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About Copper Suppliers
Copper is one of only a few metals that are found abundantly
in nature. For over 10,000 years, copper has been supplied to humans
for a multitude of purposes, because it is easy to mine and refine and
has many excellent properties. Copper is a malleable and ductile metal,
very soft in its pure state, and is also the best known economical conductor
of electricity. It is nonmagnetic, machinable, formable and durable.
Additional properties, such as hardness, can be reached by adding alloying
elements. Copper has very good alloying characteristics. The two main
types of copper alloys are copper primary alloys, which include brass
and bronzes, and copper-bearing alloys, which contain only small amounts
of copper, as in aluminum
alloys and steels. The two most common copper alloys are brass and
bronze, made from primarily copper and zinc and copper and tin respectively.
Other copper alloys include copper-silver and copper-nickel.
Copper can be formed into many shapes for further manufacturing, such as strip,
sheet, rod, wire, tube, bar, plate and powder. Four types of copper fabricators
exist to create these products. First, powder plants create copper powder and
flake, which can be used for such products as powdered
metal
parts. Copper Wire rod mills manufacture cold drawn wire and rod for
use in electrical applications. Casting procedures
are performed at foundries to create numerous products, using ingots and scrap
copper as raw materials. Finally, brass mills use numerous processes, including hot
and cold rolling, drawing, forging and
extrusion, to create copper and copper alloy products. Because copper is soft
in its pure state and not recommended for building applications, much of the
manufacturing in brass mills is done with copper alloys. After forming a product,
brass mills may also perform secondary operations, such as bending, stamping,
joining or applying protective coatings.
A variety of uses are associated with copper and its alloys. Copper wire is an
excellent, ductile and cost-effective conductor of electricity, and thus is used
in many electrical applications. Copper is also a good conductor of heat in such
products as heat exchangers and pressure
vessels. Air conditioning and refrigeration systems often have copper tubing,
which is not only able to transfer water but oil and chemicals as well. Because
of its versatile properties, one of the most common materials used by copper
suppliers for bearings is bronze. With the addition of lead, bronze bearings
provide a lubricated, low friction surface. Copper, as a nonsparking metal, performs
well in springs and
tools. High-strength copper alloys make up components in the construction of
airplanes, automobiles, subway cars, trains and space shuttles. Other diverse
uses for copper alloys include valves, pumps, architectural fixings, coins, cooking
ware, blades, offshore drilling equipment, roofing and microchips.
Copper is a sustainable metal for the future, because very little of the world’s
supply of copper has been mined. Copper is also one of the most commonly recycled
metals, making copper scrap valuable, as much of it can be recycled and reused.
In fact, almost as much copper is recycled as is mined every year. Copper is
an economic choice for copper suppliers and many applications because it is typically
long lasting and needs little maintenance. To help copper suppliers products
achieve an even longer life, certain coating processes can protect the metal
surface from weathering and prolong the natural reddish-gold color. Copper is
highly reactive with oxygen and will develop a green patina over time, especially
in areas with extreme environments or pollution. Besides this, copper will not
corrode from contact with any other metal, although it will cause corrosion in
others, especially aluminum and zinc.
Featured
Articles
http://www.copper.org/innovations/2006/09/high_cu_alloys.html
Types of Copper Supplies
- is a metal alloy containing copper and zinc.
- is a metal alloy containing copper and tin.
- are solid, straight uniform products
of copper that can be extruded. These products have cross-sections
in a variety of shapes, from circular to triangular, square and more.
- are the most popular type of sleeve bearing
because of the versatility and excellent properties copper alloys
offer.
- is made
of a copper and has excellent electrical conductivity.
- are large pieces of pure copper that can be cut into
smaller lengths in order to be extruded or forged as copper tubing,
rod or bar.
- are copper products with uniform cross-sections,
available in several shapes. Copper is the best conductor of electricity
of all the metals, except silver, and for this reason copper wire
is common in electrical applications.
- is formed from the rolling process and can be used as
roofing.
- is a long sheet of metal with a length many times its
width.
- is a hollow aluminum product, useful in HVAC, plumbing
and similar applications where corrosion-resistant tubing and a high
level of heat transfer are required.
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