Method for producing sintered copper article for craft or decorative use, and plastic copper containing clay compound

Abstract

A method for producing a sintered copper article for craft or decorative use made of copper or a copper alloy which can be sintered in the air by using a general heating furnace, and a plastic copper containing clay compound are provided. The method for producing the sintered copper article for craft or decorative use of the present invention comprises the steps of forming a shaped copper object using the copper containing clay compound which includes at least one kind of a powder selected from a copper powder or a copper alloy powder that contains copper in 50 wt % or more together with an organic binder, and subsequently sintering the shaped copper object, thereby to obtain a shaped copper sinter. Herein, the mean particle diameter of the powder included in the copper containing clay compound is restricted to 10 μm or less, whereby the shaped copper sinter is obtained by sintering the shaped copper object in the air.

1 . A method for producing a sintered copper article for craft or decorative use, the method comprising the steps of:
 forming a shaped copper object by using a plastic copper containing clay compound including at least one kind of a powder selected from a copper powder and a copper alloy powder that contains copper in 50 wt % together with an organic binder, and   sintering subsequently the shaped copper object to obtain a shaped copper sinter,   the copper containing clay compound being a mixed powder including a first powder in 25 to 75 wt % with a mean particle diameter of 0.1 to 4 μm, and the remainder of a second powder with an mean particle diameter in the range of more than 4 μm to 10 μm or less, to thereby obtain the sintered copper article by sintering the shaped copper object in the air.   
     
     
         2 . The method for producing a sintered copper article for craft or decorative use as described in  claim 1 , further comprising a step of pickling or polishing the shaped copper sinter obtained by sintering the shaped copper object in the air. 
     
     
         3 . A plastic copper containing clay compound comprising at least one kind of a powder selected from a copper powder and a copper alloy powder that contains copper in 50 wt %, including a first powder in 25 to 75 wt % with a mean particle diameter of 0.1 to 4 μm, and the remainder of a second powder with an mean particle diameter in the range of more than 4 μm to 10 μm or less together with an organic binder.