Cu-Zr Conductive Support Structure Balancing Conductivity and Hardness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Welding robot arms require conductive supporting members with higher conductivity and hardness to improve welding efficiency, but existing solutions do not adequately meet these demands.
Innovation Solution
A conductive supporting member is created using a composite structure with a Cu matrix phase and a Cu—Zr compound alloy, where the inner portion is highly conductive and the outer portion is made of a Cu matrix phase with a dispersed Cu—Zr compound, achieved through a spark plasma sintering process using copper and Cu—Zr master alloy or ZrH2 powders.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a highly conductive copper material is used for the conductive supporting member, then conductivity is improved, but hardness and strength deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a composite structure where the inner portion uses high-conductivity copper material (99.9% purity) while the outer portion uses a copper-based alloy (Cu-5wt%Cr-5wt%Zr) with higher hardness. This allows different regions of the same component to have optimized properties for their specific functions: the inner portion for electrical conductivity and the outer portion for mechanical strength and hardness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining pure copper and copper-based alloy in a layered composite structure. The inner portion is made of high-purity copper for conductivity, while the outer portion is made of copper-chromium-zirconium alloy for hardness and strength. This composite approach resolves the contradiction by integrating materials with complementary properties into a single functional component.
2Manufacturing precision
If copper and Zr powders are used as raw materials, then alloy composition can be controlled, but handling difficulty increases due to high reactivity of Zr powder
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a Cu-Zr master alloy as an intermediary material instead of directly mixing copper powder and zirconium powder. The master alloy has already been pre-alloyed to the desired composition, serving as a stable intermediate form that is much easier to handle. This intermediary approach maintains manufacturing precision while dramatically improving ease of operation during the sintering process.
3Reliability
If multiple sintering steps are used to create composite structure, then conductivity and hardness can be optimized, but production complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions and steps into a single sintering process. By preparing pre-alloyed copper powder and Cu-Zr master alloy powder separately and then sintering them together in one step, the patent achieves the composite structure with optimized conductivity and hardness without requiring multiple sequential sintering operations. This combining approach reduces production complexity while maintaining the optimized performance characteristics.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a conductive supporting member with enhanced conductivity and hardness, ensuring high efficiency and durability, while also simplifying the production process by using stable Cu—Zr master alloy and ZrH2 powders that are easier to handle and requiring a single sintering step.
Implementation Method 1
performing spark plasma sintering on the mixed powder
Implementation Method 2
spark plasma sintering process
Data Source
AI summary
A conductive supporting member includes an outer portion that includes a Cu matrix phase and a second phase dispersed in the Cu matrix phase and containing a Cu—Zr compound and that has an alloy composition represented by Cu-xZr (x is atomic % of Zr and 0.5≤x≤16.7 is satisfied) and an inner portion that is present on an inner side of the outer portion, is formed of a metal containing Cu, and has higher conductivity than the outer portion.