Tungsten Copper Rod for EDM

Tungsten copper rod for EDM has excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, arc erosion resistance and high material removal rate. Especially for tungsten carbide, high-temperature hard alloy mold manufacturing has remarkable performance.

Characteristic

Tungsten copper rod used for electrode accounts for a quarter of total consumption of tungsten copper, so it not only required high conductivity, material removal rate, low electrode consumption, easy for processing, but also has requirements as follow:

Tungsten Copper Rod Picture

1. Based on high thermal and electrical conductivity, it also obtains better performance in arc erosion resistance;

2. It is difficult to meet the requirements of the contact by normal process, tungsten copper electrode should has uniformity and high density;

3. It is the most out standing problem that the mold or other products with diverse shape or structure needs different kinds of tungsten copper electrode, but the quantity demanded is relatively low.

EDM Principle

Electric discharge machining (EDM) is a non-traditional type of precision processing using an electrical spark-erosion process between the electrode and the working piece of electrically conductive immersed in a dielectric fluid. Since it has more special gains, the EDM has been widely applied in modern metal industry for producing complex cavities in moulds and dies, which are difficult to manufacture by conventional machining.

The use of EDM in the production of forming tools to produce plastics moldings, die castings, forging dies etc., has been firmly established in recent years. The EDM is a well-established machining choice for manufacturing geometrically complex or hard material parts that are extremely difficult to machine by conventional machining process. Its unique feature of using thermal energy to machine electrically conductive parts regardless of hardness has been its distinctive advantage for manufacturing of mold, die, automotive, aerospace and surgical components. Thus, titanium and titanium alloy, which is difficult-to-cut material, can be machined effectively by EDM.

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Tungsten Copper Military

Tungsten copper alloy is easily to be machined. And with this series of high conductivity, high thermal conductivity and heat resistance fine characteristic, tungsten copper military has been widely used in mechanical, electrical, instruments and other civil industrial, and also is widely in making important as well as complex components for aviation, spaceflight, weapons in the military industry.

The theory of tungsten copper military materials applied as high temperature material in military use is that when the air temperature is close to event exceed the temperature melting point of tungsten (over3,000 ℃), the content of copper in tungsten copper materials evaporate and then absorb a great deal of heat , which greatly reduce temperature of tungsten copper military made parts.

Tungsten Copper Military Attention

Tungsten Copper Block Picture

Few materials could continue working in such high temperature. Therefore, one of the important effects of tungsten copper military material is as high-speed and high temperature airflow ablation and flushing parts in rockets and missiles, such as gas helm, nozzle, throat lining, the nose cones, etc. In addition it still can be used as a medical cover of tank, the tailpipe and orbit materials of electromagnetic gun. With these applications, tungsten copper alloy military materials should be handled strictly as the following two items. In order to guarantee the properties of high temperature strength, good resistance to ablation, and erosion resistant of tungsten copper military material in high temperature ,it must be sure the high density of framework and skeleton intensity of tungsten, therefore, tungsten copper alloy military materials in this application generally contain 5% to 10% copper . And for the sake of making the tungsten copper alloy military materials gasification and smoothly reduce the material surface temperature by absorbing large mass of heat, it must be ensure that tungsten skeleton pore have very good connectivity and good capillary function at low copper content.

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Copper Tungsten Breif Introduction

Copper tungsten (tungsten copper, CuW, or WCu) is a mixture of copper and tungsten. As copper and tungsten are not mutually soluble, the material is composed of distinct particles of one metal dispersed in a matrix of the other one. The microstructure is therefore rather a metal matrix composite instead of a true alloy.

The material combines the properties of both metals, resulting in a material that is heat-resistant, ablation-resistant, highly thermally and electrically conductive, and easy to machine.

Copper Tungsten Plate Picture

Parts are made from the CuW composite by pressing the tungsten particles into the desired shape, sintering the compacted part, then infiltrating with molten copper. Sheets, rods, and bars of the composite mixture are available as well.

Commonly used copper tungsten mixtures contains 10–50 wt.% of copper, the remaining portion being mostly tungsten. The typical properties is dependent on its composition. The mixture with less wt.% of copper has higher density, higher hardness, and higher resistivity. The typical density of CuW90, with 10% of copper, is 16.75 g/cm3 and 11.85 g/cm3 for CuW50 . CuW90 has higher hardness and resistivity of 260 HB kgf/mm2 and 6.5 μΩ.cm than CuW50.

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Tungsten Copper Applications

Tungsten copper are used where the combination of high heat resistance, high electrical and thermal conductivity, and low thermal expansion are needed. Some of the applications are in electric resistance welding, as electrical contacts, and as heat sinks. As contact material, the composite is resistant to erosion by electric arc. Tungsten copper alloys are also used in electrodes for electrical discharge machining and electrochemical machining.

The CuW75 composite, with 75% tungsten, is widely used in chip carriers, substrates, flanges, and frames for power semiconductor devices. The high thermal conductivity of copper together with the low thermal expansion of tungsten allows thermal expansion matching to silicon, gallium arsenide, and some ceramics. Other materials for this applications are CuMo alloy, AlSiC, and Dymalloy.

Tungsten copper composites with 70–90% of tungsten are used in liners of some specialty shaped charges. The penetration is enhanced by factor 1.3 against copper for homogeneous steel target, as both the density and the break-up time are increased. Tungsten powder based shaped charge liners are especially suitable for oil well completion. Other ductile metals can be used as a binder in place of copper as well. Graphite can be added as lubricant to the powder.

Tungsten Copper Parts Picture

Tungsten copper can also be used as a contact material in a vacuum. When the contact is very fine grained (VFG) the electrical conductivity is much higher than a normal piece of copper tungsten. Copper tungsten is a good choice for a vacuum contact due to its low cost, resistance to arc erosion, good conductivity, and resistance to mechanical wear and contact welding. Tungsten copper is usually a contact for vacuum, oil, and gas systems. It is not a good contact for air since the surface will oxidize when exposed. Tungsten copper is less likely to erode in air when the concentration of copper is higher in the material. The uses of tungsten copper in the air are as an arc tip, arc plate, and an arc runner.

Copper tungsten materials are often used for arcing contacts in SF6 circuit breakers that require medium and high voltages. The copper tungsten used in these circuit breakers is subject to temperatures above 20,000K, which is reached during arcing. Copper tungsten arc contacts resist arc erosion.

The spark erosion (EDM) process calls for copper tungsten. Usually, this process is used with graphite, but tungsten has a high melting point (3420 0C). This allows the CuW electrodes to have a longer service life than the graphite electrodes. This is crucial when the electrodes have been processed with complex machining. Since the electrodes are susceptible to wear the electrodes provide more geometrical accuracy than the other electrodes. These properties also let the rods and tubes manufactured for spark erosion be made smaller in diameter and have a longer length since the material is less likely to chip and warp.

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