Metal and Insulated Wires

• Metal wires are typically made of a thread and thin metal rods. This thread or rod typically involves the threading together of smaller, thinner strands of metal. The metal type that a manufacturer will use depends on the strength, conductivity, melting point, weight and ductility. Insulated wires are wires covered with a nonconductive sheath made of some sort of rubber or plastic. These wires appear in the automobile industry, in electrical appliances or in other heavy electrical equipment.
  
  

Braided and Fuse Wires

• Braided wires involve taking individual wires and weaving them through one another. This reduces the wear on the wire as electricity passes through it. A braided wire is made up of two conductor wires woven together. The thickness of a braided wire depends on the diameter of the individual conductor wires.
  
  Fuse wires are a special sort of wire that connects fuses, completing the flow of electricity. Fuse wires use chromium, aluminum, iron or nickel for the wiring. These wires will "blow" when high levels of electricity pass through them, ensuring that the device on the other end of the wire does not get damaged.
  
  

Shielded and Thermocouple Wires

• Shielded wires have several layers of conductive wires and insulated layering. All shielded wires have a protective covering on their exteriors. There is a shield layer that protects the insulation layer from the interior wire. Then there is a layer of composite tape that wraps around the insulated wires themselves. They are often used in heavy industry with large machinery.
  
  Thermocouple wires are wires that sense temperature changes. There are bare thermocouple wires that are simply a strand of metal. The most common type of thermocouple wire is a duplex insulated wire. Less common are the metal sheathed and high temperature thermocouple wire and cable.
  
  

Thermostat, Winding, Armouring Wires

• Thermostat wires function with electrical devices that regulate temperature. Usually they are made of uncovered copper conductor that is insulated with PVC and are low voltage control cables. Winding wires are used in a variety of electromagnetic devices. They are typically very fine wires and are made from copper with very low resistance. Armoured cables are heavily insulated wires that have strong steel strands wrapped around the interior cable. There are usually three layers of sheathed protection. They are often used underground or in areas with high wear.
  
  

Coaxial, Enameled and Hook-Up Wires

• Coaxial cables have a large round center wire covered by an insulating spacer, which is covered with a round conductive sheath. It is often used in the telecommunications industry and has a copper wire core. Enameled wires are thin copper wires that have a enameled coating. Enameled wires' primary purpose is being coiled into large bundles for powering motors. Hook-up wires are a single wire or group of wires that are not insulated respective to each other. They are used in electrical devices that have a low voltage. The most common construction materials of hook-up wires are aluminum and copper.