Enameled wire

From Freepedia

Enameled wire is a thin wire coated in plastic and used in electric motor coils. It is placed in the motor slots in order to create magnetic flux when electricity flows through it. It is also used in the construction of electromagnets, transformers and inductors. The core material is copper, coated with a thin layer of polyurethane, polyester or polyester imide. For ease of manufacturing inductive components like transformers and inductors, most of these wires can be soldered. This means that the electrical connections at the ends can be made without stripping off the insulation as for normal insulated wires. Enameled wires are classified by their diameter (AWG number or millimetres), temperature class and isolation class. Class 2 wire has thicker insulation layer resulting in a higher breakdown voltage than class 1 wire. The temperature class indicates the temperature of the wire where it has 20,000 hours service life. At lower temperatures the service life of the wire is longer (about a factor 2 for every 10 ºC lower temperature). Common temperature classes are 120, 155 and 180 °C.