Osprey® HC Cu high-conductivity copper

General description

Osprey® HC Cu is a high-conductivity copper powder, manufactured by inert gas atomization, for applications requiring high thermal and electrical conductivity, including heat exchangers and electrical connectors for electric vehicles. High-conductivity copper raw materials, including cathodes, are used in the production of nitrogen gas-atomized powder, which maintains a low oxygen content and residual trace elements are minimized to maintain conductivity. Additive manufacturing processes, including Laser – Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), employ optimized process conditions or even green lasers to safely produce designs with complex internal structures for heat transfer and cooling.

Applications

Osprey® HC Cu is suitable for applications such as:

  • Heat exchangers
  • Heat sinks and conductor plate
  • Electrical connectors
  • Induction coils

Standards

  • UNS C10200

Chemical composition

Chemical composition (nominal), Wt%
Cu Fe O
Balance <0.05 <0.1

Particle size distribution

Typical particle size distributions för different processes.

Particle size distribution for metal injection moulding (MIM)

Size (µm): < 32, < 22, <16, < 10 and < 5

Particle size distributions for additive manufacturing
Process technology Size (µm)
Binder jetting ≤ 16, ≤ 22, ≤ 38, ≤ 45
Laser – Powder Bed Fusion (L–PBF) 15 to 53 and 10 to 45
Electron beam – Powder Bed Fusion (E–PBF) 45 to 106
Direct Energy Deposition (DED) 53 to 150

Other particle size distributions are available on request.

Mechanical properties

Typical mechanical properties for as-built and heat-treated condition for both Laser – Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) and Binder jetting (BJ) printed Osprey® HC Cu material, evaluated in room temperature in a heat-treated (in Ar or H), stress-relieved and annealed condition (~1000 °C). Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) is often used as an additional step to densify sintered material.

Mechanical properties, metric units
Condition Proof strength Tensile strength Elongation Eletrical conductivity Density Density
Rp0.2 Rm A
MPa MPa % % IACS g/cc %
L-PBF, as built 160 230 >35 >90 8.7 98
L-PBF, heat treated 120 210 >40 >95 8.8 99
BJ, as sintered 45 175 >20 >85 8.4 94
BJ, heat treated and HIP 50 210 >40 >90 8.8 99
MIM, heat treated 69 207 >30 >85 8.5 96
Mechanical properties, imperial units
Condition Proof strength Tensile strength Elongation Eletrical conductivity Density Density
Rp0.2 Rm A
ksi ksi % % IACS lb/ft3 %
L-PBF, as built 23 33 >35 >90 543 98
L-PBF, heat treated 17 30 >40 >95 549 99
BJ, as sintered 6.5 25 >20 >85 524 94
BJ, heat treated and HIP 7.3 30 >40 >90 549 99
MIM, heat treated 10 30 >30 >85 530 96

Physical properties

Wrought material data

  • Density: 8.9 g/cm3
  • Thermal conductivity: 398 W/m K