Custom Coil Material Options | Custom Coils Inc.

No matter how demanding your component requirements, we have the resources available and experience needed to ensure your project is a success. Since we serve many customers from many industries, and have over 5000 part numbers in our production database, we have the knowledge and experience to source an extensive range of coil materials. Our team can help you develop the most cost-effective design, sourced with materials which can withstand even the harshest operating environments.

Material Selection and Procurement Services

At Custom Coils, our team brings over 30 years of design and manufacturing expertise to custom electromagnetic assemblies. Using our extensive knowledge of coil materials, we work closely with our clients to develop custom solutions and build products that maximize their design objectives. Since many of the projects, with which we work, are used in high power applications, the proper selection and specification of materials is critical to ensuring performance optimization and component longevity.

Material Selection

Perhaps no design consideration is more critical to ensuring the highest quality and reliability of an electromagnetic than the selection of materials. With every design application, there exists a unique combination of materials necessary to optimize product reliability and cost. We can help you optimize your electromagnetic component by offering a wide array of material options that will meet the output requirements, at the most reasonable cost.

Design & Engineering

Our engineers are available to answer all questions and support any challenge relating to the design of your project. Our team will ensure all industry-specific standards and regulations are met as well as any unique design needs you require. We work with simple and complex designs, including those with high thermal challenges, unusual mechanical cross sections, tight space constraints, and extensive testing requirements.

Prototyping & Development

Prototyping and product development are crucial aspects of coil production. We thoroughly test in-progress configurations to identify areas for further design improvements. No matter how large or small your project is, we will optimize your designs for quality, manufacturability, and cost.

Conductive Materials

We work closely with each customer to understand their unique design and performance requirements. When it comes to selecting conductor materials for coil assemblies, copper and aluminum are two of the most common options. Copper offers excellent electrical conductivity and can carry more current than aluminum for any given diameter of wire. Since it offers a high degree of tensile strength, it adds more durability than aluminum.

Aluminum offers much less electrical conductivity than copper and is more lightweight. It’s also a flexible material, which can be advantageous in certain applications. There are many factors that go into identifying the most suitable conductor material for a project. While our team can offer in-depth guidance and support, a few factors to consider include:

Required degree of corrosion-resistance
Conductivity requirements
Maintenance requirements
Potential for oxidation
Budget

Magnet Wire and Tube Materials

Custom Coils offers numerous options for magnet wire, wire insulation, and tubing.

Magnet Wire

The conductor specification is perhaps the most critical material item of an electromagnetic component. Our team can help you select the best choice for your project.

Copper: The most common type of magnet wire used in electromagnets, copper offers a higher electrical conductivity and better resistance factor than most other conductive materials.
Aluminum: In general, aluminum is a more cost-effective choice, being much lighter than copper with less mechanical stess. However, it has a much lower conductivity and higher resistance than copper that often mitigate its usage.
Litz wire: Litz wire consists of individually insulated magnetic wires that are twisted into a pattern. This type of conductor is most commonly used in high-frequency AC applications, reducing AC loss through a reduction in resistance and eddy currents.
Hollow core tube: Hollow core tube is commonly used with high-powered magnets and features square or round cross-sections. This type of conductor allows for in-line cooling within the coil windings, eliminating the need for external cooling.

Wire Insulation

Specifying the correct type of wire insulation is crucial and depends on each electromagnet’s unique operational needs. Temperature requirements and environmental factors play a large role in material selection. The most common insulations available include:

Enamel film insulators: The most common conductor insulation, enamel film insulation is available in several materials and thickness, offering excellent dialectric properties with minimal material build.
Polyester fiberglass woven insulation: Suitable for high-power applications and harsh environmental conditions.
Tape wrap insulation: Available on several materials, including Kapton, Mylar, Teflon and fiberglass glass cloth.
Ceramic Insuations: For extreme temperature applications, Ceramic withstands temperatures ranging from -450 °F to 1000 °F and is a common choice for aerospace, nuclear, and chemical industry applications.

Tubing

Certain designs feature standard tubing as a conductor or cooling layer.
Metal tubing, such as Copper, Aluminum, and Kovar, can be specified for conductive and cooling purposes.

Insulating Materials

In certain applications, additional insulation materials are required to further isolate and protect the coil. To meet these needs, we offer several options, including the examples below:

Nomex^® paper: Nomex, a trademark of DuPont, is a family of insulation papers with high dielectric strength. Nomex offers flexibility along with mechanical toughness and durability.
DMD paper: Dacron-Mylar-Dacron paper is a tear-resistant polyester film. In addition to offering dielectric stability, it also provides high thermal conductivity and mechanical strength.

Insulating Tapes
In addition to insulating paper, we also work with many types of insulating tapes:

Kapton: Offers good electrical resistance
Mylar: Known for its high strength and good electrical resistance
Glass cloth: Provides good formability
Teflon: Suitable for high-temperature environments
Epoxy-impregnated tapes: Provides hardened outer protection

Structural Materials

Some designs include additional structural components for the coil to be wound or assembled into. The purpose for specifying a structural component into a design might include protective, mechanical alignment, and heat dissipation.

Examples of materials we commonly work with include:

Steel forms: Increase the magnetic field
Heat sink, cooling forms: Made from aluminum, copper, ceramic, or steel
Aluminum: Cost-effective, easily machinable, less weight.
Copper: Offers better thermal conductivity for heat dissipation
Ceramic: Provides excellent thermal conductivity and wear resistance
G-10 (fiberglass epoxy laminate): Durable and highly machinable for electrical isolation
Teflon (PTFE): Provides electrical isolation
Plastic: Relatively inexpensive but only suitable for certain temperature requirements

Materials

Material Selection and Procurement Services

Material Selection

Design & Engineering

Prototyping & Development

Conductive Materials

Magnet Wire and Tube Materials

Magnet Wire

Wire Insulation

Tubing

Epoxies / Resins / Encapsulations

Insulating Materials

Structural Materials

Surface Treatments and Finishes

Contact Custom Coil for More Information on Coil Materials

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