CCA wire is very different from solid EC grade aluminum wire. On the one hand, CCA belongs to a metal called “bimetal”, while EC grade aluminum is called an alloy. Bimetals are not alloys. An alloy is defined as a mixture of at least two different metals through a melting process. Bimetal is a physical combination of two different metals, designed to maintain the best performance of each metal. Due to the stability of its combination, true bimetals will not be subject to galvanic corrosion. In other words, it will not corrupt itself. The clean combination eliminates the medium of ion electric movement, because the corrosive battery has no space or electric potential to operate. In this case, the bimetal can be designed to maximize the advantages of the two metals in order to complete its target work. For the CCA of BCBW, as mentioned in the introduction, the advantages of using bimetal are many. When set next to solid EC-grade aluminum, CCA gains the advantage that it can be connected to equipment like copper because of its copper skin and enhanced thermal characteristics. It also maintains the 90% weight advantage of solid aluminum. Finally, CCA retains a large part of the economic advantages of solid EC-grade aluminum, which makes consumers happy.

At the time of writing, there is only one verified CCA line
The bonding process is sufficient to create what is called a bimetallic bond. The pressure method originally designed by Kabelmetal and brought to the market by Dr. Gerhard Ziemek, the KM process, is the industry benchmark. The Texas Instruments (TI) process (TI process) uses the same principles as Dr. Ziemek, with a slight modification and the introduction of thermal bonding, so it can also be regarded as a true bimetal process. The true bimetal process creates ultra-clean surfaces on the metal and then combines them in a zero-oxygen atmosphere. Then, the workpiece is subjected to the precise mechanical pressure measured as it passes through the sealing area to prevent oxidation of the joint. The two metals are physically pressed together under precise loads to form a metallurgical bond at the atomic level. In the KM and TI processes, quality control is built into the system because every inch of CCA is checked online to determine whether there are pinholes, cracks, and surface irregularities. Each finished coil is sampled, where a rigorous torsion test is performed to verify adhesion. The twist test will twist the bimetallic *** dozens of times in one direction, and then reverse the direction to twist it dozens of times in the other direction. If the bonding is true, the two metals will not separate under this extreme procedure. There are only two processes that can produce industrial-grade CCA in the world, and the technology is very tightly controlled.

In short, CCA is a very suitable material for BCBW. In addition to the aforementioned advantages, one of the most underestimated advantages is that copper and aluminum bonded by KM or TI processes are not easily separated. According to the Copper Alliance, “Separation of two metals in copper-clad aluminum: The outer coating of copper-clad aluminum wire cannot be easily peeled from its aluminum core. At present, because copper and aluminum in copper-clad aluminum have an affinity , Cannot be completely separated by fire refining. In addition, there is no developed hydrometallurgical refining technology to completely separate the two metals. CCA cannot be recovered…”

The claims of the Copper Industry Alliance are true and false. In a sense, once a true metallurgical combination is achieved, copper and aluminum cannot be easily separated. This is by design and also a proof of legal CCA technology. Indeed, it is difficult to find scrap dealers that accept CCA. In fact, most scrap dealers will reject it if they know it is CCA. The aluminum core of CCA can contaminate copper scrap, causing problems in the remelting plant for pure copper at the end of its process. However, there is an advantage here. If he knew it, copper thieves would often not steal CCA. It is not generally accepted by any scrap dealers, eliminating the demand side of the theft incentive equation. It’s not just any scrap dealer who will buy it. But here is where the truth of the Copper Alliance statement ends: CCA scrap is very recyclable. In fact, it is recycled the most every day. Modern CCA producers, such as Copperweld Bimetals and Engineered Material Solutions, have developed a reliable network of niche recyclers for their CCA scrap. Niche applications of CCA scrap include remelted aluminum killed steel, weathering steel, certain stainless steels, bronzes and even certain aluminum alloys. The factory can’t keep up. This product is being removed from the shelves. Those contractors who are lucky enough to find suppliers cannot get enough supplies. Everyone in the CCA BCBW business is making money or saving money. Even the homeowner has benefited! They enjoy safe electricity service while paying less for their new home.

By 1978, the economy had changed again, and the “good days” of CCA seemed to be back. Almost like a swan song at the end of a wonderful performance, BCBW’s CCA once again competed with the bronze medal. From 1978 to the summer of 1980, the rebound in copper prices just gave dealers enough time to sell their excess inventory of CCA construction wire rods they had accumulated before 1977. Although the rebound in copper prices is very much needed for copper producers, it came too little. CCA producers were late. The actual production of CCA construction wire never recovered after 1977. By the autumn of 1980, copper prices fell to historical lows again.

For the next two decades, until January 2003, copper prices operated in an unprecedentedly low value and non-volatile environment. For copper miners and commodity traders, this long-term economic downturn is despised like purgatory and is called “purgatory” in some circles in the mining industry. But this is about to change. Just like some metallurgical remakes of the movie “Back to the Future”, BCBW’s CCA regained its competitiveness in October 2005. At the time of writing, in July 2016, the trading price of copper cathode was between US$2.08 and US$2.25/lb. CCA is still the most economically feasible and technically feasible building wire for branch circuit wiring on the market.

Different from CCA wire,  aluminium Magnet wire is also a very commonly used magnet wire in the market, and it is widely used.