EN Standards for Copper & Copper Alloys

This datasheet provides an outline of the large number of extensive EN Standards covering copper and copper alloys.

Other datasheets on the Righton Blackburns website provide further information on individual alloys including compositions and mechanical properties.

An excellent further reference providing much more detail on alloy compositions, mechanical properties, etc. is Publication 120 which is available from the Copper Development Asociation: 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

Product FormEN StandardOld 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

This table lists relevant EN Standards and the nearest equivalent old BS Standard.

Converting Old BS Alloy to EN Alloy

Old BS AlloyEN AlloyNotes

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

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.

EN Alloys Numbering System

Character/DigitsKey

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)

400-499 J

Copper-Nickel-Zinc Alloys

450-499 K

Copper-Tin Alloys

500 to 599 L or M

Copper-Zinc Alloys - Binary

600 to 699 N or P

Copper-Zinc-Lead Alloys

700 to 799 R or S

Copper-Zinc Alloys - Complex

Diameter Tolerances

Free Machining Rod

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

These tolerances are extracted from EN 12164: 2011 (E). For full details, please refer to the complete standard.

General Purpose Tube

O/D (mm)Tolerance +/- on Mean DiameterTolerance +/- on Mean Diameter

Over 3 to 10

0.06

0.12

Over 10 to 20

0.08

0.16

Over 20 to 30

0.12

0.24

Over 30 to 50

0.15

0.30

Over 50 to 100

0.20

0.50

Over 100 to 200

0.50

1.00

Over 200 to 300

0.75

1.50

Over 300 to 450

1.00

2.00

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 coiled tubes and annealed tubes.

For full detail please refer to the complete standard.

Heat Exchanger Tube

O/D (mm)Tolerance (mm)

6 to 14

+0/-0.12

Over 14 to 26

+0/-0.20

Over 26 to 76

+0/-0.30

These tolerances are extracted from EN 12451: 1999.

For full detail please refer to the complete standard.

Width Tolerances

Free Machining Hexagon - Width Across Flats Tolerance

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/-0.16

Over 50.0 to 60.0

+0/-0.19

These tolerances are extracted from EN 12164: 2011 (E). For full details, please refer to the complete standard.

Thickness Tolerances

Hot Rolled Plate

Thickness (mm)Tolerances (mm) +/-

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

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 details please refer to the complete standard.

Cold Rolled Sheet & Strip

Thickness (mm)Tolerances (mm) +/-

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

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 details please refer to the complete standard.

Wall Thickness Tolerances

General Purpose Tube

O/D (mm)t 0.3 to 1.0t 1.01 to 3.0t 3.01 to 6.0t 6.01 to 10.0t 10.0 and Over

3.0 to 40.0

15

13

11

10

-

40.01 to 120.0

15

13

12

11

10

120.1 to 250.0

-

13

13

12

11

250.1 to 450.0

-

-

15

15

15

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 details please refer to the complete standard.

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Copper standards