What Are the Characteristics of Copper Alloys?

In various metal processing activities, it may be necessary to deal with copper alloys. That is, a material formed by the union of copper and other elements, which has specific characteristics and is used in various activities. Copper alloys are fundamental in industry and construction because they have excellent physical-chemical properties.

It must also be added that when copper is combined with other materials, structures with superior mechanical properties are obtained. All without losing the distinctive qualities of the base metal. So here are a series of useful information that you need to know before starting work that involves the use and also the processing of this metal, such as cutting and drilling copper.

What are Copper Alloys, Definition

First point of this guide: understand what we're talking about. Copper alloys are materials of a metallic nature that respond precisely to this name: we're talking about compounds that are born from the combination of copper with one or more other chemical elements. This fusion is essential to improve the mechanical properties of pure copper while maintaining its excellent properties.

Let's start from a premise: copper is a very soft metal and this can be a problem in certain circumstances, on the other hand it is an excellent conductor: that's why it's used in electrical cables. So, the alloys mentioned above can improve the structure to make the result more solid while maintaining the conducting capacity we're interested in.

What are the Main Copper Alloys Used?

As you can easily imagine, copper alloys are numerous but it's possible to group them into four sub-categories that allow working with well-detailed combinations from the literature. Here are these families of copper alloys:

Brass

Obtained with copper and zinc and is very widespread. It has known, appreciated characteristics: it is ductile, resistant to corrosion and has a color similar to gold. It is used to make fittings, musical instruments and rustic decorations.

Bronze

Created with copper and tin. Here you start working on specific qualities: bronze is very hard and resistant to wear. Historically used for weapons and statues, today it is used for gears, bushings and bearings. And for third place in award ceremonies.

Copper Nickel

A copper alloy born from the combined processing of copper and nickel. Here we find extraordinary resistance to marine corrosion. It is used for desalination plant pipes and for coining coins such as the 1 and 2 Euro coins in circulation.

Alpacca

Finally we have alpacca which is a more complex combination born from copper, zinc and nickel. It does not contain silver but shines similarly. This solution is used for cutlery and precision instruments and is considered a hard and corrosion-resistant alloy.

The Substantial Advantages of Copper Alloys

In a few words, it combines the benefits of copper while eliminating its drawbacks. Depending on the combination with certain elements, you have copper alloys that offer greater hardness and mechanical strength, better resistance to corrosion for marine applications or in areas close to the coast, ease of processing to simplify casting or cutting. The world of construction and applications is varied

And constantly evolving. And copper alloys help achieve the best possible result while always maintaining an excellent level of conductivity. But there are also other benefits that must be preserved such as antibacterial properties (Wikipedia source) and the great ability to be recycled. Copper alloys can also be melted down and reused without losing their original properties.

Main Characteristics of Copper Alloys

Although they have different properties depending on the composition, copper alloys have specific characteristics that characterize the different combinations. First of all, high conductivity is maintained. While slightly lower than pure copper, alloys maintain excellent thermal and electrical conductivity. Then we must highlight resistance to corrosion.

Many alloys, like bronze, develop a protective patina that makes them ideal for marine or aggressive chemical environments. The addition of zinc, tin or aluminum increases hardness and tensile strength compared to the non-alloyed metal. At the same time, these alloys can be easily shaped by plastic deformation (hot or cold) and have excellent casting capability. Like pure copper, its alloys have the natural ability to eliminate bacteria and viruses from surfaces.

How to Work Copper Alloys

Let's start from a known point: copper is pasty, difficult to work with cutting tools because - for example - during drilling this material tends to drag it downward rather than drill it. Alloys are a composition that also includes copper, so this problem only occurs in part. In any case, drilling and other chip removal operations (turning, milling) on copper alloys are heavily influenced by the chemical composition of the material. Generally speaking, we can say that for brass and bronze, bits with a reduced helix angle are used to prevent the tool from penetrating too quickly.

But the feed must always be constant, if it's too slow you can cause an excess of friction and heat. If it's too fast you can break the bit because of the material that is too tough. In any case, to find the right solution you can consult the Krino catalog which has bits to drill even copper alloys like brass and hard bronze.