Overcoat refers to individual strands of tinned copper wire stranded together and then covered with an additional overall tin coating.
Overcoat describes a conductor construction in which individual tinned copper strands are first stranded together and then given an additional overall coating of tin. The result is a stranded conductor with tin protection both on the individual strands and over the completed bundle, providing a continuous tinned surface on the finished conductor.
Tin coating protects copper from oxidation and corrosion and improves solderability, and applying an overcoat after stranding adds a further protective layer that helps seal the conductor surface. This construction can improve corrosion resistance and the integrity of the conductor in service compared with strands that are tinned individually but not overcoated.
In commercial and industrial wire, tinned and overcoated conductors serve applications where corrosion resistance and dependable terminations are important. Recognizing the overcoat construction is part of identifying a conductor built for added surface protection.
Because the additional coating seals the conductor surface after stranding, an overcoat construction can improve corrosion resistance and the integrity of terminations compared with strands tinned individually but not overcoated, which is part of why it is chosen for demanding environments.
Recognizing the overcoat construction is part of identifying a conductor built for added surface protection, suited to environments where corrosion resistance and dependable connections both matter.
At Windy City Wire, an understanding of conductor constructions, including tinned and overcoated wire, supports the selection of conductors suited to an application. Recognizing how an overcoat adds corrosion protection helps customers match conductors to environments where surface durability matters.