Created on 01.07
Beware of the "Low-Price Trap": How to Identify the Purity and Quality of Cable Copper Materials Amid Soaring Copper Prices
[December 10, 2025, Hebei] Recently, international copper prices have been rising continuously. As the core raw material of cables, the cost of copper materials has accounted for more than 70% of the total cable cost. Against this industry background, some unscrupulous merchants, in order to seek exorbitant profits, under the guise of "low-price promotions", illegally use inferior materials such as recycled copper, copper-clad aluminum, and adulterated copper to replace high-purity copper in cable production, laying great potential safety hazards such as short circuits, overload heating, and even fires in power transmission. As a national high-tech enterprise with more than 30 years of experience in the industry, Huada Cable Co., Ltd. adheres to the concept of "quality first, safety-oriented" and hereby releases a copper material identification guide. From three core dimensions of core standards, practical skills, and purchase suggestions, it helps consumers understand the logic of copper material identification and stay away from low-price traps.
I. Core Standards for Copper Purity: Understanding the Hard Indicators of "High-Quality Copper"
The purity of copper used in cables is not the higher the better, but must strictly comply with the corresponding national standards, balancing electrical conductivity and economy. According to the national standard GB/T 3952-2016 "Copper Conductors for Cables", copper conductors for power transmission must meet the requirement that the DC resistivity at 20℃ is ≤0.017241 Ω·mm²/m. This key indicator implies the core requirement of copper content ≥99.90%, corresponding to the T2 electrolytic tough copper grade commonly used in industry, with a total impurity content not exceeding 0.10%. All power cables of Huada Cable adopt T2 electrolytic tough copper that meets this standard, and the core raw materials are sourced from top domestic copper suppliers such as Tianjin Pipe (Group) Corporation and Jiangxi Copper Corporation, ensuring conductor purity and electrical conductivity from the source.
II. Practical Identification Skills: 6 Steps to Screen Copper Purity and Quality
1. Observe the Color: Judge Purity by Color. The surface of high-purity T2 copper conductors is uniformly bright red with full luster and no dullness; if the color is yellowish, dull, or has uneven color difference, it is likely to be recycled copper or adulterated copper. The copper conductors of Huada Cable are processed by precision rolling technology, with uniform surface color, which can directly distinguish superior from inferior products.
2. Test the Hand Feel: Judge Material Quality by Flexibility. High-purity copper materials have excellent flexibility, can be easily shaped by hand bending, and there are no cracks or breaks at the bent part; inferior copper materials or copper-clad aluminum are hard and brittle, and are prone to creases or even breaks when bent. Consumers can initially judge the quality of the material through a simple bending test.
3. Check the Weight: Investigate Cutting Corners Based on Density. The density of copper is 8.96g/cm³, which is much higher than that of alternative materials such as aluminum (2.7g/cm³). Under the same specifications, high-quality copper-core cables are significantly heavier than copper-clad aluminum and adulterated copper cables. Consumers can investigate the merchant's cutting corners by weighing and comparing.
4. Examine the Markings: Avoid "Three-No" Products from Qualification Information. Cables produced by regular manufacturers are printed with clear marks such as brand, model, specification, implementation standard, and production batch number, and can provide third-party authoritative test reports. All products of Huada Cable are equipped with complete qualification documents, supporting consumers to trace and verify, and resolutely eliminating "three-no" products.
5. Test the Insulation: Synchronously Investigate the Quality of Supporting Materials. High-quality cables use high-quality insulating materials such as environmentally friendly cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE), which feel flexible and elastic with uniform insulation thickness; inferior cables have hard insulation layers that are easy to tear and uneven thickness, posing a leakage risk. The insulation layer of Huada Cable has undergone strict thickness testing and voltage resistance testing, and all indicators far exceed industry standards.
6. Observe the Cross-Section: Investigate Process Defects in Details. Cut the cable to observe the cross-section. High-quality copper conductors have a circular cross-section with a dense structure without gaps or inclusions; inferior copper materials have irregular cross-sections, with process defects such as air holes and impurities. Huada Cable uses continuous casting and rolling technology to produce conductors, with dense and uniform cross-sections, and the process defect rate is close to zero.
III. Ultimate Purchase Suggestions: Hold the Bottom Line of Quality and Avoid Safety Risks
1. Prioritize regular manufacturers with high visibility and good reputation, such as qualified enterprises including State Grid qualified suppliers and national green factories. When purchasing, take the initiative to ask the merchant to provide product quality test reports, and focus on verifying whether core indicators such as copper core resistivity, cross-sectional area, and voltage resistance performance meet national standards.
2. Do not covet low prices, and keep in mind that "you get what you pay for". Against the background of soaring copper prices, if the cable price is much lower than the market average, there is a high probability of material adulteration or cutting corners. It is necessary to stay alert to gimmicks such as "loss-making promotions" and "factory direct sales".
3. Choose appropriate specifications according to the electrical load to avoid overload heating of the cable due to insufficient specifications.
Cables are the "lifeline" of electrical safety. Even if copper prices rise, quality cannot be sacrificed to save money. Mastering the above identification knowledge can not only avoid low-price traps, but also accurately select high-quality cables that meet needs, building a solid line of defense for electrical safety. Choosing Huada Cable means choosing a safe, reliable and worry-free electrical guarantee.