Forming properties and springback evaluation of copper beryllium sheets

Copper beryllium (CuBe) alloys, i.e. Alloy C17200 bronze, possess excellent strength and conductivity. They have become the most important materials used for producing high reliability connectors and interconnections for electrical and electronic applications. As demand for high connection density in electrical and electronic products grows, springback behaviors become increasingly critical in fabricating these miniaturized contact components from sheet base materials. In the present article, a study of the springback behavior of CuBe sheets under different heat treatment is presented, with the goal of providing reliable information needed for fabricating more intricate connection parts. Both experimental and analytical techniques were adopted. The tensile tester was first used to study the springback related tensile properties. The governing tensile parameters on springback were identified, and their variations for sheets with different heat treatments were studied. It was found that a bilinear constitutive relationship can best characterize the stress strain behavior of the CuBe alloy. A closed form solution based on this bilinear relationship was formulated to predict the springback for the CuBe sheets at bending conditions. A V-shaped bend tester having an interchangeable punch to accommodate multiple radii was designed and built to evaluate the springback properties of CuBe sheets. A good correlation was found between the analytical predictions and experimental data. A parametric study, as an example, was also performed to provide the springback information needed for designing complicated connectors.