Layered CCAC Introduction
Copper has been the de facto choice conductor since the first electrical wiring systems over a century ago. To this day, copper remains valued for its conductivity and low resistance. However, copper is limited by its finite supply and high demand, and usually commands an exorbitant price tag. On the other hand, aluminum is lighter, more abundant, and lower cost while still offering good conductivity. However, the effectiveness of aluminum suffers due to issues with thermal expansion, galvanic corrosion, oxidatison, and other reliability issues developing over time.
Copper Cladded Aluminum takes the strength of both metals and none of the weaknesses. Copper Clad Aluminum Composites (CCAC) combine the excellent properties of copper and the cost efficiency of aluminum to form a bimetallic metal that is a superb conductor and overall excellent performance material comparable to if not superior to copper while carrying a significantly lower price tag.
CCAC is produced by metallurgically bonding a layer of cladding copper to an aluminum core. The resulting multilayered bimetallic composite – consisting of copper cladding, aluminum core, and metallurgical bonding layer – possesses excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, only slightly increased resistivity, and is over 70% lighter than pure copper. A miniscule increase in the size of CCAC conductors allows it to carry the same amount of current as pure copper while still being lighter and much, much cheaper.
At ACM, we are committed to providing the highest-quality CCAC available on the market. Using only the highest grade copper and aluminum, all of our CCAC is produced in an inert gas environment to prevent oxidation. The copper and aluminum layers are re-crystallized and permanently bonded with our advanced and unique technology, resulting in a multi-layered composite that will never separate. The cladding copper is uniformly distributed around the aluminum core for maximum heat dispersion and will possess no defects or cracks on its surface, even when bent. Our CCAC possesses excellent mechanical properties of ductility, formability, corrosion resistance, and low density. It provides solutions for aluminum in welding and heat expansion, and is excellent for soldering and electroplating. All of our CCAC is coated with an antioxidant protection and wrapped in an insulating film layer. Our CCAC is produced in varying specifications and can be cut to length upon customer request.
CCAC Benefits
• High electrical and thermal conductivity
• Superior heat dissipation
• Excellent soldering and electroplating properties
• Highly malleable, easy to fabricate.
• Provides classic appearance and superior conductivity of copper with the intensity and light weight of aluminum alloy.
• Two individual metal layers are metallically and permanently joined by passing through the isothermal, solid phase and roll-bonding processing.
• Produced in an inert gas environment to prevent oxidation during manufacturing.
• Formability: sufficiently malleable to permit fabricating operations such as forming, deep drawing, and spinning.
• Coated with antioxidant protection (lifespan of one year under normal temperature conditions) and wrapped in insulating plastic film layer.
• Tempers are available from annealed soft to hard.
Prospects for applications
CCAC has far-reaching applications in multiple industries. Due to its light weight and low cost, it is increasingly utilized in the automotive, aerospace, defense, electronics, refrigeration, and many other industries. Due to its advantageous physical properties and significant economic benefits, CCAC is an overall excellent performance material.
