Copper Alloy 102 | Product Properties, Composition & Machinability

The C102 copper alloy, categorized as a regular grade, is highly sought after for its oxygen-free and high conductivity characteristics. It ranks among the purest commercially available copper, with a minimum copper content of 99.95% and oxygen levels capped at 10 ppm. Thanks to its low oxygen content, this alloy remains resistant to hydrogen embrittlement when subjected to elevated temperatures under reducing conditions. This feature guarantees a consistently high electrical conductivity.

Characteristics

Hot Working

The hot workability of C102 Copper Alloy is outstanding, making it easily hot extrudable with high reductions. Forging is also readily achievable, with the initial passes benefitting from significant reduction. Prior to hot working, it is crucial to minimize the time and temperature of heating. Ensuring a uniform temperature across the workpiece is essential, and heating is preferably done in a reducing or neutral atmosphere.

Cold Working

Copper Alloy C102 demonstrates exceptional cold workability, making it easily cold drawn with substantial reductions between annealing cycles. Annealing should be conducted in a reducing or neutral atmosphere, and high temperatures should be avoided to minimize grain growth.

Joining and Fabrication

Joining by soldering and brazing is excellent. Due to their very low oxygen contents and overall low impurities, both coppers can be readily welded using the shielded arc processes.

Typical Uses

C102 finds wide application in environments where oxygen presence is undesirable due to its low impurity levels. It is particularly valuable in critical conditions like high-vacuum settings where impurity volatility must be minimized. The alloy forms a tight and adherent oxide scale, making it advantageous for glass-to-metal seals. Remarkably, it boasts excellent dimensional stability when heated in hydrogen, offering low coefficients of expansion across a broad temperature range.

Thanks to its exceptional electrical conductivity, toughness, and ductility, C102 is commonly employed in various electronic applications. These include coaxial cables, computer hook-up wire, heat sinks for diodes and rectifiers, as well as lead wire for circuit breakers and modules. Additionally, it finds use in microwave equipment, radar components, solderless connectors, and waveguides. In electrical applications, C102 serves in armature windings, bus bars, connector pins, flexible shunts, motor and generator windings, collector rings, switches, contacts, and transformer coil windings.