Electrolytic Copper & High Conductivity Copper Alloys

PIAD supplies five (5) high conductivity copper alloys. Based on the technical requirements, PIAD can provide castings in pure electrolytic copper or heat treatable alloys which provide an excellent combination of conductivity and strength.

High Conductivity Copper Chill Castings

PIAD chill castings are produced from pure electrolytic copper and provide a minimum of 98% lACS electrical conductivity. This is accomplished by using a metallurgically controlled melting process without the use of fluxes or deoxidation agents. This is a significant difference between PIAD chill castings and sand castings. The copper used for sand castings needs to go through a deoxidation process which results in a reduction in electrical conductivity since impurities remain in the material.

High Conductivity Copper & Chill Casting Means High Conductivity Parts

Since liquid copper has solubility for hydrogen and oxygen, it makes casting pure copper tricky. Oxygen forms eutectic with copper (CuO2). Hydrogen is present as a gas in the atomic structure of copper.

The solubility of hydrogen reduces with falling temperature and significant amounts of hydrogen get released at the solidus temperature. The released hydrogen reacts with the Cu02 and reduces the copper oxide (Cu02+4H=Cu + 2H20).

At these elevated temperatures, the H2O forms steam which creates micro and macro porosity in copper. PIAD has perfected the melting process to prevent this gas development without using any fluxes or deoxidizer which allows PIAD to guarantee 98% lACS or better.

Electrolytic Copper is Best Suited to Conduct Electricity

The combination of pure electrolytic copper and the PIAD chill casting process provide excellent solutions for design engineers in the electrical industry. PIAD chill castings have replaced many brazed copper assemblies in switches and power breakers, saving labor costs and improving performance.