1995 report on IEC winding wire activities

Due to the fact that winding wire, more commonly called magnet wire in North America, is a major component in many electrical insulating systems, it is important to inform both users and manufacturers about the current state of the international standards that cover this area. These standards are included in an extensive series of documents developed, approved and printed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This paper attempts to give the reader an overview of the group of IEC standards that cover winding wires and provides the most recent information on the status of both published standards and those which are in certain stages of development. The emphasis is upon the main areas of test methods, specifications covering different types of winding wires and the associated standards for packaging. Both the most recent modifications to and introduction of standards in these three areas are reviewed and discussed. Also, to give readers a reference to the widely used standards in North America, frequent mention is made of the magnet wire standards published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). The objective of this paper is to expand the knowledge about international winding wire standards and to create an awareness that these standards have been developed with solid international input so that they may be applied as universally as possible