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The OnlineMetals Guide to Copper
Copper and its alloys were some of the first metallic elements to be discovered by ancient man.
Because the purification of copper requires significant amounts of electricity, however, uses were
found for its many alloys and variants. The copper metals category can be roughly segregated into
three separate groups - Copper alloys, which this page will discuss, as well as Brass and
Bronze. The term copper alloy is generally applied where the material in
question is primarily made of copper, as opposed to brass, which is a mixture of copper and zinc, or bronze,
where the alloy is copper plus (usually) tin and possibly some other element, like aluminum or manganese.
The copper alloys are generally red or pinkish in color. They are known for their malleability and ductility
(ease of working), heat conductivity, and electrical conductivity. Copper does develop an oxide layer, or patina,
when exposed to water. The most famous example of this is the Statue of Liberty in New York, which is primarily
made from copper, but has patinaed over the years due to its exposure to the weather.
In industrial use, it is typically specified where there is a need for either ductility (plumbing or roofing applications)
or electrical conductivity (such as for electromagnets, electrical motors, or wave guides). In home/residential/architectural
applications, it is typically used primarily for its color (i.e. a kitchen backsplash or cutting board) or its heat
transfer properties (i.e. pots and pans).
Pure copper (alloys 101 - 110) are also often known as Electrolytic Tough Pitch or ETP Copper.
OnlineMetals now stocks C101 Oxygen Free Electronic Copper.
This is a 99.99% pure copper with 0.0005% oxygen content. It achieves a minimum 101% IACS conductivity rating, but is generally
valued more for its chemical purity than its electrical conductivity.
This copper is finished to a final form in a carefully regulated, oxygen-free environment. Silver (Ag)
is considered an impurity in the OFE chemical specification. This is also the most expensive of the
three grades listed here.
C145 Tellurium Copper is used when the electrical conductivity properties of copper are desired, but machining must take
place on the product. C145 is deoxidized using phosphorus, and tellurium is used to improve the machinability to 85% of
free-machining brass rod.
OnlineMetals.com currently stocks four alloys of copper in various shapes and sizes.
C101 Copper
| C101 Oxygen Free Electronic Copper - Half Hard (H02) Temper |
| Physical and Mechanical Properties |
Ultimate Tensile Strength, psi |
43,500 |
| Yield Strength, psi |
36,300 |
| Rockwell Hardness |
B40 |
| Machinability |
20% of free-cutting brass rod (C360) |
| C101 Oxygen Free Electronic Copper - Full Hard (H04) Temper |
| Physical and Mechanical Properties |
Tensile Strength, psi |
50,000 |
| Yield Strength, psi |
45,000 |
| Rockwell Hardness |
B50 |
| Machinability |
20% of free-cutting brass rod (C360) |
C110 Copper
| C110 Copper O60 (soft / annealed) temper |
| Physical and Mechanical Properties |
Ultimate Tensile Strength, psi |
31,900 |
| Yield Strength, psi |
10,000 |
| Rockwell Hardness |
F40 |
| Machinability |
20% of free-cutting brass rod (C360) |
| C110 Copper H02 (half hard) temper |
| Physical and Mechanical Properties |
Tensile Strength, psi |
42,100 |
| Yield Strength, psi |
36,300 |
| Rockwell Hardness |
B40 |
| Machinability |
20% of free-cutting brass rod (C360) |
| C110 Copper H04 (full hard) temper |
| Physical and Mechanical Properties |
Tensile Strength, psi |
50,000 |
| Yield Strength, psi |
45,000 |
| Rockwell Hardness |
B50 |
| Machinability |
20% of free-cutting brass rod (C360) |
| Chemistry |
Copper (Cu) |
99.9% |
| Oxygen (O) |
0.04% max |
C122 Copper
| C122 Copper |
| Physical and Mechanical Properties |
Ultimate Tensile Strength, psi |
32,000 |
| Yield Strength, psi |
10,000 |
| Machinability |
20% of free-cutting brass rod (C360) |
| Chemistry |
Copper (Cu) |
99.9% |
| Phosphorus (P) |
0.02% max |
C145 Copper
| C145 Free Machining Tellurium Copper |
| Physical and Mechanical Properties |
Ultimate Tensile Strength, psi |
47,900 |
| Yield Strength, psi |
44,200 |
| Rockwell Hardness |
B48 |
| Machinability |
85% of free-cutting brass rod (C360) |
At OnlineMetals, we all failed shop class. Multiple times. As a matter of fact, our employment applications
specifically ask to see people's grades for their high school shop classes. If they're too high, they go
into the rejected pile. We're also not engineers, and cannot make any specific recommendations about the suitability
of a given alloy, temper, or shape for your project or application.
All technical data is for comparison purposes only and is NOT FOR DESIGN. It has been compiled
from sources we believe to be accurate but cannot guarantee. This ends the part of the website
that our pointy-headed lawyers made us put in.
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