What are the processing methods for copper tubes? What are the technical requirements for copper tube processing? Are there any specific bottlenecks or issues we should anticipate during processing? Let’s start by talking about what copper tubes are. Copper tubes refer to pipe materials made by pressing and drawing copper. They are also a type of seamless pipe. Tubes have the characteristics of being lightweight, good thermal conductivity, strong, corrosion-resistant, and are highly favored by people. Copper tubes are most widely used and have the largest quantity in the electrical and electronic industries.
Copper tubes can be classified by shape into shaped tubes and round tubes. Shaped tubes can be further divided into elliptical tubes, square tubes, rectangular tubes, triangular tubes, hexagonal tubes, drip-shaped tubes, pentagonal tubes, outer square inner round tubes, spiral tubes, inner ribs tubes, outer ribs tubes, etc. Copper tubes are classified by production methods and properties into extruded tubes， drawn tubes， welded tubes， flexible tubes， and semi-hard tubes. Copper tubes can be classified by alloy composition as red copper tubes， yellow copper tubes， bronze tubes， and white copper tubes. Finally， they can be classified by usage as condenser tubes， air conditioning tubes， heat dissipation tubes， waveguide tubes， oxygen generator tubes， aerospace tubes， and antenna tubes， etc. Now， let’s get back to the main topic and talk about copper tube processing.
The technical requirements for copper tube processing are as follows：
1. The processing of pipe routes should be carried out according to the design drawings， and the shape and size should comply with the design requirements.
2. The diameter change at the break should be within 2% of the standard diameter of the copper tube， and there should be no burrs or sharp edges at the break.
3. The pipe parts should be degreased， cleaned， free of copper debris， with smooth inner and outer surfaces， and no oil stains， scratches， or oxide scales.
4. The welding process must be protected by nitrogen， and the internal parts should be blown clean with 2.8-3.0 MPa dry compressed air after welding.
The content of copper tube processing methods is as follows：
1. Precise cutting processing of various precise and small tubes.
2. Grinding the sharp edges of the cutting ends of various precise and small tubes.
3. Expansion and contraction processing of various precise and small tubes.
4. Bending and forming processing of various precise and small tubes.
5. Side surface machining of various precise and small tubes.
6. Polishing processing of various precise and small tubes after welding assembly.
7. Graded compression and expansion processing of various precise and small tubes.
8. Multi-station stretching and forming of pipe products.
9. Multi-hole wall surface empty products of pipe parts.
The processing flow of copper tubes is as follows：
There are three methods for processing copper tubes:
1. Explanation of the extrusion process for copper tubes:
The definition of the extrusion process is that the copper blank tube is extruded by a copper tube extrusion machine to form it, thereby making the density distribution of the copper tube more uniform and the wall thickness more evenly distributed, thus achieving stronger compressive resistance performance.
2. Explanation of the continuous casting and continuous rolling process for copper tubes:
The definition of the continuous casting and continuous rolling process is continuous casting and continuous rolling, thereby pouring the molten copper at high temperature into the continuous casting machine to roll out the copper billet (called continuous casting billet), and then not going through cooling, directly being heated in the annealing furnace for a certain period of time and then directly entering the hot continuous rolling unit for rolling and forming the copper tube. The continuous casting and continuous rolling process can ingeniously combine the casting and rolling processes, and has the advantages of simplifying the process, reducing labor, increasing metal yield, saving materials, improving the quality of the continuous casting billet, producing energy-saving and environmentally friendly copper products, and achieving the advantages of mechanization, programming and automation in one step.
3. Explanation of the upper drawing method for copper tubes:
The original feature of the upper drawing continuous casting copper tube is “oxygen-free”, that is, the oxygen content is below 10 ppm. The electrolytic copper is melted at high temperature to convert into copper liquid, and after hardening and forming, the entire process uses techniques such as charcoal reduction and flake graphite covering, oxygen isolation, etc. In the molten copper liquid, oxygen exists in the form of new oxides such as copper oxide and copper monoxide. Under the action of high temperature, charcoal can deoxygenate itself, making the oxygen content less than 10 ppm. During the chemical reaction process, the protective gas produced by CO and the oxygen isolation effect of flake graphite prevent the graphite from being oxidized during crystallization, thus achieving the effect of the upper drawing process.
Equipment and operation requirements for processing copper tubes, deburring and cutting:
1. Tools used: pipe cutting knife, effective straight ruler, positioning block. According to the size and diameter specified in the drawing, use a straight ruler to measure the corresponding length and place the positioning block.
2. After positioning and fixing the copper tube, use the cutting knife to remove it, ensuring that the cutting edge is flat and not deformed.
3. During operation, gloves are not allowed to be worn, but gloves can be worn for deburring to prevent thread from entering the copper tube.
4. During the cutting process, the copper tube is uniformly fed to ensure a smooth pipe opening.
5. When the pipe diameter is less than or equal to Φ12mm, operators can cut multiple pipes (no more than 10 pipes) together; when the pipe diameter exceeds Φ12mm or the length is under 60mm, they must cut the copper pipes separately.
6. Operators must debur the ports after cutting. They should use an iron wire sanding machine and adjust the frequency converter to match the pipe diameter for optimal rotational speed.Please refer to Table 1 for details:
| Pipe diameter D | D＜Φ7 | Φ7≤D≤Φ9.52 | Φ9.52＜D≤Φ 19 | Φ19＜D≤Φ30 | D≥Φ30 |
| Frequency converter values | 19±2 | 22±2 | 27±2 | 35±2 | 46±2 |
After deburring, use dry compressed air at 2.8 – 3.0 MPa to blow off all copper shavings and debris from both the interior and exterior of the pipe.
Source: Refrigeration Accessories Information
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