CUSTOM CLAD METAL
Components used in sophisticated electronic and electrical applications require a range of diverse properties that cannot be met by just one material. USMA's clad metal process, electron beam welding, electroplating and related technologies offer design engineers flexibility by combining metals to achieve unique property sets that meet specific application requirements.
The process of metal cladding joins dissimilar metals by applying high pressure without brazing alloys or adhesives. This method of metal joining allows us to custom engineered for specific applications. Because of our experience with virtually every base metal and cladding material combination, we can help our customers optimize surface and core metal characteristics as needed.
CLAD METAL SOLUTIONS
While our solutions can be customized for unique applications, here are just a few of our most popular clad materials:
Stainless Steel and Copper (SUS/Cu/SUS) Clad Metals
The material are thermally conductive, fully formable clad laminates of stainless steel and copper (SUS/Cu/SUS). The materials are ideal as high conductivity replacements for stainless steels, allowing heat spreading functionality to be designed directly into the structure of devices. Integrated heatsinks made of eStainless clad reduce the need to add specialty thermal management solutions, saving both costs and internal device space.
Copper-to-aluminum Clad Strips and Coils Metals for FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERY CONNECTIONS
As the market for electric vehicles (EVs) rapidly expands, so does the need for the lithium-ion batteries that enable this automotive technology. Because many lithium battery cells require joining a copper anode and aluminum cathode, the options for connecting the two dissimilar metals are limited, costly and can be unreliable in use. Working with top battery manufacturers, USMA has developed a breakthrough solution with the Clad metal.
Our copper-to-aluminum Clad strip is produced by joining these two dissimilar metals side-by-side in long continuous master coils. The coils can easily be stamped and formed to create bus bars and lead tabs especially fitted to lithium-ion battery packs for EVs, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The Clad material offers mechanical, electrical and thermal advantages over ultrasonic or bolted attachments and enables high-volume, low-cost laser assembly.
Our cladding process achieves an excellent metallurgical bond by significantly reducing the cross-sectional area and thermal diffusion, creating a thin, ductile intermetallic compound. The result is a reliable copper-to-aluminum dovetail joint that matches the strength and fatigue toughness of the aluminum alloy.
BENEFITS OF THE CLAD MATERIAL FOR BUS BARS AND LEAD TABS
Benefits| Lowest electrical resistance Cu-Al interface results in cooler pack temperatures | Highest life-testing reliability in mechanical and fatigue strength | Smaller material dimensions allow for more compact module designs | Narrow Cu-AL joint width—4mm max—for optimal design flexibility
For partial penetration laser welding, we can provide a thick inlay solution that selectively clads a stripe of copper aluminum up to 50% of the metal substrate thickness.
Wear Resistance Silver-Copper-Nickel Alloy Highly Conductive Clad Material For High Power Charging Connectors
Direct current (DC) fast chargers for electric vehicles are becoming more popular, These high-speed chargers allow consumers to recharge their vehicle to near full in less than 30 minutes instead of several hours. While DC chargers offer consumer convenience, the heat and power they create requires high quality components that can withstand a harsh operating environment. Electroplated silver is a commonly used connector material in slower charging systems, but it doesn't offer the material hardness needed to resist wear in rapid charge applications.
That's why USMA created clad Metals for electric vehicle charger connections. EV clad is a proprietary silver-copper-nickel alloy that combines the reliable qualities of each metal to create a drop-in replacement for pure silver. This highly conductive clad material enhances the contact surface's friction characteristics and enables it to withstand the high current environment of fast charge connectors.
BENEFITS OF THE EV CLAD FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING
EV clad offers a number of benefits, including:
Wear resistance: Increased wear resistance that exceeds 10,000 connection cycles because the low coefficient of friction of 0.20 can enable reduced insertion force by up to seven times.
Improved performance: The grain structure of a clad contact layer slows down diffusion by up to ten times, providing stable performance at elevated temperatures over the life of the connector.
EV CLAD CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS
Our versatility with product configurations allows you to customize a solution that will maximize your product’s functionality. EV clad offers:
Base materials comprised of any commercially available copper-based alloy, which enables a high degree of design flexibility
Thicknesses from 7-40μm
Base thicknesses from 0.10 – 2mm
Ni-Clad diffusion barrier for high temperature and high performance applications
Stainless steel backing for increased stiffness
WIRE BONDABLE LEAD FRAME MATERIALS FOR AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRONICS
USMA`s lead frame materials incorporate stable wire bondable surfaces and conductive terminal alloys for signal and power management. Produced in reel-to-reel processes, these semi-finished lead frame materials enable large volume manufacturing of high reliability electronic packaging materials.
ALUMINUM INLAY CLAD FOR ULTRA-STABLE BONDING
Wire bonding forms the connection between microelectronic circuitry and the macro-scale wiring systems of your car. When reliability and high power linkages are critical to a control module, nothing is more robust or offers higher processing yields than bonding aluminum wire to aluminum pads. Integrating the aluminum pad directly into the lead frame via inlay cladding is the process of choice for safety critical applications, such as Electronic Power Steering Modules and Anti-Lock Brake Systems.
Aluminum inlay benefits:
Superior reliability
High temperature and vibration stability
Extended shelf life
Large wire bonding process windows and high yields
While copper alloys remain the most widely used base metal for lead frames, USMA now introduces a new, light-weight, cost-reducing alternative: High Strength Aluminum (HSA). Available with pure aluminum bond surfaces and electroplated terminals, our HSA alloy matches the conductivity and strength of traditional copper alloys.
ELECTROPLATED ALTERNATIVES
USMA also offers a variety of electroplated lead frame designs, providing a cost-efficient solution for many electronic modules and sensors.
Electroplated nickel-phosphorous, for example, is available as overall or selective stripe plating and is commonly combined with other electroplated materials such as selective tin or silver for contact terminals.
Profiled Strip
CUSTOM PROFILED STRIP METAL SIMPLIFIES THE FABRICATION OF COMPLEX COMPONENTS
USMA's advanced profiling technology enables commercial production of pre-shaped metals in wide continuous coils, which eliminates the costly coining and forging operations associated with complex component fabrication. Our process can be used for most commercially sold strip alloys and our profiled strip widths are available in sizes up to 100mm—much wider than formed wire processes. We can help you streamline the production of custom profiled strip metals in demanding applications ranging from surgical instruments to connectors and handheld consumer electronic devices.
Profiled strip offers a number of benefits, including:
Ability to stamp otherwise impossible shapes and configurations with simple tooling
Reduced internal stresses
Precise tolerances
USMA's profiled alloy strip is manufactured to your specific requirements and can be combined with many of our leading technologies, including:
Electroplating to achieve precise edge definition and location tolerance
Electron Beam Welding for joining dissimilar alloys
Localized Zone Annealing for improved forming performance
Inlay or Overlay Cladding for optimizing properties to solve unique performance challenges
PROFILED STRIP: UNLIMITED PROFILE CONFIGURATIONS
High Strength Aluminum
HIGH STRENGTH ALUMINUM REPLACES COSTLY COPPER WITHOUT COMPROMISE
High Strength Aluminum (HSA) materials are copper alternatives for electronic components, supporting lightweighting and cost-down initiatives in wiring systems. With the rapid acceptance of aluminum wiring harnesses in vehicles, aluminum technologies are now extending to connector and lead frame solutions enabling 100% aluminum based electrical systems.
INCREASE CONDUCTIVITY WHILE REDUCING DENSITY
With low cost, low density and yet high strength and high conductivity, High Strength Aluminum provides cost and weight reductions over commonly used brass and bronze base metals.
For aluminum connectors, HSA is available with clad or electroplated contact materials. In wire bondable lead frame applications, HSA provides the same high reliability of aluminum inlay.
Utilizing heat treated aluminum alloys provided in coil form, HSA copper alternatives are ready for high throughput stamping and forming of components. Aluminum connectors and lead frame materials come semi-finished, with electroplated or clad functional layers. Electroplated aluminum connectors can be plated with nickel , tin, silver or gold contact surfaces.
The third most abundant element on earth, aluminum offers vast availability and low cost, reducing cost variability in electrical components. In comparison, the cost of copper can be volatile causing large swings in the cost of copper components.