Pure copper is a purple-red metal, commonly known as "red copper," "red copper," or "red copper." Pure copper is highly ductile. A drop of pure copper, the size of a drop of water, can be stretched into a filament up to two kilometers long or rolled into nearly transparent foil larger than a bed. Pure copper's most valuable property is its exceptional electrical conductivity, second only to silver among all metals, making it a staple in the electrical industry.
Pure copper has far more applications than pure iron. Every year, 50% of copper is purified by electrolysis for use in the electrical industry. The pure copper mentioned here must be extremely blunt, containing at least 99.95% copper. Even small amounts of impurities, particularly phosphorus, arsenic, and aluminum, can significantly reduce copper's conductivity. Oxygen content in copper (which can easily be introduced during copper smelting) significantly affects conductivity, so copper used in the electrical industry generally must be oxygen-free. Furthermore, impurities such as lead, antimony, and bismuth can prevent copper crystals from bonding together, causing heat brittleness and hindering the processing of pure copper. This type of highly pure copper is typically refined by electrolysis: impure copper (i.e., crude copper) serves as the anode, pure copper serves as the cathode, and copper sulfate solution serves as the electrolyte. When an electric current is passed through, the impure copper at the anode gradually dissolves, while pure copper gradually precipitates at the cathode. The resulting copper can reach a purity of 99.99%.
Red copper is a relatively pure form of copper and can generally be considered nearly pure copper. It has good conductivity and plasticity, but lower strength and hardness.
Properties and uses of brass:
Brass is a type of copper containing other alloying elements. It is less expensive than red copper, has slightly lower conductivity and plasticity than red copper, but has higher strength and hardness.
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. The simplest brass is a copper-zinc binary alloy, called simple brass or ordinary brass. Varying the zinc content in brass can produce brass with varying mechanical properties. A higher zinc content in brass increases its strength and slightly decreases its plasticity. Brass used in industry must contain no more than 45% zinc. Higher zinc contents will cause brittleness and deteriorate the alloy's properties. Adding 1% tin to brass significantly improves its resistance to seawater and marine atmospheric corrosion, hence the name "naval brass." Tin improves brass's machinability. Lead brass is commonly known as easy-to-cut national standard copper. The addition of lead primarily improves machinability and wear resistance; lead has little effect on brass' strength. Engraving copper is also a type of lead brass. Most brasses have good color, machinability, and ductility, making them easy to electroplate or paint.
In both industrial and civilian applications, different materials are selected based on their specific application. For example, for electrical wiring, where flexibility is required, red copper is preferred. For connectors, brass is often used for screw connections.
Properties and Uses of Bronze:
Originally referring to a copper-tin alloy, bronze was later designated as a copper alloy other than brass and white copper, often preceded by the name of the primary added element. Tin bronze offers excellent casting properties, friction reduction, and mechanical properties, making it suitable for manufacturing bearings, worm gears, and gears. Lead bronze is a widely used bearing material in modern engines and grinding machines. Aluminum bronze boasts high strength, excellent wear and corrosion resistance, and is used for casting high-load gears, bushings, marine propellers, and other materials. Beryllium bronze and phosphor bronze have high elastic limits and good electrical conductivity, making them suitable for manufacturing precision springs and electrical contact components. Beryllium bronze is also used to manufacture spark-free tools used in coal mines and oil depots.
Properties and Uses of White Copper:
Copper alloys with nickel as the primary additive. Common white copper is a binary copper-nickel alloy; complex white copper alloys with added elements such as manganese, iron, zinc, and aluminum are called complex white copper. Industrial white copper is divided into structural white copper and electrical white copper. Structural white copper is characterized by excellent mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and attractive color. It is widely used in precision machinery, chemical machinery, and shipbuilding components. Electrical white copper generally exhibits good thermoelectric properties. Manganese copper, constantan, and corundum are varieties of manganese-nickel copper with varying manganese contents. They are used in the manufacture of precision electrical instruments, varistors, precision resistors, strain gauges, thermocouples, and more.
How to distinguish between copper, brass, bronze, and white copper:
White copper, brass, copper (also known as "red copper"), and bronze (bluish-gray or grayish-yellow) are distinguished by color. White copper and brass are particularly easy to distinguish; copper is pure copper (with impurities less than 1%), while bronze (with other alloying elements, approximately 5%), is slightly more difficult to distinguish. Unoxidized, copper is brighter than bronze, which has a slightly bluish or darker yellow hue. Oxidized, copper turns black, while bronze takes on a bluish-green (due to harmful oxidation caused by excess water) or a chocolate-colored hue.
The company has a cluster of leading copper processing production lines in China, including:
German imported precision copper tube production line (annual output of 30,000 tons)
Japanese technology copper foil rolling line (thinnest up to 6μm)
Fully automatic copper bar continuous extrusion line
Intelligent copper sheet and strip finishing mill unit
Digitalized control and management of the whole production process is realized through MES system, and the dimensional accuracy of the products can reach ±0.01mm.
