Aluminium Flat Cable

In certain cases, the insuring company may require replacement of the aluminum wiring with copper wiring. While a complete rewire may be the best long-term solution, it's also the most expensive.

The most common method of solving aluminum wiring problems is the aluminum wiring pigtail option. Electrical Safety Authority Approved copper pigtailing remains the most commonly used method to make aluminum wiring safe.

Is Aluminum wiring pigtail legal to Code? Yes, that is what is required. The BC Safety Authority recommends hiring a licensed electrical contractor to complete the copper tailing work as it is very important that all connections are properly terminated or may cause further problems down the road. All connections and terminations in the home should be checked. The approved wire connectors are mandatory at all outlets including light plugs, range and dryer receptacles also have to be approved for aluminum. All termination points at the breakers and panel should also be checked and have a de-ox compound installed where the aluminum is exposed to the air as it causes oxidization.

Round cables are standard in many industrial applications. However, flat cables are also highly desirable in use cases where their flexibility and other strengths are significant advantages.

Quality
Both round and flat cables provide excellent quality for use in the proper applications. However, round cables tend to have a slight edge in quality overall. Their superior built-in protections make them highly durable and long-lasting, especially in harsh industrial environments.

Reliability
Round cables tend to be more reliable in terms of their ability to stand up to mechanical stresses. The main mechanical stresses cables must handle are torsion, rolling flex, tic-toc and S-bend. Round cables can easily withstand these stresses because of their ability to bend along multiple axes. Flat cables offer superior resistance only in rolling flex, which involves bending only along one linear axis.
However, flat cables can be more reliable in terms of their organized, dependable wiring. Flat cables tend to have simpler construction than round cables, so they are generally free from wiring errors that could cause malfunctions.

Performance
Both round and flat cables provide excellent performance in the right environments. In general, however, round cables offer superior electrical performance and stronger physical performance in heavy-duty applications. They are more durable, with more protection against the elements, mechanical stressors and EMI emissions.
Flat cables are also somewhat limited in their electrical characteristics because of their connector type, as they are generally designed for mass termination in a connector. The connectors for flat cables typically have insulation displacement contacts that line up for flat cable termination. The contacts simultaneously go through the insulation to meet all the conductors in the cable.
A precise alignment for the connector and conductors is critical. Specific centerline spacings are necessary, and manufacturers must control this parameter tightly, often at the cost of the cable's electrical characteristics.

Skewing
Skewing occurs when electrical signals flow at different speeds through a pair of wires. Flat cables generally minimize skewing more effectively than round cables.
In flat cables, because of the high precision and balance involved in their manufacture, the conductors are certain to have the same physical and electric length, along with a continuous dielectric. These factors tend to reduce the time delays between the signals in different conductors.

Current Carrying Capacity
In terms of current carrying capacity, flat cables offer a superior option because of their higher surface-area-to-volume ratio. This characteristic enables them to dissipate heat more readily, providing greater thermal efficiency. Consequently, they can handle higher temperature rise and current levels per conductor cross-section.

Cost
Flat cables are relatively easy and cost-effective to make, mainly because they allow for mass termination, with all wires coming together in a line in a connector. This design reduces labor requirements and helps minimize costs.
Round cables, on the other hand, are more labor-intensive to make and generally more expensive.

Versatility
Flat cables are more flexible than their round counterparts, and this characteristic can make them highly versatile. Their flexibility enables them to adapt well to various shapes, sizes and configurations. Their ability to bend and twist easily without breaking makes them ideal for a vast range of applications.

However, round cables are more versatile in the sense that they can bend in many different directions. A flat cable wire bends easily in only two directions, while a round cable, though it is less flexible, can bend along any axis. This characteristic makes round cables highly desirable for applications that require extensive bending and twisting in long cable runs, especially raceways or conduits.

Space Efficiency
In terms of space efficiency, flat cables offer a clear advantage. Because they are flat, they can pack more tightly together than round cables can. Because they bend and flex well too, they maximize available space. Where round cables might leave large air gaps around them because of their minimal flexing capabilities, flat cables can bend and fold to minimize gaps and compress into a small area.

Weight
Flat cables are lighter than round cables because of their minimalist design. The extra shielding and fillers in round cables tend to give them extra heft.
Companies looking to minimize weight - especially for robotics, medical devices or consumer applications where convenience is a priority – may want to consider flat cables as a quality option.

Maintenance
In general, round cables are easier to maintain than flat cables, primarily because flat cables require much more precision in their construction. Flat cables require precise weighing and balancing to ensure the uniformity of their movements, for instance.

Replacing components on a round cable is typically easier than on a flat cable. Unlike round cables, flat cables also require special tools for the process of encapsulating their components into a single cable strand. For these reasons, maintenance on flat cables can be highly time-consuming and lead to excessive downtime for the machinery involved.