Application of Copper in Paper Industry
In the current information-changing society, paper consumption is huge. The paper looks simple on the surface, but the papermaking process is very complex, requiring many steps and the application of many machines, including coolers, evaporators, beaters, paper machines, and more. Many of these components, such as: various heat exchange tubes, rollers, blow bars, semi-liquid pumps and wire meshes, are mostly made of steel alloys. For example, the currently used Fourdrinier wire paper machine sprays the prepared pulp onto a fast-moving mesh cloth with fine meshes (40-60 mesh). The mesh is woven from brass and phosphor bronze wire, and it is very wide, generally over 20 feet (6 meters), and needs to be kept perfectly straight. The mesh moves over a series of small brass or copper rollers, and as it passes with the pulp sprayed on it, moisture is sucked out from below. The mesh vibrates at the same time to bind the small fibers in the pulp together. Large paper machines have large mesh sizes, up to 26 feet 8 inches (8.1 meters) wide and 100 feet (3 0.5 meters) long. Wet pulp not only contains water, but also contains chemicals used in the papermaking process, which is highly corrosive. In order to ensure the quality of paper, the requirements for mesh materials are very strict, not only high strength and elasticity, but also anti-corrosion of pulp, cast copper alloy is fully capable.
Application of copper in printing industry
In printing, the copper plate is used for photoengraving. After the surface-polished copper plate is sensitized with a photosensitive emulsion, a photographic image is formed thereon. The photosensitive copper plate needs to be heated to harden the glue. To avoid softening by heat, copper often contains a small amount of silver or arsenic to increase the softening temperature. Then, the plate is etched to form a printed surface with a pattern of concave and convex dots distributed. Another important use of copper in printing is to create patterns by arranging brass font blocks on automatic typesetters. Type blocks are usually leaded brass, sometimes copper or bronze.
The application of copper in the watch industry
Clocks, timepieces and devices with clockwork mechanisms are currently produced in which most of the working parts are made of “horological brass”. The alloy contains 1.5-2% lead, which has good processing properties and is suitable for mass production. For example, gears are cut from long extruded brass rods, flat wheels are punched from strips of corresponding thickness, brass or other copper alloys are used to make engraved clock faces and screws and joints, etc. A large number of inexpensive watches are made of gunmetal (tin-zinc bronze), or plated with nickel silver (white copper). Some famous clocks are made of steel and copper alloys. The British “Big Ben” uses a solid gunmetal rod for the hour hand and a 14-foot-long copper tube for the minute hand. A modern watch factory, with copper alloy as the main material, processed with presses and precise molds, can produce 10,000 to 30,000 watches per day at very low cost.
Application of Copper in Pharmaceutical Industry
In the pharmaceutical industry, all kinds of steaming, boiling and vacuum devices are made of pure copper. In medical devices, zinc cupronickel is widely used. Copper alloy is also a common material for spectacle frames and so on.
Post time: Jul-01-2022