COPPER ALLOY CONTAINING COBALT, NICKEL AND SILICON

摘要

A process for manufacturing copper-nickel-silicon alloys includes the sequential steps of casting the copper alloy; hot working the cast copper-base alloy to effect a first reduction in cross-sectional area; solutionizing the cast copper-base alloy at a temperature and for a time effective to substantially form a single phase alloy; first age annealing the alloy at a temperature and for a time effective to precipitate an amount of a second phase effective to form a multi-phase alloy having silicides; cold working the multi-phase alloy to effect a second reduction in cross-sectional area; and second age annealing the multiphase alloy at a temperature and for a time effective to precipitate additional silicides thereby raising conductivity, wherein the second age annealing temperature is less than the first age annealing temperature.