People have been working with metals for a very long time. Mankind uses a wide variety of metals for the production of functional and decorative objects, creates various alloys that have characteristics other than the original material.
In this article, we will talk about one of the most common metallic materials to date - copper. You will learn what this material is, and also get acquainted with what is most often made of it now. Most likely, you have already heard about such a thing as a copper plate, and its uniqueness is that it can be used in medicine, in production, as well as for creating jewelry. Naturally, this is not the only form factor - the rest will also be discussed in this article. So if you are interested in how a copper plate and other copper objects are created and used, then this material is for you. You will find here all the basic information about the production and use of objects from this metal, as well as about their characteristics.
What is copper?
So, before you begin to study what a copper plate, as well as tape and foil, you should figure out if you know everything that is necessary about copper. Many people do not think about such simple details, assuming that they do not need too much information on a particular topic. The same thing is with copper - most people can say that there are copper pipes, and also that in ancient times there was a copper age, but they can not name any details about the metal. That is why you need to pay more attention to the metal itself before you take up the study of products made from it.
Where to start? You should understand that copper is a pure metal, not an alloy, so it can be found in nature. And precisely due to the fact that it is not so difficult to detect it, in principle, the copper age happened, which in ancient times replaced the stone one. The fact is that copper tools were much more efficient than stone counterparts, and in combination with a large amount of copper ore and its low melting point, very efficient production was obtained.
Of course, even then the main problems were noticeable, namely the softness of this material. If not for this, then perhaps humanity would never have entered the Iron Age. But iron replaced copper due to the fact that it was much harder than copper.
However, in the modern world, copper is used very widely, it is one of the most popular metals in production. But it is very important that the material turns out to be clean, without impurities of other metals, since even a hundredth of a percent of the content of other materials in copper very much reduces its heat and electrical conductivity qualities, for which it is so much praised and because of which it is so popular.
Well, now you know the basic data regarding the metal itself. It's time to move on to more specific issues, namely the products that are made from it. Naturally, absolutely all types of copper products will not be described here - there are a lot of them. Therefore, it is immediately worth noting that the attention in this article will be concentrated on plates, tapes and foil. And the first thing that will be considered in detail is a copper plate.
Copper plate production
When copper is obtained from copper ore , it needs to be given the concrete form that is necessary for the further use of the material. And most often this metal is rolled into a copper sheet, from which a plate of the desired shape is already created. The size and thickness of the copper plate depends on what the elements that are created from it will be used. You can often find plates with a thickness of one millimeter, most likely, they are the most common of all. As you already understood, copper plates are produced using a special machine that is capable of rolling metal to the desired thickness. This is a high-tech machine, so it can be rarely found in private use. More often, such devices are in factories and factories working with non-ferrous metals. So, you have a copper sheet. What can be done with it? What are its characteristics?
Copper plate characteristics
Can you imagine what a 1 mm thick copper plate looks like? This is a rather thin object, and therefore, in the first place, we can safely talk about the flexibility of this material as a leading characteristic. In combination with high strength, the flexibility of the copper plate provides a wide range of applications, but this will be discussed further.
Now it is worth noting that the copper plate also has other very important properties, which also attract people using this material for their own purposes. It turns out that copper is one of the best conductors of electricity and heat among metals - in these parameters, the material is second only to silver. However, it is immediately worth noting that the cost of copper is much lower than the cost of silver, which is classified as a precious metal, so the choice for industry and production is obvious.
In addition, far from one study has confirmed that copper is a kind of medicine, therefore, the characteristics of this metal as a whole are striking. After all, this material can be used not only as copper rolling in production, but also as a medicine at home. Well, it's time to take a closer look at the areas of application for copper plates.
Copper plate application
Size, weight of a copper plate (it can easily be calculated by the formula: length (cm) × width (cm) × thickness (cm) × 8.93 (specific gravity of copper, g / cm 3 )), as well as some other physical and technical factors can influence which industry a material is made for.
First of all, it is worth paying attention to production, especially to the non-ferrous metal industry, because it is there that most often these materials are produced and used. There is welding of copper plates, changing their shape, cutting the desired sizes and shapes, and so on. As everyone knows, for a long time, copper plates have been used to create a variety of pipelines. However, in addition to this example of the beneficial use of copper, there are other areas that many people do not think about.
For example, copper plates are widespread for the manufacture of various decorative ornaments. The fact is that the flexibility of copper is used to depict various paintings on it, even the most detailed ones. This is how jewelry is made in order to hang on a wall in a house, or to wear on one’s own body.
By the way, if we talk about the body, then we must not forget that small copper plates are made in order to use them for medicinal purposes. Copper has healing properties, so if you use such plates, you can not only feel better, but even recover from certain diseases.
Copper plates for chips are also used, which are then used in high-tech products, such as, for example, computers. Here, the high electrical conductivity of this metal, as well as the possibility of giving it any shape with a minimum thickness, is very useful. You can often find such elements on motherboards, video cards, and so on. We must not forget that a copper plate is used for grounding, again due to its ability to conduct electricity. However, stop talking about the plate - it's time to pay attention to other elements.
Copper tape production
In principle, copper tape is produced in much the same way as a plate, but it is worth noting that even more advanced equipment is required here to achieve increased accuracy. Unlike a conventional plate, which can be created using hot-rolled technology, it is cold-rolled technology that is necessary for the production of the tape — it is through its use that the required product thickness can be achieved. And what exactly should the copper tape be? You will find out about this now. You should pay attention to the fact that both production and characteristics of different types of copper products may be the same or very similar, but the scope of their application may already be very different.
Copper strip specifications
The copper strip, also known as the copper strip, differs from the plate mainly only in its thickness. If the thickness of one millimeter for a plate is almost minimal (basically, plates are much thicker, especially when the final product must be strong, that is, used in practice, and not for decoration), then for a tape this thickness is already an almost acceptable maximum. The fact is that the thickness of the tape is usually about one tenth of a millimeter, sometimes it can even reach five hundredths of a millimeter. That is why copper tape is supplied not in sheets, like plates, but in rolls, as it is rolled up. As for the other parameters, both thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity do not change due to changes in the thickness of the material.
Copper tape application
One of the main areas of use of copper tape is the production of a variety of heat exchangers, just because all the necessary properties of the metal are preserved, regardless of its size and thickness. Also, copper tape can be found in a variety of power capacitors, transformer elements, and even in building materials. But again, these are all practical ways to use it, and in recent years, various decorative works have begun to appear more and more, in the creation of which copper ribbons are used.
Copper foil production
The last material under consideration is copper foil, which is the thinnest copper used in industry. However, do not rush to say that you saw it and know it, and also use it constantly. The fact is that food foil, so popular in the household, is most often made of aluminum or steel, but not of copper. As for copper foil, it can be produced in two ways - the result is either rolled or electrodeposited foil. In the second case, the material turns out to be granular, therefore it cannot be used dynamically - such a foil is used only for static purposes. As for katana, this foil is much more even, so its dynamic use does not threaten the appearance of cracks.
Characteristics of Copper Foil
Copper foil, as mentioned earlier, has all the same properties and characteristics as the previous materials, but differs in its incredibly small thickness. If it seemed to you that the copper tape is very thin, then you were mistaken - in fact, the most thin is the foil. With certain methods of processing it, it is possible to achieve an amazing thickness of only 18 micrometers, and in some cases the result is even more impressive. But how can such thin material be used?
Copper foil application
Naturally, due to its electrical conductivity and incredibly small thickness, copper foil is very often used in electrical engineering. It can be found in various electronic boards, even in the tiniest. You can also often see how copper foil is used to shield cables - for this task it is much better than any other material that is available in the same price category. As mentioned earlier, copper foil is not used in the food industry, as it has much more suitable alternatives from aluminum and steel. You can also find copper foil in the construction industry - most often there it is used for thermal insulation. And of course, very often not only copper, but any other foil is used in printing in order to stamp.
Naturally, these are not all areas in which one can find application for such a wonderful product as copper foil. Many thousands of years ago, when the Earth was a copper age, people did not know how to handle other metals, so they used a simple and common material - copper. For all its shortcomings, it was much better at manufacturing and using tools than the stone that was previously used.
Now humanity has access to a wide variety of materials. However, people still continue to use copper, which is proved by the fact that its incredible properties and qualities were appreciated, appreciated and will be appreciated at all times.