Copper and Copper Alloys | General Information
EN Standards for Copper Alloys
This datasheet provides an outline of the large number of extensive EN Standards covering Copper and Copper Alloys.
Other datasheets on this Aalco web site do provide further information on individual alloys including compositions and Mechanicla Properties.
An excellent further reference providing much more detail on Alloy Compositions, Mechanical Properties, etc. - Publication 120 - in available from the Copper Development Association: www.cda.org.uk
For information on Product Tolerances please refer to the latest edition of the published EN Standard.
EN Standards for Copper Alloys
This table lists relevant EN Standards and the nearest equivalent old BS Standard
| Product Form | EN Standard | Old BS Standard |
| Free Machining Rod | 12164 | 2874 |
| Plate | 1652, 1653 | 2875 Pt 3 |
| Sheet, Strip & Foil | 1172, 1652, 1653, 1654 | 2870 |
| Tube - Water, Gas, Sanitation | 1057 | 2871 Pt 1 |
| Tube - General Purpose | 12449 | 2871 Pt 2 |
| Tube - Heat Exchangers | 12451 | 2871 Pt 3 |
| Copper Rod & Bar - Electrical Uses | 13601 | 1433 |
| High Conductivity Copper (Oxygen Free) | 13604 | 2901 |
EN Alloys Numbering System
The system uses 6 characters.
The first character is a C for Copper-based alloys.
The second character is a letter from the table below.
The third, fourth and fifth characters comprise a 3-digit number, which with a sixth character (a letter) indicate the alloy group. These number series and corresponding letters are also shown in the table below.
An example is CW614N.
| Character/Digits | Key |
| B | Ingot for re-melting to produce cast products |
| C | Cast Products |
| F | Filler Materials for Brazing and Welding |
| M | Master Alloys |
| R | Refined Unwrought Copper |
| S | Scrap |
| W | Wrought Products |
| X | Non-Standardised Materials |
| 000 to 099 A or B | Pure Copper |
| 100 to 199 C or D | Copper Alloys with less than 5% added elements |
| 200 to 299 E or F | Miscellaneous Copper Alloys with more than 5% added elements |
| 300 to 349 G | Copper-Aluminium Alloys |
| 350-399 H | Copper-Nickel Alloys (Cupro-Nickel) |
| 400 to 449 J | Copper-Nickel-Zinc Alloys |
| 450 to 499 K | Copper-Tin Alloys |
| 500 to 599 L or M | Copper-Zinc Alloys - Binary |
| 600 to 699 N or P | Copper-Zind-Lead Alloys |
| 700 to 799 R or S | Copper-Zinc Alloys - Complex |
Converting Old BS Alloy to EN Alloy
| Old BS Alloy | EN Alloy | Notes |
| C101 | CR004A | |
| C104 | CR008A | |
| C106 | CR024A | |
| CZ106 | CW505L | |
| CZ108 | CW508L | |
| CZ112 | CW712R | Naval Brass |
| CZ114 | CW721R & CW722R | High Tensile Brass / Manganese Bronze |
| CZ121 | CW614N | Free Machining Brass |
| CZ130 | CW624N | |
| CZ131 | CW606N | Riveting Quality Brass |
| CA104 | CW307G | Aluminium Bronze |
| PB102 | CW451K | Phosphor Bronze |
Diameter Tolerances - Free Machining Rod
These tolerances are extracted from EN 12164: 2011 (E).
For full detail please refer to the complete standard.
| Diameter (MM) | Tolerance (mm) - Class A |
| Over 2.0 to 3.0 | -0 / +0.04 |
| Over 3.0 to 6.0 | +0 / -0.05 |
| Over 6.0 to 10.0 | +0 / -0.06 |
| Over 10.0 to 18.0 | +0 / -0.07 |
| Over 18.0 to 30.0 | +0 / -0.08 |
| Over 30.0 to 50.0 | +0 / -0.16 |
| Over 50.0 to 80.0 | +0 / -0.19 |
Width Across Flats Tolerance - Free Machining Hex
These tolerances are extracted from EN 12164: 2011 (E).
For full detail please refer to the complete standard.
| Width Across Flats (mm) | Tolerance (mm) |
| Over 2.0 to 3.0 | +0 / -0.06 |
| Over 3.0 to 6.0 | +0 / -0.08 |
| Over 6.0 to 10.0 | +0 / -0.09 |
| Over 10.0 to 18.0 | +0 / -0.11 |
| Over 18.0 to 30.0 | +0 / -0.13 |
| Over 30.0 to 50.0 | +0 / -16 |
| Over 50.0 to 60.0 | +0 / -0.19 |
Thickness Tolerances - Hot Rolled Plate
These tolerances are extracted from EN 1652: 1997.
They apply to plates of width 1000mm to 1500mm only.
Note that wider tolerances apply for some alloys, including CW702R
For full detail please refer to the complete standard.
| Thickness (mm) | Tolerance in mm Plus or Minus (+ or -) |
| Up to 2.5 | By Agreement |
| Over 2.5 to 5.0 | 0.35 |
| Over 5.0 to 7.5 | 0.45 |
| Over 7.5 to 10.0 | 0.55 |
| Over 10.0 to 15.0 | 0.90 |
| Over 15.0 to 25.0 | 1.30 |
| Over 25.0 to 50.0 | 1.50 |
| Over 50.0 | 1.80 |
Thickness Tolerances - Cold Rolled Sheet & Strip
These tolerances are extracted from EN 1652: 1997.
They apply to sheets of width 1000mm to 1250mm only.
Note that wider tolerances (multiply those below by 1.250) apply for some alloys, including CW702R.
For full detail please refer to the complete standard.
| Thickness (mm) | Tolerance in mm Plus or Minus (+ or -) |
| Over 0.3 to 0.4 | 0.07 |
| Over 0.4 to 0.5 | 0.08 |
| Over 0.5 to 0.8 | 0.09 |
| Over 0.8 to 1.2 | 0.10 |
| Over 1.2 to 1.8 | 0.11 |
| Over 1.8 to 2.5 | 0.13 |
| Over 2.5 to 3.2 | 0.17 |
| Over 3.2 to 4.0 | 0.20 |
| Over 4.0 to 5.0 | 0.23 |
| Over 5.0 to 6.0 | 0.26 |
| Over 6.0 to 7.0 | 0.29 |
| Over 7.0 to 8.0 | 0.32 |
| Over 8.0 to 9.0 | 0.35 |
| Over 9.0 to 10.0 | 0.38 |
Diameter Tolerances - General Purpose Tube
These tolerances are extracted from EN 12449: 1999.
Tolerances shown are in mm plus or minus (+ or -)
Tolerances in column 2 are applicable to the mean diameter.
Tolerances in column 3 are applicable to any diameter and have a number of exclusions including colied tubes and annealed tubes.
For full detail please refer to the complete standard.
| O/D (mm) | Tol + or - on mean diameter | Tol + or - on mean diameter |
| Over 3.0 to 10.0 | 0.06 | 0.12 |
| Over 10.0 to 20.0 | 0.08 | 0.16 |
| Over 20.0 to 30.0 | 0.12 | 0.24 |
| Over 30.0 to 50.0 | 0.15 | 0.30 |
| Over 50.0 to 100.0 | 0.20 | 0.50 |
| Over 100.0 to 200.0 | 0.50 | 1.0 |
| Over 200.0 to 300.0 | 0.75 | 1.5 |
| Over 300.0 to 450.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
Wall Thickness Tolerances - General Purrpose Tube
These tolerances are extracted from EN 12449: 1999.
In the header of columns 2 to 6: t is the nominal wall thickness in mm. In the rest of columns 2 to 6 is the tolerance plus or minus (+ or -) in mm.
For full detail please refer to the complete standard.
| O/D (mm) | t 0.3 to 1.0 | t 1.01 to 3.0 | t 3.01 to 6.0 | t 6.01 to 10.0 | t Over 10.0 |
| 3 to 40.0 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | - |
| 40.01 to 120 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| 120.1 to 250 | - | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
| 250.1 to 450 | - | - | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Diameter Tolerances - Heat Exchanger Tube
These tolerances are extracted from EN 12451: 1999.
For full detail please refer to the complete standard.
| O/D (mm) | Tolerance in mm |
| 6.0 to 14.0 | +0 / -0.12 |
| Over 14.0 to 26 | +0 / -0.20 |
| Over 26.0 to 76.0 | +0 / -0.30 |