Information About Foil Tape And Tinned Copper Shielding

Copper is commonly used for shielding purposes, usually as a foil tape or tinned copper shielding. Information about foil tape and tinned copper shielding is readily available online. Both foil tape and tinned copper shielding are used to shield cables, eliminate EMI/RFI interference, thermal and electrical purposes and others.

Foil tapes are available in two kinds: aluminum and copper. Both are conductive acrylic adhesive. Foil tapes are used for purposes that require reliable point-to-point contact like EMI/RFI shielding, static charge draining and grounding. These foil tapes have many uses in electronic design, prototyping for test laboratories and for design and troubleshooting purposes. Copper foil tapes in particular is a cost effective to shield against EMI/RFI interferences. It is very easy to apply and therefore, time saving. Copper foil tapes are conductive all throughout including the adhesive which makes it ideal for cable shielding, shielding electrical connections between surfaces of sheets and foils, die-cuts, temporary shielding during tests and as an antistatic.

Tinned copper shield is available in mesh and flat braid. Tinned copper shielding (flat braid) is rolled flat and braid at the time of manufacture. It is very flexible which makes it a great protective braid over hoses and tubings. It is also useful for shielding around cables, ground straps, battery grounding, and as bonding strap for vehicles, aircraft and marine equipment. It also eliminates ignition interference and can be used for any application that needs woven, tinned copper braid. Tinned copper shield has minimum shield coverage of 95%. Specifications QQ-W-343 type S and ASTM B-33 are met for woven tinned copper shields.

More information about foil tape and tinned copper shielding including the thickness, approximate awg, ampacity and others differ depending on the type of tinned copper shielding to be used as well as the shielding capacity of foil tapes which also differ with its size. Copper Foil tapes are available in typical industry-standard metric cut sizes, example, 24mm for every 1 inch of nominal tape width ordered. Note that rolls are 5% narrower than the nominal size. In this case, the product’s actual size is 25.4mm wide.

The conductive adhesive of copper foil tapes is ideal for modifications of printed circuit boards, repairs of security alarm circuits and for layout and design of wiring board prototypes. It is very ideal for wrapping cables to shield EMI/RFI and to provide electrical continuity by seaming of EMI/RFI shielded rooms. It is also used for draining of static charge and surface contact to materials such as plastic or aluminum which is non-solderable. Its copper-bright color is non-tarnishing and annealed making it also great for arts and decorative projects.

For better shield coverage, tinned copper shield is recommended. Its woven, tinned copper construction provides a minimum coverage of 95%. It has a nominal thickness of .020” making it very flexible and ideal for use as bonding strap for marine equipment, aircraft and vehicles.

You can find other specific information about foil tape and tinned copper shielding at the manufacturer’s website or you may give them a call for more assistance needed.