New England Wire Technologies

AA59569 Braids

Federal Specification QQ-B-575C, dated September 22, 1993, was cancelled on November 20, 2000 and replaced by Commercial Item Description (CID) A-A-59569. This CID covers tinned, silver, or nickel plated copper wire braids supplied in tubular or flat form intended for use in commercial/industrial applications such as shielding over electrical conductors, controller contacts and grounding bonds.

In accordance with the specification, the wire used by New England Wire Technologies for all braid constructions conforms to ASTM B33 for tinned copper, ASTM B298 for silver plated copper, and ASTM B355 for nickel plated copper. Per the CID, all braid constructions utilizing silver plated copper meet the specs minimum plating thickness of 40 micro-inches and all constructions manufactured with nickel plated copper meet the required 50 micro-inches plating minimum thickness.

Silver plated copper is used when the shielding is to be subjected to temperatures exceeding 150° C while nickel plated copper is recommended for high temperature applications up to 400°C. Both silver and nickel plated copper offer improved corrosion resistance as compared to tinned copper.