Performance of Cu-TiC alloy electrodes developed by reaction milling for electrical-resistance welding

The performance of a nominal-composition Cu-5 vol.% TiC alloy, prepared via powder metallurgy, was evaluated when such material was used as electrodes for electrical-resistance welding. Starting from Cu, Ti and graphite powders, flakes of the alloy were synthesized by reaction milling in a high-energy mill; alloy bars 6 mm diameter were then produced by hot extruding such flakes. Electrodes performance was evaluated by means of the following indexes: tip shortening, tip widening, and mass loss. Electrolytic copper electrodes were used as reference. The results obtained clearly demonstrate that the Cu-TiC electrodes prepared from powders synthesized by reaction milling have a remarkably better performance than those manufactured from electrolytic copper.