The Properties And Uses Of Copper Screws

By Bonnie Contreras


Not a lot of people know this, but copper screws are the simplest form of linear actuator, a motor, in fact. Traditional electric or gasoline motors generate rotary motion, linear actuators take that circular motion and turn it into linear, or straight motion. When you turn the head of a screw clockwise or counterclockwise, it drives the shaft of the screw forward along its linear axis.

The shaft of a screw has a single helical ridge, called a thread, wrapped around the cylinder. These threads cut a helical groove when driven into a softer material. Some screws are designed to fit inside a complementary helix, the internal thread, such as in a nut. Screws are commonly used to hold things together and to fix them into position.

A little-known use for a copper screw is as a contact screw in a tattoo machine. You can easily make these yourself in your garage or workshop because the metal is very soft. What you need is a length of thick wire, a die with the appropriate internal thread, a set of pliers, fine sandpaper that you get in a hobby shop, a vise and a small bottle of acidic gun bluing solution. The bluing solution, when used with iron metal, protects it from rust and corrosion. Here, it just makes your screw look pretty.

The atomic number of copper metal (Cu) is 29. This metal conducts electricity and head very well. This is how come it is used in copper kitchen pots and pans and in electric wiring. Because it is so ductile and malleable, it is very easy to work with. That is why you can make your own tattoo machine screws on your own.

During the Roman era, Cu was mined in Cyprus. This is where it got its original name of cyprium, eventually shortened to cuprum, which is how it ended up with the chemical symbol Cu. It is a trace element in the human body, where it forms part of cytochrome, an important enzyme. Also, whereas humans use the red, iron-containing hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body and return carbon dioxide out to the lungs, crustaceans and molluscs use a the cupric compound, hemocyanin, which has a blue color.

Cuprum is mainly found in human muscle, liver and bone. Cupric compounds are bacteriocidal, i. E., they kill germs. This is why it is used in wood preservatives and in fungicides. It is also sometimes used as a liner for laboratory incubators used for tissue and cell culture.

A copper screw is used in a tattoo machine. They are pretty little machines that are very good for screwing into wood, particularly if it is likely to be exposed to the elements, where iron or steel would turn to rust. Cuprum is also used to coat steel. Sometimes zinc, nickel, brass or cadmium is used instead.

So, copper screws are interesting little motorific devices. The native metal kills germs and looks pretty. They are rather soft, so you need to be careful where you use them. You would not want to use them to hold a commercial airliner together, for instance.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment