What are USB cables made of?
USB cables take 12 things directly, among them copper wire, polyethylene, PVC, aluminum foil, brass and steel. Trace them back and you pass 54 made things on the way to 22 raw materials.
How USB cables are made See it on the map
What goes straight in
- Copper wireat Draw the copper wire
- Polyethyleneat Insulate each conductor
- PVCat Insulate each conductor
- Aluminum foilat Twist and shield the pairs
- Brassat Stamp and plate the connectors
- Steelat Stamp and plate the connectors
- Nickelat Stamp and plate the connectors
- Goldat Stamp and plate the connectors
- Solderat Tin and solder the wires
- Tinat Tin and solder the wires
- Microchipat Tin and solder the wires
- ABS plasticat Mold the inner shell
From the ground: 22 raw materials
- Water through gold
- Nickel ore through nickel
- Gold ore through gold
- Tin ore through tin
- Air through ABS plastic
- Copper ore through microchip, copper
- Natural gas through ABS plastic, ethylene
- Rock salt through gold, chlorine
- Iron ore through ABS plastic, pigment
- Sulfur through ABS plastic, pigment
- Crude oil through microchip, aluminum
- Coal through microchip, aluminum
- Zinc ore through gold, zinc
- Lead ore through solder, lead
- Limestone through gold, quicklime
- Dolomite through steel, magnesium
- Manganese ore through steel, manganese
- Silver ore through solder, silver
- Quartz through microchip, silicon wafer
- Titanium ore through ABS plastic, pigment, titanium dioxide
- Bauxite through microchip, aluminum, alumina
- Timber through steel, magnesium, metallurgical silicon
Made along the way: 42 things
Metals 11
Chemicals and fuels 25
EthyleneChlorinePigmentPlasticizerOxygen gasQuicklimeArgonSulfuric acidNaphthaPropyleneAmmoniaBenzeneStyreneTitanium dioxideCarbon blackPetroleum cokePropaneHydrogenTolueneCaustic sodaCharcoalHydrochloric acidPhenolFormaldehydeMethanol