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Copper corrosion problem

 

I am a design EE and I work for a company that produces low and medium frequency transmitters up to 1000 Watts. I desire to use copper bus bar or 1/16" thick x 1/4" wide stock to wind a variable inductor on a 5" diameter O.D. form. I would like to know the best (cheapest) way to prevent corrosion of the copper but at the same time maintain its surface electrical properties. Also, would anyone know a source for 1/16 x 1/4 copper bar. The smallest I have found is 1/16 x 1/2.

Tim Hamilton
- Beaumont, Texas

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Lacquer the sucker.

James Totter, CEF
- Tallahassee, Florida

Hi,

Silver plating used to be the preferred option, but due to the cyanide content in the silver plating solution this is replaced by tin plating.

Best regards,

Trudy Kastner
electroplating service - Durban, KZN, South Africa

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It depends on the corrosive environment and whether you need to contact this copper. Copper without any coating is reasonably corrosion resistant, but not tarnish resistant. In other words, if you do not need to make contact with it, you may not need to coat it. But if you do, you might want to tin plate it.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey