Temper
The condition of a copper product set by cold work and annealing — annealed, quarter hard, half hard, hard or spring.
Copper and its alloys have no hardening heat treatment in the steel sense, so strength is bought with cold work and given back with annealing. Designations such as R220 and R250 in EN standards state the minimum tensile strength in MPa; the older O, H01, H02 and H04 series state the degree of cold work. Busbar is usually half hard so it stays straight under its own weight; sheet for deep drawing is annealed; spring parts are rolled to spring temper and stress relieved after forming.
Related terms
Where this applies
copper-busbars, phosphor-bronze-strip
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