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The Book of Terms

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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.

   

 

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

Station Wire

PVC jacketed wire specially designed for use in ducts or stapled to surfaces for direct connection to a subscriber’s telephone.

Station Wire and Cable

Wire and cable used on individual communication line locations within a building.

Stationary Block

Blocks on which the wire or cable is wound by a rotating arm, thus producing a stationary coil. As each layer of wire or cable is applied, the bottom level falls off in the form of a coil. Twist is put into the wire as each turn is wound on the block.

Stationary Stem

In the extrusion process, the motion of the die and container while the stem component remains stationary.

Stator

The portion of a motor that in­cludes the stationary magnetic parts with their associated windings. Usually refers to AC motors only.

Stay Cord

A component of a cable, usually a high tensile textile, used to anchor the cable ends at their points of termination and to keep any pull of the cable from being transferred to the electrical connections.

Steady State

When a characteristic exhibits only negligible change over a long period of time.

Steam Curing

A technique used in the wire and cable industry to cure peroxide-based crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) compounds. High-pressure steam contacts the cable and the heat causes the peroxide to decompose into a reactive radical and to initiate the cure cycle. Also used to cure silicone rubber compounds.

Steam Pocket

Cavities formed in copper during furnace treatment due to the reduction of cuprous oxide by hydrogen in the atmosphere. Also known as Gassing.

Steam Tempering

This provides a coating of blue oxide finish to high-speed steel components such as drills and milling cutters, improving scoring and atmospheric corrosion resistance. It can also be used to harden the surface of ferrous sintered products.

Stearate

A salt formed by the combin­ation of stearic acid with a base. Stearin is a fat derived from animals and plants and the chief constituent of tallow and the more solid fats.

Stearic Acid

Used in the prevention of corrosion of steel wire during storage. A thin film formed from a layer of molten stearic acid floating on a rinse bath is said to prevent acid-cleaned steel wire from rusting even when exposed to high humidity for six weeks.

Steel

An alloy of iron and carbon. Commercial steels contain more than about 0.05 percent and less than 2 percent carbon, along with manganese, silicon, sulfur and phosphorous. Steel is the least expensive and most widely used metal. Depending on the application, steel contains various amounts of those elements and other alloying metals such as chromium, nickel, manganese silicon, vanadium and molybdenum. Stainless steel is the most common of the alloy steels.

Steel Ladle

A vessel for receiving and handling liquid steel. It is made with a steel shell, lined with refractories.

Steel Rod

A hot rolled steel product produced in many different alloys and diameters. Rod is the typical feedstock for wire products and fasteners.

Steel Wire Gauge

The commonly used name in the U.S. for Washburn & Moen Gauge. It is used by practically all steel wire manufacturers in the U.S., though sometimes under other names. This is different from copper and other nonferrous wires which use the American Wire Gauge (Brown and Sharpe Gauge).

Steel Wool Wire

Made from low carbon variety, steel, not silicon killed, to the following range of analysis: carbon 0.08 to 0.15 percent; manganese 0.30 to 0.50 percent; sulfur 0.05 percent maximum; and phosphorus 0.05 percent maximum. Must be produced to rigid standards to give the exact qualities required for efficient running of the wool cutting machines. The wire is fed continuously into a steel wool cutting machine.

Steel-Cored Aluminum

An alternative name for wire made with an aluminum layer over a steel wire. The steel adds strength to the conductor.

Stelmor® Process

An in-line controlled method of cooling carbon steel rods immediately after delivery from a rod-finishing mill. The rod is rapidly water-cooled to a predetermined temperature, formed into rod rings by a laying head and deposited on a conveyor where it is cooled in a controlled manner and later collected into coils. There are several types of Stelmor® systems. See following entries.

Stelmor® Process, Hybrid Cooling

The Hybrid Cooling Stelmor® Process uses a combination of the other methods listed above in order to create specialized cooling conditions for specific carbon and alloy steel grades. For example, one or more fans at the beginning of the conveyor could be on to cool the rod to a pre-determined temperature, then the insulated covers on the rest of the conveyor could be used to slow cool the product from that temperature to produce the desired microstructure, mechanical properties or scale conditions.
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