributed to all strands to minimize stress on the center conductor. Therefore, if there are more strands, the cable conductor can get more support.

The conductors of stranded cables for networking and Ethernet applications are made of bare or tinned copper wire. Tinned conductors protect conductive surfaces from oxidation and prevent fraying of single strands. That's because of the production process of tinned conductors. All individual strands must be immersed in a bath of molten tin before being assembled into a single conductor.

But stranded conductor cables cause higher insertion loss due to their smaller conducting diameter, especially for long distance transmissions (of course, distance is limited for both solid and stranded conductor cables). Stranded conductor cables have high DC resistance, which causes the signal to dissipate as heat increases over long distances. Therefore, stranded conductor cables are not as good as solid cables that run long distances. Another disadvantage of stranded cables is that they are more expensive than solid conductor cables of the same length because they are expensive to manufacture.

Application of two cables

Solid conductor cables are designed for trunk and horizontal cable runs. This is due to excellent electrical performance and stable high frequencies. This cable can support longer distances than stranded conductor cables. Long cables can be installed on walls, ceilings or between work areas on the same floor. It's important to note, though, that solid cables shouldn't be bent, bent, or twisted repeatedly because they're not very flexible.

While stranded conductor cables are used to run short distances between network interface cards and wall panels or between concentrators and patch panels, hubs and other rack-mounted equipment, they are constantly being inserted, removed or bent. Stranded conductor cables are much more flexible than solid conductor cables. However, it has high attenuation. When using stranded cable, remember to limit its length to reduce insertion loss.

Summarize

From the above, solid and stranded conductor cables have their own advantages and disadvantages. Different types of cables are used for different applications. Knowing their specific purpose can improve the efficiency of electricity usage.