Bus bars can have a cross sectional area of as little as 10 mm2 but electrical substations may use metal tubes of 50 mm in diameter 1 963 mm2 or more as bus bars for rigid electrical connections tinned coated copper bus bars offer a very efficient solution.
Tin plated copper bar.
So both tin directly on aluminum and tin on copper on aluminum are common.
Tin provides excellent corrosion resistance for components susceptible to tarnish under a wide range of environmental conditions.
Tin plated bus bar.
For both tin and silver plating anti tarnish is important to keep the surface clean and conductive.
Hence the flashed bars can reach higher temperatures without degrading and losing their conductivity.
Silver should be used for moving bus bar parts in which arcing may be a concern.
Yes entire manufacturing plants have been devoted to making aluminum bus bar and plating it with copper.
The tin and silver flashing are more resistant to oxidation than bare copper.
Since 1999 storm has been electroplating right on premises.
Tin plated copper busbar helps upgrade design and provide the best quality for switchgears switchboards electrical panels power transformers and busducts by.
Tin is a soft white metal which can readily be polished scratch brushed or flowmelted to give a bright finish.
However bare copper bar begins to oxidize at higher temperatures and copper oxide has poor electrical conductivity.
In most fixed bus bar applications tin is recommended.
Atotech used to offer and may still offer their alstan process for plating aluminum directly with tin skipping the copper plating step.
High humidity or moisture content areas and marine and offshore saline atmospheres.
Therefore copper busbar is usually plated.
When working with copper bus bars plating is essential not only for longevity but also integrity and safety.
When you choose storm to perform electroplating services you ll regain control over quality and mitigate exposure to extended lead times.
Tin plating parts allows for exceptional solderability for power electronics.
Tinning protects the copper and protects the earth bars from the formation of copper oxide tin effectively prevents oxidation.