Copper Zirconium

Copper-Zirconium (CuZr) binary master alloy is one of three master alloys of which Lipmann Walton currently commissions production, in the UK.  Copper-Zirconium master alloy is a precursor for a number of copper-base alloys and wider applications.  It is used as a means to introduce Zirconium into copper, whether for Zirconium’s corrosion resistance or mechanical strength. 

Traditional in application but wide in usage, is copper-zirconium in bronzes.  However, more recent applications of copper-zirconium, which Lipmann Walton is involved with, is in electrodes in automotive or electrical discharge machining (EDM).  Copper-Zirconium fine wires are also used in co-axial cables, factory automation cables (robotics) and cable harnesses. 

In these aforementioned applications of CuZr fine wires, Zirconium provides the mechanical strength to copper’s high conductivity.  When drawn into fine wires, thinner than a human hair at <10µm, the CuZr wire of varying concentrations of Zirconium can be woven into special conductive netting for exoskeletons or turned into cables or used in motors (to name but a few applications). 

These wires have an ultimate tensile strength of 2.2GPa and can reduce the size and weight of various electrical components in which they’re used. As an example, a CuZr fine wire with just 2.5% Zr outperforms Copper-Zinc (CuZn) wires typically used in EDM, in tensile strength, breaking force ratio and have twice the ‘electric ratio’.  By comparison, a standard CuZn wire would need to be 200µm Ø (20 times thicker) to be able to withstand the same force! 

Lipmann Walton carefully controls the raw materials specifically used to produce our own grade of Copper-Zirconium master alloy, with low impurities.  We supply this alloy as either, lumps for re-melting, powder for cored-wire production, or as cored wire itself.