Beryllium-copper conductor

Abstract

A process is provided for forming an age hardened wire for use as an electrical conductor, which wire is formed from a copper base alloy consisting of from 1.25 to 3.6 wt % nickel, from 0.25 to 0.45 beryllium, and the balance copper and impurities which do not affect the properties of said alloy, with the nickel and beryllium being present in the copper base alloy in a ratio of nickel to beryllium from 5.0 to 8.0. The process comprises the steps of providing a copper base alloy material consisting of from 1.25 to 3.6 wt % nickel, from 0.25 to 0.45 beryllium, and the balance copper and impurities which do not affect the properties of said alloy, which nickel and beryllium are present in the copper base alloy in a ratio of nickel to beryllium from 5.0 to 8.0, cold working the material in a single step; and age hardening the cold worked material in a single step to form a wire in a cold worked and aged hardened condition having an electrical conductivity of at least about 60% IACS.

1 . An age hardened wire for use as an electrical conductor, said wire being formed from a copper base alloy consisting of from 1.25 to 3.6 wt % nickel, from 0.25 to 0.45 beryllium, and the balance copper and impurities which do not affect the properties of said alloy, said nickel and beryllium being present in said copper base alloy in a ratio of nickel to beryllium from 5.0 to 8.0, said wire being in a cold worked and aged hardened condition so as to have an electrical conductivity of at least about 60% IACS. 
     
     
         2 . The age hardened wire of  claim 1 , wherein said wire has a tensile strength of at least 95 ksi and at least 70% IACS. 
     
     
         3 . The age hardened wire of  claim 1 , wherein said wire has a tensile strength of at least 105 ksi. 
     
     
         4 . The age hardened wire of  claim 1 , wherein said nickel to beryllium ratio is in the range of from 5.5 to 7.5. 
     
     
         5 . The age hardened wire of  claim 1 , wherein said nickel to beryllium ratio is in the range of from 6.0 to 7.0. 
     
     
         6 . The age hardened wire of  claim 1 , wherein said impurities consist of up to 0.10 wt % iron, up to 0.30 wt % cobalt, up to 0.20 wt % silicon, and up to 0.20 wt % aluminum. 
     
     
         7 . The age hardened wire of  claim 1 , further comprising a silver plating over said copper base alloy. 
     
     
         8 . A process for forming an age hardened wire for use as an electrical conductor comprising the steps of:
 providing a copper base alloy material consisting of from 1.25 to 3.6 wt % nickel, from 0.25 to 0.45 beryllium, and the balance copper and impurities which do not affect the properties of said alloy, said nickel and beryllium being present in said copper base alloy in a ratio of nickel to beryllium from 5.0 to 8.0,   cold working said material in a single step; and   age hardening said cold worked material in a single step to form a wire in a cold worked and aged hardened condition having an electrical conductivity of at least about 60% IACS.   
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 8  wherein said copper base alloy material providing step comprises providing a copper base alloy material having an original dimension and said cold working step comprises reducing said copper base alloy material by an amount less than 95%. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 9  wherein said cold working step comprises drawing said copper base alloy material into a wire. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 8 , wherein said age hardening step comprises heating said cold worked material at a temperature in the range of from 725° F. to 925° F. for a time period up to 5.0 hours. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 8 , further comprising solution treating said material prior to said cold working step. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 8 , further comprising silver plating said material. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein said plating is performed prior to said cold working step.