ZHENGYANG MACHINERY EQUIPMENT Co.,Ltd.

Commonly Used Wire and Cable Insulation Plastics

In the wire stripping process, apart from the metal core, we can also recycle some different plastic insulation materials. And the main plastics are polyethylene, cross-linked polyethylene, PVC, polypropylene, polyolefin, fluorine plastic, nylon and so on. Now let’s have a closer look at some of these materials.

Polyethylene is the most widely used plastic, small polyethylene meson loss, high resistivity, high breakdown field strength, weather resistance, good technology, which makes it best electronic insulation material. However, due to its low temperature, it is mainly used for the communication cable insulation. As the medium and high density polyethylene own higher strength and hardness, they are mostly used as cable sheath. But polyethylene has a biggest drawback: It is easy to burn and the smoke is very thick, which brings a lot of hidden dangers to the environment.

The cross-linked polyethylene is an excellent thermosetting type insulating material by adding cross-linking agent to low density polyethylene. It improved its mechanical properties, weather resistance and allowable working temperature on the basis of inheriting polyethylene’s good performances.

PVC has good physical and mechanical properties and excellent process performance, which is the most popular plastic of the 20th century. But in the 21st century, it is gradually disappearing in the cable market. Two aspects lead to this result: One is the high halide. The other one is the five weaknesses of PVC: high density and insulation cost, low working temperature, high dielectric loss, weak cold resistance and releasing poison gas（HCL）when it burns.

Low smoke halogen-free polyolefin has the advantages of flame retardant, small smoke and no poison gas, which has gradually been used in important public buildings.

Fluorine plastic becomes more and more popular for its high working temperature, insulation, weather resistance, acid and alkali resistance, oil resistance, and good flame resistance. But it is very expensive, and users have to think twice.