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The Book of Terms

The Book of TermsThe WJI Book of Wire & Cable Terms: an interactive experience of learning and sharing
This book, written by industry volunteers and containing more than 5,000 entries, is an asset for newcomers to wire and cable.

At the same time, it also represents an opportunity for industry veterans to give back by either updating or adding to the more than 5,000 entries. This is an honor system process. Entries/updates must be non-commercial, and any deemed not to be so will be removed. Share your expertise as part of this legacy project to help those who will follow. Purchase a printed copy here.

   

 

All   0-9   A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

THW

Designation for thermoplastic, vinyl insulated, flame-resistant, heat and moisture resistant building cable, 75°C (167°F) dry and wet locations.

THWN

Designation for thermoplastic insulated, heat and moisture resistant, nylon jacketed cable, 600 volt, 75°C (167°F), dry and wet locations.

THWN-2

Designation for thermoplastic insulated, heat and moisture resistant, nylon jacketed building cable, 600 volt, 90°C (194°F) dry and wet locations.

TIA

Designation for either 1) Telecommunications Industry Association, a national standards-making body. 2) Tentative Interim Amendment. Issued to make corrections or cover advancement in the art. Made obsolete by a new issue of the National Electrical Code.

Tie Wire

1) Wire used for binding wire coils. 2) Interlocking wires that secure the ends of furniture springs to one another.

Tie Wire, Concrete

Wire used to tie together steel reinforcing rod lengths that are embedded in concrete as it is poured. The tied steel assemblies strengthen the concrete section. The steel wire is manufactured to critical specifications for strength, ductility and its bonding ability to the concrete.

TIG

Designation for tungsten inert gas welding.

Tilting Table

1) A device used in the rod-rolling operation to receive and deliver billets or to guide rod between stands. 2) Also, a device used to orient coils of rolled rod for packaging and handling, sometimes called an “up-ender.”

Tin

Element, chemical symbol Sn. Tin is a soft, silvery-white metal with high malleability and ductility, but very low tensile strength. It has hardening effects on copper. With a melting point of 232°C (449°F) and a boiling point of 2270°C (4120°F), tin has the longest molten-state range of any common metal.

Tin Coating Test

The continuity of the tin layer on steel wire can be tested by placing the wire, after a thorough cleaning, in a solution at 30°C (86°F) made up of gelatine, potassium ferricyanide, ordinary salt and distilled water, for a period of 1 to 3 hours, when porous areas appear as blue spots. The average weight of tin coating on steel wire is determined by dissolving it in hydro­chloric acid with antimony-trioxide, and finding the difference in weight of the sample before and after treatment.

Tin Man’s Solder

A soft solder composed of approximately two parts tin and one part lead.

Tin Overcoat

Tinned copper wire, stranded, then coated with pure tin.

Tin Pest

The tendency of tin cooled to low temperatures, specifically lower than 13°C (56°F), to crumble into a powder known as “gray tin,” an allotropic modification.

Tin/Chrome Plating

A plating process whereby the molecules from the positively charged tin or chromium anode attach to the negatively charged metal cathode. The thickness of the coating is readily controlled through regulation of the voltage and speed of the sheet through the plating area.

Tinned

A conductor having a thin coating of pure tin, or tin alloy. The coating may keep rubber from sticking or be used to enhance connection. Coatings increase the resistance of the conductor and may contribute to corrosion by electrolysis.

Tinned Copper

Copper that has had a tin coating added to its surface for various applications.

Tinned Wire

Copper wire that has been coated with a layer of tin or solder for various applications.

Tinning

Coating metal with a very thin layer of tin most commonly by immersion into molten tin. Electrodeposition and metal spraying are also used. Tinning is divided into two types: electrolytic or electrotinning, and hot dipped tinning. Both ferrous and nonferrous wires can be coated by either process, and both processes are also used for coating small components.

Tinning, Electrolytic

The process of electroplating the surface of a wire with a tin or tin-lead alloy.

Tinning, Hot Dipped

The process of pulling the conductor material through a molten bath of tin or tin-lead alloy.
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