@chaka I don’t agree with your statements. Based on physics.
First let’s get a few things straight before we start confusing people.
“High strand wire” just tells us the wire is composed of a high number of individual strands, which improves the flexibility of the wire, not the cross section, nor the current carrying capacity. If anything, a massive conductor would be better, however unpractical.
“Silicone” just tells us the insulation of the wire is made of a flexible and heat-resistant silicone polymer.
Copper is always copper and 10 AWG wire always has the same cross copper cross section, thus the same current carrying capacity in terms of heat dissipation.
I do not believe that the currents we are putting through these wires can melt the insulation.
Let’s calculate the power dissipated by 25cm of copper 10AWG wire.
First we need to calculate the resistance of this piece of wire.
Resistivity ρ = R * (A/L) where R is the resistance (Ohm), L is the length (m) or the wire and A (m²) is the cross section.
Therefore R = ρ * (L/A)
The resistivity of copper is roughly 1.7 x 10^-8 Ohm.m
The length of our wire is 0.25m
The section of our wire is 5.2 x 10^-6 m²
Result R = 0.0008 Ohm
Let’s now calculate the dissipated power over this length of wire at a current of 120A.
Dissipated power P = R * I² where R is resistance (Ohm) and I is current (A)
Result P = 0.0008 Ohm * (120 A)² = 11,5 W
I seriously doubt that 11.5W spread over 25cm of wire during a brief period of time on a moving e-board will be capable of melting any insulation.
Yes, high strand count wire is more flexible and combined with silicone insulation it gives you an exceptionally flexible, durable and heat-resistant wire, which is good for our applications.
Now if vendor A was selling PCB’s with plain automotive wire and vendor B was selling the same PCB’s at the same price but with high strand count silicone insulated wire, you could safely say vendor B is offering better quality.