The distinction between wires and cables

An electric wire refers to a conductor that transmits electrical energy. It is divided into bare wire, electromagnetic wire and insulated wire. Bare wires have no insulation layer, including copper and aluminum flat wires, overhead stranded wires, and various profiles (such as profile wires, busbars, copper bars, aluminum bars, etc.). It is mainly used for outdoor overhead and indoor busbars and switch boxes. Electromagnetic wire is an insulated conductor that generates a magnetic field when electrified or induces current in a magnetic field. It is mainly used for the winding of electric motors and transformers as well as other related electromagnetic equipment. Its conductor is mainly copper wire, which should have a thin insulating layer and good electrical and mechanical properties, as well as heat resistance, moisture resistance, solvent resistance and other properties. Different insulating materials can be selected to obtain different properties.

The wire is composed of one or several flexible conductors and is covered with a light and soft protective layer on the outside. A cable is composed of one or several insulated conductors, and is then wrapped with a tough outer layer made of metal or rubber. Cables and wires are generally composed of three parts: the core wire, the insulating sheath and the protective outer sheath. The characteristics of commonly used cables are as follows: CEF - ethylene propylene rubber insulated neoprene rubber sheathed, flame-retardant Marine power cable. CVV - Flame-retardant Marine power cable with polyvinyl chloride insulation and polyvinyl chloride sheath. The wires commonly used in oxygen chambers are BV, BX, RV, and RVV series wires. Among them, BV - copper core polyvinyl chloride insulated wire, with a long-term allowable temperature of 65℃ and a minimum temperature of -15℃. The working voltage is 500V AC and 1000V DC. It is fixed and installed both indoors and outdoors, and can be exposed or concealed. BX - Copper core rubber insulated wire, maximum operating temperature 65℃, suitable for indoor installation.RV - Polyvinyl chloride insulated single-core flexible wire, with a maximum operating temperature of 65℃ and a minimum operating temperature of -15℃, and a working voltage of 250V AC and 500V DC. It is used for internal wiring in instruments and equipment. RVV - Copper core polyvinyl chloride insulated and sheathed flexible wire, allowing a long-term operating temperature of 105℃, with an AC working voltage of 500V and a DC working voltage of 1000V. It is used in damp environments with high mechanical protection requirements, frequent movement and bending. In fact, there is no strict boundary between "wires" and "cables". Products with fewer cores, smaller diameters and simpler structures are generally called wires. Those without insulation are called bare wires, and the rest are called cables. Conductors with a larger cross-sectional area (greater than 6 square millimeters) are called large wires, while those with a smaller cross-sectional area (less than or equal to 6 square millimeters) are called small wires. Insulated wires are also known as fabric wires. It's simpler to put it this way and easier to understand! Cables usually have more than two layers of insulation, are mostly multi-core structures, are wound on cable reels, and their length is generally greater than 100 meters. Wires are generally single-layer insulated, single-core, rolled 100 meters in length, and have no wireless coils. Common cable models: VV indicates: polyvinyl chloride insulation (the first V), polyvinyl chloride sheath (the second V); YJV22 indicates: Cross-linked polyethylene insulation (YJ), polyvinyl chloride sheath (V), steel tape Kaizhuang (22). Cables (wires) with "ZR" or "FR" added are flame-retardant. Adding "L" indicates aluminium wire. The models of the wires are relatively simple: BVV- polyvinyl chloride insulated and sheathed copper core wire, BV- polyvinyl chloride insulated copper core wire, BYJ- copper core cross-linked polyolefin insulated wire, BVR- polyvinyl chloride insulated copper core flexible wire, BX- rubber insulated copper core wire, RHF- chloroprene rubber sheathed copper core flexible wire.

(2) Those with smaller diameters are called"lines". The ones with larger diameters are called "cables".

(3) The ones with simple structures are called "lines". Those with complex structures are called "cables".

However, as the scope of application expands, many varieties feature "cables within cables" and "wires within cables". So there is no need to make a strict distinction.

In daily practice, people refer to household electrical wires as "wires" and power cables as "cables" for short.

Wires and cables mainly include bare wires, winding wires, power cables, communication cables and optical cables, and electrical equipment.