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According to national insurance data, lightning causes more than $5 billion in damage each year in the US alone. When a lightning strike is experienced in a home or office building, transferred voltage potentials can develop between multiple ground references that are not intentionally or effectively bonded together.
Most often it is the electronics within a home, such as personal computers, Internet modems, stereo or home theater systems and televisions that are most susceptible to damage when systems are not interconnected. The lack of a proper bonded connection between systems such as electrical and telephone wiring have caused or contributed to appliance and equipment damage, ignited fires and caused personal injury.
Proper bonding between connections and electric power systems will minimize the voltage differences and reduce the potential for damage caused by transients. A home that is properly bonded has an increased level of safety for people inside during a lightning storm. Intersystem bonding provides a low-impedance connection for grounding separate systems and creating an equipotential plane.
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For more than 15 years the National Electrical Code (NEC) has specified that ground conductors from various systems be bonded together, but they failed to specify exactly how that was to be done. Then, in 2008 the telecommunications industry submitted and won approval for the intersystem bonding termination requirement. Their intent was to create a dedicated location for terminating grounding conductors from communications circuits and other systems. In Article 250.94 three acceptable methods for bonding systems in a building are identified. The first option is a set of terminals mounted and electrically connected to the meter enclosure. The second alternative is a bonding or grounding busbar near the service enclosure, meter enclosure or raceway for service conductors. And the third alternative is a bonding bar near the electrode conductor.
Since this change was announced, many states have recognized the advantages of Article 250.94 and adopted them into local codes, but have not been proactive in updating existing homes or businesses. A simple solution is available; the Intersystem Bonding Termination (IBTB). This device is an easily installed method for meeting this effective code and all mounting hardware and anchors are included.
The IBTB is designed to meet the requirements of the 2008 NEC® Article 250.94 section titled “Bonding for Other Systems.” The IBTB is mounted adjacent to the meter base or service entrance equipment and is a convenient way to interconnect and terminate grounding conductors from telephone, CATV or radio and television antennas.
The IBTB includes corrosion-resistant, stainless steel mounting hardware and is easily accessible for connection and inspection. The lay-in connection clamp (#6 – #2 AWG, or 16 – 35 mm2) allows easy installation of the grounding electrode conductor in one continuous length, where possible. The polymeric base and housing is impact-resistant, UV-stabilized and meets UL® requirements for weatherability performance. Accommodates (5) 14-4 AWG (1.5 – 25 mm2 bonding conductors and (1) 6 – 2 AWG (16 – 35 mm2) grounding electrode conductor.
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When mounted near the meter base or service entrance equipment it is easily accessed for initial connections and subsequent inspection. It is ideal for protecting cable TV, telephone, satellite systems, security systems, sprinkler system controls, pet fencing, landscape lighting, structural lightning protection and more.
For installation, when the grounding electrode connector is accessible, the integral lay-in connection clamp permits the direct connection of the grounding electrode conductor to the Intersystem Bonding Termination. If this is not possible, a #6 AWG conductor can be used to connect the IBTB to the grounding electrode using a listed grounding connector. When the grounding electrode is not accessible, a minimum #6 AWG conductor can be used to bond to the meter enclosure or metallic raceway with a listed device.
The entire installation process shouldn’t take more than a half hour to an hour at the most, and once completed you’ll feel much more comfortable when lightning and thunder roll through your neighborhood again.
For all your grounding and electrical component needs, contact the knowledgeable and helpful customer service team at Storm Copper. Call toll free: 1-800-394-4804 or log onto http://www.stormcopper.com/ to peruse products or place an order.
 Sales Manager Charlene Miller and Storm’s OEM Sales representative Joe Radecki are ready to greet customers at the NATE show, held at Disney’s Coronado Convention Center. |
Storm Copper Components’ owners and several sales and marketing representatives attended the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) trade show in Orlando, and as far as the staff were concerned, NATE was great!
Traffic to the Storm booth was very strong as attendees discovered they could get a free copper peace sign by stopping by the Storm Copper booth. They were also very enthusiastic about the discount card they received for dropping their business card in the distinctive copper box, made by Storm’s creative shop.
Storm President, Carol Howard and Sales Manager Charlene Miller rated the show a great success based on the feedback they received from talking to many prospective customers. “This was our second year attending NATE. We met a lot of new potential customers and got reacquainted with many existing customers that came by to see what we are doing that’s new,” Miller said.
 The hole pattern on Storm's busbars make it easy to position connections at a 45-degree angle. |
“We don’t often get feedback from those who are on the front line, installing the components Storm builds, so it was very enlightening to hear what Jeremy Buckles had to say about our busbars,” said Dan Kitts, Storm’s co-owner.
Buckles and a co-worker stopped by after giving his presentation to say how much he liked Storm’s busbars because the hole pattern makes it very simple to comply with specifications of some of the more rigid cell phone companies. According to Buckles, Risk Management Supervisor for Com-Tec, sometimes busbars have to be mounted vertically, and the code requires a 45-degree connection. With the hole pattern on Storm’s busbars the connections line up perfectly and are simple to install due to the generous size and spacing.
 The large copper peace sign hanging in the booth was a real traffic stopper, as people who recalled the symbol from the 60’s stopped by to pick up one as a memento. One man asked with a smile, “Will this get me in to Woodstock?” |
NATE is an annual event designed to educate industry professionals, update attendees on safety concerns and give the various companies involved in supplying products a chance to display their products and services. While the show moves around the country, attendance this year could have been strong due to the Disney resort location. It gave everyone a chance to take care of business, and spend a little time in the Magic Kingdom. While the weather was a little cooler than normal for February in Florida, Storm staff members enjoyed the work and play before heading back to Tennessee.
Known for streamlined fabrication of copper electrical connectors, Storm Copper Components reminds OEM’s and systems installers to take advantage of another of its cost-saving production capabilities: tin, silver, nickel and lead plating, done in-house at Storm’s east Tennessee production facility.
All too often electrical parts manufacturers have to send out copper connectors to outside vendors for plating or coating, a lengthy process that requires excess packaging, additional freight costs, lost time and risks that commonly occur in shipping. When the plated copper components are returned for testing before delivery, even the slightest scratch in the plated surface can lead to rejection and delays to the customer.
Storm’s electroplating options for copper electrical connectors include bright tin plating, matte tin, nickel, silver, various tin/lead alloys and pure lead. Storm Copper offers this diverse offering of plating options to meet the many varied requirements dictated by a wide variety of industry applications.
For example, tin is a common plating metal most often specified applications like power sub-stations, tower grounding, and high-voltage connections. Tin plating is fairly inexpensive, protects copper from outside environmental degradation that damages connections, masks copper from thieves by destroying its value to recyclers.
Storm’s electroplating process incorporates an electrolyte bath where electrical connectors such as copper bus bars are fully immersed to produce a uniform coating over edges and the rounded surfaces of bus bar holes and bends. For better-quality, Storm uses a trace amount of lead in its tin plating process to prevent the occurrence of tiny crystalline structures called “whiskers” than are electrically conductive and can be broken off during installation, increasing the potential of electrical hazards.
Silver plating is popular in the switchgear industry because it is very good on surface-to-surface conductivity. Because of its high cost, silver is generally limited to application on contact points where two components are joined together.
In applications where lead-acid or wet cell batteries are used, caustic materials or vapors can degrade electrical battery connectors, lead is the preferred plating because it is impervious to sulfuric acid.
No matter what environment or application, Storm offers a clear edge to OEM’s and systems installers through its cost- and time-saving capability to plate tin, silver, nickel and lead in house.
Storm Copper Components is committed to meeting its customer’s requirements by providing innovative, cost-effective solutions and by focusing on continual improvement of all our products, processes, and services. For 20 years, the company has specialized in the manufacture of custom electrical connectors for the wireless, telecommunications, power and alternative energy markets, serving OEM’s, electrical contractors and system installers.
For more information, or to schedule an interview with Dan Kitts, please call Dave Krikorian at 1-800-334-2177 or email dkrikorian@stormcopper.com.
Decatur, Tennessee (February 12, 2010) – Storm Copper Components, a leading manufacturer of copper electrical connectors in North America, attributes much of its recent growth to a concept called “Value Engineering,” a method of cost-efficient production forged by raw material and component shortages in World War II. With a constant eye on quality improvement, Storm’s systematic approach to value engineering has streamlined the process of fabricating copper electrical components, and reduced the overall costs of high end connectors such as bus bar.
Storm’s value engineering process is focused on keeping costs in check by stocking copper bar or copper sheeting that most closely matches design specifications. Storm Copper co-owner, Dan Kitts, points out a critical factor; “Many OEMs round up in size when purchasing copper busbar, but often the next standard size is more than is required, increasing the cost unnecessarily. Although it may sound obvious, the number one factor in keeping busbar pricing low is often overlooked: only use as much copper metal as is necessary for the required ampacity.”
“Recently Storm Copper surpassed the threshold of 300 unique profiles of copper bar and copper sheet, which means in most cases we have exact size of copper metal required for an order already sitting on a shelf,” Kitts said. Also among the one million pounds of copper metal inventory Storm maintains is an extensive selection of metric copper. Storm Copper has amassed the largest inventory of metric sized copper bar stock in North America, to pass on its cost-efficient value engineering to OEMs in Europe, Canada and other parts of the world.
Another way to control costs and lead-time through value engineering is using an off the shelf bus-bar thicknesses. An OEM’s desire for optimal thickness should not require a special mill run to produce the required size of copper metal bus bar. By utilizing readily available busbar thicknesses, Storm is able to provide quick lead times and avoid the costs of producing a unique busbar profile from the copper mill.
Other key cost-saving value engineering factors stem from punching vs. milling holes. Telling a customer when a hole’s location is too close to a formed or bent area of the bus bar where a punched hole can be deformed, or recommending a copper bus bar design with a wider hole tolerance; these are cost-effective ways to save the expense of milling.
Storm Copper Components is committed to meeting its customer’s requirements by providing innovative, cost-effective solutions and by focusing on continual improvement of all our products, processes, and services. For 20 years, the company has specialized in the manufacture of custom electrical connectors for the wireless, telecommunications, power and alternative energy markets, serving OEM’s, electrical contractors and system installers.
For more information, or to schedule an interview with co-owner Dan Kitts, please call Dave Krikorian at 1-800-334-2177 or email dkrikorian@stormcopper.com.
Storm Copper Components, a leading manufacturer of copper electrical connectors, is pleased to announce the creation of yet another product guide designed to assist OEMs, electrical engineers and system installers at solving operational and design issues. A A Guide to Flexible Electric Connectors is now available free as a one-click download in PDF format at the Storm Copper website.
In straightforward terms, A Guide to Flexible Electric Connectors explains how flexible electrical connectors, also called flex braid or flexible jumpers, can solve high-voltage connectivity problems created by vibration from generators, turbines and transformers. In addition to the causes and effects of vibration, the guide simplifies the process of selecting the proper flexible copper electrical connector by offering flex braid specifications and helpful purchasing tips.
After working with electrical engineers for many years, Storm Copper has learned the ins and outs of the copper flex braid selection process. This experience has led Storm to understand that most engineers know how flexible connectors solve the problem of vibration, yet many remain challenged by factors relevant to selecting the best flex-braid connector for a specific application. These factors include physical design features such as connector hole patterns, length, ampacity, strand patterns of copper flex braids and the subtle difference between flat and round copper braid.
One of several product guides from Storm Copper, this new guide to flexible braided connectors discusses all of the considerations required for copper flex braid selection, including a brief explanation of the manufacturing process that provides insight into Storm Copper’s quality engineering. Information about the advantages of tin-plating is also included along with the issue of matching metals to prevent galvanic corrosion.
A handy specifications chart – provided on the last page of the guide – works as a key to simplify copper flex braid selection by displaying significant variables in a spreadsheet format, where comparison of capacity and other characteristics is much easier to visualize.
To access the free PDF download of the product guide, visit the Storm Copper Components website landing page for Flexible Electrical Connectors. The link also appears on this month’s (February) issues of the PQ Newsbeat electronic newsletter.
Storm Copper Components is committed to meeting its customer’s requirements by providing innovative, cost-effective solutions and by focusing on continual improvement of all our products, processes, and services. For 20 years, the company has specialized in the manufacture of custom electrical connectors for the wireless, telecommunications, power and alternative energy markets, serving OEM’s, electrical contractors and system installers.
Click this link for your free download of A Guide to Flexible Electric Connectors.
For more information, or to schedule an interview with co-owner Dan Kitts, please call Dave Krikorian at 1-800-334-2177 or email dkrikorian@stormcopper.com.
The variables facing the designer of a copper fabrication are many. The impact these variables will have on the finished copper component range from significant to minimal. The purpose of the following information is to provide an awareness for the designer as to the importance of these copper specifications. However, in many cases the number of options described here are limited dramatically in application because of material availability, manufacturability, minimum raw material orders and cost. Therefore, STORM will be happy to review your specification and provide comments as to cost and availability.
Copper Busbar Efficiency
Busbar systems for industrial and commercial facilities are often designed to minimize first costs, with the Busbar sized to the minimum permitted by safety considerations. In such cases, operating costs are ignored at the design stage and, as a result, large amounts of electrical energy are wasted in service due to heating. Larger cross-sections of Busbar result in more efficient systems with lower operating costs. The optimum system is one that properly balances first costs with operating costs in order to minimize total life-cycle cost.
Energy is wasted in any system because a portion of the electricity flowing through the conductor is converted to heat rather than being delivered as usable electrical energy. The determinants of the rate at which heat is generated by a system are: the amperage of the system and several factors which determine the resistance: the dimensions of the Busbar, the layout of the Busbar and the conductivity of the Busbar metal.
The effect of electrical conductivity on the heat loss of the system is straightforward: there is a proportionally inverse relationship between the two. The effects of the amperage and the dimensions of the Busbar are more subtle and have to be considered together. For a given Busbar size, increasing the amperage of the system will increase the heat loss, while increasing the cross-section of the Busbar will decrease the electrical resistance, and therefore the heat loss. These two effects are nonlinear, however. Thin, wide Busbar systems have better heat-dissipation characteristics, and therefore run cooler, than Busbar systems of equal cross-sectional area, but with less surface area. Since electrical resistivity rises with temperature, the thinner, wider configurations are better conductors.
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Copper Alloys
C11000, Electrolytic Tough Pitch Copper (ETP): The most common type of copper used. With a minimum copper content of 99.90%, and an electrical conductivity of 101% IACS, it is used in such diverse applications as electrical conductors, roofing and flashing, heat exchanger fins, tanks and hollowware.
C10100 and C10200, Oxygen Free Coppers: Used where the presence of oxygen in copper is undesirable, as in certain electronic parts, or metal to be welded. These coppers have higher purities than ETP and are cast by the refineries in a controlled atmosphere with oxygen excluded. Cryogenic grades of C10100 copper are also available.
C12200, Phosphorous Deoxidized Copper (DHP): Deoxidized with phosphorous, making it relatively easy to weld and high temperature braze. However, DHP has a much lower electrical conductivity – approximately 85% IACS.
C11400 and C14300 Coppers: Used where it is desired to avoid softening in copper that is soldered at relatively high temperatures, as in automotive heater and radiator fins. The addition of a small percentage of silver, as in C11400 copper, is effective without a significant change in thermal and electrical conductivities. The addition of .07% cadmium to C14300 copper has a similar result, except that the conductivities are reduced by approximately 4%.
The measure by which the electrical conductivity of all materials are compared is known as % IACS (percent International Annealed Copper Standard). A few comparative conductivity ratings follow:
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Type of Metal % IACS
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| 110 Electrolytic Tough-Pitch Copper……………………………………………………………. |
101
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| 102 Oxygen-Free Copper………………………………………………………………………….. |
101
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| 145 Tellurium Copper……………………………………………………………………………….. |
95
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| Aluminum EC………………………………………………………………………………………….. |
62
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| Aluminum 6101……………………………………………………………………………………….. |
56
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| 505 Phosphor Bronze 1.25%……………………………………………………………………….. |
48
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| Aluminum 5052……………………………………………………………………………………….. |
35
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| Stainless Steel 302……………………………………………………………………………………. |
3
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Based on the availability and cost, C11000 Electrolytic Tough Pitch (ETP) should be specified when suitable.
Temper
The hardness of the copper or copper alloys are obtained by annealing or cold finishing after the annealing process. Unlike steel and aluminum, copper and copper alloys are not strengthened by heat treating in the final stages of processing. During annealing, air is excluded by flooding the furnaces with protective atmospheres controlled to prevent scaling, staining, or the penetration of the metal by oxygen or hydrogen. Cold finishing is defined as the permanent deformation or strain produced in the metal by external forces that are applied while the metal’s temperature is below its recrystallization point. It can be achieved by rolling, bending, stretching, or hammering the metal while it is cold.
Copper Rod and Bar
Annealed Metal (Soft) – Recrystalized Grains – Produced by Annealing Hard Metal – Special Soft Tempers are used for short radius bending, cold heading and cold swaging. Cold worked surfaces are suitable for most polishing.
1/2 Hard Metal (Cold Worked) – Distorted and Broken-up Grains – Produced by Cold Drawing or Cold Rolling Soft Metal to Finish Size. Common Hard Temper Rectangular and Square Bar. Standard Bus Bar Temper. Used for parts requiring machining, large radius bends, slight cold heading and slight cold swaging.
Full Hard Temper (Cold Worked) – Much Distorted and Broken-up Grains – Produced by Cold Drawing or Cold Rolling Soft Metal to Finish Size. Common Hard Temper for Round Rods. Used for parts requiring machining. Generally not suitable for bending, cold heading and cold swaging. Hard tempers are favorable to blanking, shearing and machining.
Sheet, Strip and Roll Copper
Cold Rolled Annealed Temper (Soft Metal) – Recrystalized Grains – Produced by Annealing Hard Metal – Standard Soft Roll Copper is commonly used for deep drawing and spinning. The surface on drawn parts is suitable for most polishing requirements.
Soft Temper Annealed Metal (Soft Metal) – Recrystalized Grains – Produced by Annealing Hard Metal – Commonly used by sheet metal craftsmen. Used for moderate drawing and cupping. The surface on drawn parts is suitable for most polishing requirements.
1/4 Hard Metal (Cold Worked) - Distorted and Broken-up Grains – Produced by Cold Rolling Soft Metal to the Finish Thickness. Special Hard Temper suitable for shallow forming.
1/2 Hard Metal (Cold Worked) - Distorted and Broken-up Grains – Produced by Cold Rolling Soft Metal to the Finish Thickness. Special Hard Temper suitable for 90 deg. bends.
3/4 Hard Metal (Cold Worked) – Much Distorted and Broken-up grains – Produced by cold Rolling Soft Metal to the Finish Thickness. Suitable for 90 deg. bends. Favorable to blanking, shearing and machining.
Because of the relationship between Temper and the manufacturability of the component, Storm Copper Components will suggest a Temper upon review of drawings.
Electrical engineers and designers face a set of variables that often have a significant impact on a finished copper component. The following information illustrates this design process by listing the importance of key specifications related to producing efficient copper bus and electrical ground bars.
In many cases, the options described may be limited in application because of copper alloy or other metal considerations, manufacturing capabilities, or simply the high cost of copper in today’s market.
Copper Bus Bar Efficiency: Make no mistake, size really matters
Bus bar systems for industrial and commercial facilities are often designed to save costs, with the bus bars sized to the minimum safety requirements permitted by local electrical codes. Often the future operating costs are ignored during the design stage, which can result in large amounts of wasted electrical energy due to the inefficient bus-bar conductivity or heating.
While opting for larger cross-sections of bus bar can result in more efficient power distribution grounding systems – with less heating and lower operating costs – the optimum system is one that properly balances initial costs with operating costs in order to minimize total life-cycle cost.
Energy is most often wasted in power or grounding systems because a portion of the electricity flowing through the conductor (bus or ground bar) is converted to heat rather than being delivered as usable electrical energy. The factors that determine the rate at which heat is generated by a bus bar system include:
• The amperage of the system with several factors that determine the resistance.
• The design of bus bar, the cross-section dimensions and the system layout.
• The conductivity of the bus bar metal, e.g. Copper vs. Aluminum.
While inefficient electrical conductivity leads to heat loss, there is a proportionally inverse relationship between the two that can be solved by increasing the bus bar dimensions. Yet the effects of the amperage and the bus bar dimensions are harder to discern.
Once the bus bar dimensions are set and a system is laid out, any increase in amperage down the line will increase the heat loss. Designing a larger cross-section of bus bar will naturally decrease electrical resistance and heat loss. But when is enough, enough?
Interestingly, the effects of amperage vs. dimensions are nonlinear. Thinner, wider bus bar systems actually have better heat-dissipation characteristics and run cooler than heavier bus bars that have less surface area. Since electrical resistance rises with temperature, the thinner, wider configurations are better conductors. Go figure.
| Here’s an illustration:
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Click here to view a set of key ampacity tables.
For customers who lack an engineering degree or Einstein’s brain, please be aware that in addition to this design guide, Storm Copper Quality Team members are on hand to review your specification and provide assistance in discerning ways to reduce cost and lead times.
You can reach them by calling Storm’s OEM Hotline: 1-800-394-4804
| Here’s what Storm’s co-owner, Dan Kitts, writes about copper bus bar fabrication…
Whenever Storm’s process engineers look at a bus bar print, there are a handful of key design elements they are immediately drawn to. These design elements largely dictate how an OEM’s bus bars will be manufactured. And it also determines the price we must charge to the customer. When considering the design of a bus bar, several critical points can favorably impact the cost of fabrication. Each falls within a quality process that Storm calls “Value Engineering…” Read the rest of Dan’s Value Engineering Blog … |
Copper Bus Bar Fabrication and Plating – Important Considerations
Storm manufacturers copper bus and electrical ground bars and kits for installations including perimeter grounding, telecommunications centers, towers and antennas. In each of these installations, one of the key factors in producing a cost effective busbar begins with layout of the required holes. From a fabrication standpoint, on copper busbar less than .500” thick, punching holes is much more cost effective than milling holes. The holes in a busbar are always punched in while the stock is flat, and then any required bends are made. When holes are specified too close to a bend, the holes can become distorted slightly. Even a slight distortion can prevent the installation of other components when tolerances are tight, so the only solution is milling holes that are designed too close to a bend. Milling is a slow and expensive process that is easily avoidable by allowing a distance of 1.00” or more from a hole location to a bend in the part.
Another reason that drives up costs, through required milling is tolerance. When hole placement tolerance is less than +/- .005” it is impossible to hold these dimensions on our punch presses. Also, the tolerance of the hole diameter is a concern. When specifications call for +/- .001, we must use a mill to drill the hole. To avoid incurring the additional costs of milling, keep your tolerances to +/- .020”.
It is important to note that punching copper busbar does slightly deform the surface of the part. Occasionally this indenting or rounding of the surface of the busbar can result in a loss of contact area. This minor deformation of the hole is rarely a problem, but worth noting.
Storm’s prototyping capability can also put samples of bus bar connectors in your hands for evaluation in a matter of days. And because Storm offers in-house bus bar electroplating of tin, lead, tin/lead alloys and silver, lead times critical OEM delivery requirements are reduced. Plus internal plating is more cost effective than outsourcing.
Un-plated vs. Tin-plated?
Pure Copper Grounding Bars are the industry standard because of the excellent conductivity of copper. But Storm also offers in-house electroplating of fabricated bus bar. This allows quick response to critical OEM delivery requirements. Moreover, internal plating is more cost effective than outsourcing.
Tin-Plated Grounding Bars can be a better choice for outdoor or other harsh environments, as tin electro-plating reduces the chance of corrosion interfering with the ground connection. Tin plating also disguises the copper color, serving as a secondary theft deterrent, while making the copper unusable for illegal recycling.
Security Ground Bar Kits are also available to prevent theft of copper by replacing the standard hex bolt configuration with Truss Spanner Security Bolts.
For more information on protecting against copper theft, check out our Copper Crime Center
Storm also offers custom stamping for theft prevention. Allow us to stamp your company name, logo, phone number, or a Do Not Recycle message into each ground bar. For more information, link to our live chat center or call toll free: 1-888-334-2177. |
Ground Bar Kits were developed by Storm to save time and money, and include the following components:
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| One .25″ thick grounding bar of solid copper (110 Electrolytic Tough-Pitch). Standoff Insulators: A Mounting Brackets: B Stainless Hex Bolts: C Stainless Spring-Lock Washers: D |
| Storm also offers Clear Polycarbonate Ground Bar Cover Kits to protect workers and equipment from accidental contact with live voltage. |
Instead of a traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, Storm Copper Components, a leading fabricator of copper electrical connectors, will mark the opening of their new production facility by cutting a new doorway to join the additional 18,000 square feet to their existing manufacturing plant in eastern Tennessee.
The new doorway provides access to Storm's future.
The new manufacturing space will enable Storm Copper to expand into three new fabrication processes to meet the needs of present and future OEM customers. The financial commitment to expand our manufacturing facility to this size was a serious decision at a time when the economy is down, but co-owner Dan Kitts says Storm’s management philosophy is focused on expanding existing business potential with an eye on the future.
“This new facility will enable us to broaden our capabilities to meet customer needs in three new areas, electrostatic powder coating, laminated busbars and the production of extended length busbars. But, we’ve always liked the idea of having room to grow. When a customer comes to us with a request for a new electrical connector requiring a process that needing additional space, we won’t have to wait for brick and mortar construction. With available space we can add a piece of machinery or a process very quickly,” Kitts said. 
Electrostatic powder coating is another way to insulate a copper busbar for electrical efficiency and safety factors, and one of five insulation options for laminated bus bar now offered by Storm.
The addition of busbar laminating machinery broadens Storm’s production capability in multilayer copper electrical connectors, creating a significant opportunity for OEM customers in industries ranging from Power Generation, Alternative Energy, Telecom, Motor Control, Transportation and Defense.
Storm Copper also views this addition as an opportunity to add advanced capabilities. The company’s new CNC (computer numerical controlled) punching and precision cutting machine stands at the forefront of these improvements. Once programmed, this machine will robotically punch multiple holes the entire length of the busbar and cut it to exact length, all from the same long bar of conveyor-fed copper, shortening productions times.
For 20 years, Storm Copper Components has specialized in the manufacture of custom electrical connectors for the wireless, telecommunications, power and alternative energy markets, serving OEM’s, electrical contractors and system installers.
For more information, or to schedule an interview with Dan Kitts, please call Dave Krikorian at 423-506-4178 or email dkrikorian@stormcopper.com.
Storm Copper maintains a huge inventory of metric copper bar stock.
To meet this challenge, Storm Copper has amassed the largest inventory of metric sized copper bar stock in North America. This huge inventory gives tremendous flexibility to turn around metric copper connectors in a cost and time efficient manner.
“Storm has tons of metric copper on its shelves, 25-30 different profiles of copper bar stock that we can draw from to enable us to save our customers money as well as time. This means we can help OEMs cut cost by giving them the option of using the correct size of copper bar stock, and not forcing them to pay for excess copper,” according Storm Co-Owner, Dan Kitts.
He explained, “1/4 x 4” is available from many sources, and comes close to 6 mm x 100 mm, but 100 mm is just a little less than 4”. When you consider that labor generally runs 10% of a product’s cost and materials around 58%, using stock that is wider, thicker or longer than necessary can mean charging for excess copper, an unnecessary cost penalty from Storm’s point of view.”
In addition to Storm’s massive inventory of raw metric dimensioned copper bar and sheet, the company is equipped with the machinery and tooling necessary to drill, punch and notch copper bar stock to exacting metric tolerances. And by having the resources in place, there is no need for OEM’s to encounter a metric surcharge.
Storm Copper Components is dedicated to the quality fabrication of Busbar, Laminated Busbars and Copper Ground Busbars to the exact specifications of OEM customers.
Many of Storm’s customers are OEM’s who already produce equipment designed around European metric standards. The transition from metric dimensioned components to American standards can also pose additional challenges in retesting and certifying equipment. This can add dramatically to the cost of moving a European designed power system to North American production facilities.
For 20 years, Storm Copper Components has specialized in the manufacture of custom electrical connectors for the wireless, telecommunications, power and alternative energy markets, serving OEM’s, electrical contractors and system installers.
For more information, or to schedule an interview with Dan Kitts, please call Dave Krikorian at 423-506-4178 or email dkrikorian@stormcopper.com.
By Dan Kitts
On average, 17,000 copper connectors, aka busbars, ship from Storm Copper’s loading dock every day. Thousands of unique designs are included in those 17,000 pieces of copper busbar. Needless to say, we have seen countless prints from many different industries. When our process engineers look at a print, there are a handful of key design elements they are immediately drawn to. These design elements largely dictate how these busbars will be manufactured. It also determines the price we must charge our customer. When considering the design of a busbar, several critical points can favorably impact the cost of fabrication.
Although it may sound obvious, the number one factor in keeping busbar pricing low is often overlooked. Specify only the exact size of copper stock you really need for the job. Whether you are using copper or aluminum for your busbar application, reducing the metal content is your number one opportunity to reduce cost. You will find these ampacity tables very helpful with sizing busbar. To do this properly, you must know the amount of temperature rise you are willing to accept.
One word of caution while we are on this subject; your desire for thickness optimization should not conclude in a special mill run sizes of busbar. Unless you are a very large user of busbar, utilizing readily available busbar thicknesses (these are .062, .094, .125, .250, .312, .375 and .500 inches) permits your fabricator multiple sources of supply and reduced lead times. As of the writing of this article, lead times from the two domestic copper mills in the United States are approximately 8 weeks. Most OEMs we do business with require a lead time of 2 weeks or less on their busbar requirements.
From a fabrication standpoint, punching holes in copper busbar is much more cost effective than milling holes. On busbar less than .500” thick, there generally are two design parameters which force busbar to be routed to the mill. The first is a hole location so close to a formed or bent area of the busbar that the hole becomes deformed. You see, busbar is always punched when it is flat. The only way we can get a hole into a bent busbar is by mounting it on the mill or machining center. This process is slow and therefore expensive. If you can allow a distance of 1.00” or more from a hole location to a bend in the part, we can most often eliminate a stop at the mill.
The next reason a busbar often stops at the mill is tolerance. Once your tolerance gets under +/- .005” on hole placement, we can no long hold these dimensions on our punch presses. Also, the tolerance of the hole diameter is a concern, +/- .001” and we must use a mill to drill the hole. To be sure your part stays off the mill, allow +/- .020” for your tolerance. It is important to note that punching copper busbar does slightly deform the surface of the part.
Occasionally this indenting or rounding of the surface of the busbar can result in a loss of contact area. This minor deformation of the hole is rarely a problem, but worth noting.
To sum up the critical points in reducing busbar cost:
1. Use the smallest possible size to reduce metal content of the busbar.
2. Design in standard thickness busbar to improve availability whenever possible.
3. Review hole placement and tolerance to reduce the chance the busbar would need to be routed to the mill.
Our Busbar Capability Brochure is another source of information that may be of assistance in your design efforts.
If you already have a print of your custom Busbar, simply email it to busbar@stormcopper.com for a fast, reliable quote. If not, good luck on your busbar design efforts, and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Our OEM HOTLINE is 1-800-394-4804.
