ForMatter/Materials/metal/Copper C11000 (Electrolytic Tough Pitch)

mat_copper_c11000

Copper C11000 (Electrolytic Tough Pitch)

high-conductivity copper · ETP copper, C11000, pure copper sheet

highlast updated 2026-04-27

metallic 0.00

hue shift +0°

The copper of wires, roof flashing, sculpture, and printed circuit boards. Soft enough to bend by hand in thin sheet, holds an electric current better than any common metal except silver. Develops a green patina outdoors over years — the Statue of Liberty material.

Electrolytic tough pitch copper, ≥99.9% Cu with controlled oxygen content. Highest electrical and thermal conductivity of common engineering metals. Annealed state is soft and ductile; cold-worked state is springier and harder. Joins by soldering, brazing, or TIG.

mechanical

tensile_strength_mpa220
yield_strength_mpa70
elastic_modulus_gpa117
elongation_pct45
hardness_brinell45

source: MakeItFrom

thermal

melting_point_c1083
thermal_conductivity_w_mk391

source: MakeItFrom

electrical

resistivity_ohm_m1.71e-08
iacs_pct101

physical

density_kg_m38960

source: ASM Handbook (ETP copper, C11000)

Sustainability

embodied carbon kg co2e per kg4.2
sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
embodied carbon recycled kg co2e per kg0.85
recyclabilityvery high — copper scrap commands a market price comparable to virgin material
biodegradableFalse
certifications—
localityglobally traded commodity; major refining in Chile, Peru, China

visual: pink-orange when freshly polished, browns to red within days, greens to verdigris over years
tactile: warmer to the touch than steel, soft under a fingernail in annealed sheet
weight perception: heavy — denser than steel by ~14%
acoustic: muted bell-tone, no long ring

Georgius Agricola (dead — quote)

Smelting is necessary, for by this means earths, solidified juices, and stones are separated from the metals so that they obtain their proper colour and become pure, and may be of great use to mankind in many ways. When the ore is smelted, those things which were mixed with the metal before it was melted are driven forth, because the metal is perfected by fire in this manner.

De Re Metallica (1556), Book IX, p. 353. Trans. Herbert Clark Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover (Dover Publications, 1950).

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere metallic finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      metallic
albedo        #b87333
metallic      1.00
roughness     0.25
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.00
anisotropic   0.00

copy as JSON

{
  "albedo": "#b87333",
  "metallic": 1.0,
  "roughness": 0.25,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}

Blender 4.x Python

# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Copper C11000 (Electrolytic Tough Pitch) · finish: metallic
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_copper_c11000")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.4793, 0.1714, 0.0331, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 1.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.250
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000

KeyShot Python (lux)

# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Copper C11000 (Electrolytic Tough Pitch) · finish: metallic
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_copper_c11000", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (184, 115, 51))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     1.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.250)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)

Substance pbrMetalRough

{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Copper C11000 (Electrolytic Tough Pitch) \u00b7 finish: metallic",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.4793,
    "g": 0.1714,
    "b": 0.0331
  },
  "metallic": 1.0,
  "roughness": 0.25,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}

glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness

{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_copper_c11000",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.4793,
          0.1714,
          0.0331,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 1.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.25
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

USD Preview Surface

# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Copper C11000 (Electrolytic Tough Pitch) · finish: metallic
def Material "mat_copper_c11000" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_copper_c11000/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.4793, 0.1714, 0.0331)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 1.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.250
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}

↓ download glTF material

ProcessLaser Cutting · Water-Jet Cutting · Brazing · Sheet-Metal Bending · CNC Milling

Used inArchitectural Facade Panel

Substitutes

Aluminum 6061

Citations

url · https://www.makeitfrom.com/material-properties/UNS-C11000-CW004A-Electrolytic-Tough-Pitch-Copper
book · Conway, *Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization* (Knopf, 2023), Part Four: Copper, chapters 10–12.
book · Agricola, *De Re Metallica* (1556), Book IX. Trans. Herbert Clark Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover (Dover, 1950).

Concordance

House vocabulary — terms ForMatter uses with intent.

anisotropic: Direction-dependent. Wood reads differently along the grain than across it; rolled steel is stiffer along the rolling direction. The Principled-BSDF anisotropic input rotates the highlight to match.
application: What the thing IS, in the world. The third entity, peer of material and process. A water bottle, a chair, an extruded-aluminum profile.
BRDF: Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function. The math behind how a surface returns light for any incoming and outgoing direction. The PBR model is a parameterized BRDF.
channeled: A voice block written within a dead author's philosophy, marked and cited. Distinct from a verbatim quote. Roland Barthes channeled on PMMA reads like Barthes; the citation attributes the lineage.
choral fugue: ForMatter's register. Subject stated plainly (freshman tier), answered in technical and sensorial registers, countersubjects from linked processes and applications, citations as final stretto. Voice blocks where canon attaches.
clearcoat: A second specular layer over the base surface. Glossy plastics and lacquered woods get a clearcoat term in the PBR table. IOR 1.5 by default.
compatibility (process): Each process entry lists which materials it can work. The cross-ref renders as sphere pills so the gallery feeling extends inward.
confidence: Each entry tagged high / medium / low. A senior's low-confidence-with-three-citations beats a freshman's high-confidence-with-none. The label is a contract with the reader, not a brag.
crystalline (finish): A faceted-surface read — gemstones, glassy minerals, ice. Drives PBR defaults: IOR 2.42 (diamond), transmission 1.0, low roughness.
derive_pbr(): The build's single source of truth — sphere palette + finish enum → Principled-BSDF starter values. One function feeds the entry-page table, the per-host snippets, the glTF export, and the Three.js Live Preview.
freshman / senior register: Two registers in every entry — the plain freshman description and the technical / sensorial one. Same database, two readers, no extra subscription.
glTF: GL Transmission Format — the open 3D-asset standard every modern app reads. ForMatter emits a .gltf material doc per material. Open standard, designer-friendly handoff.
IOR: Index of Refraction. How much light bends entering the surface. Air 1.0, water 1.33, glass 1.5, diamond 2.42. Drives transmission and the specular term.
iridescent (finish): Hue-shifted accent over base. Anodized titanium and niobium, opal, paraíba. Drives PBR defaults: medium metalness, sheen, clearcoat.
lite-PBR: ForMatter's PBR approach — Principled-BSDF starter values per entry, no measured BRDFs, no commercial assets. Honest reasonable defaults from the finish enum, per-entry numeric overrides where you have a real reason.
Live Preview: The Three.js shader ball that replaces the static CSS sphere on entry pages. Same derive_pbr() values, real-time lit, draggable. Optional — toggle in Preferences.
material: What the thing is MADE OF. The first entity. Aluminum 6061, white oak, soda-lime glass.
metallic (finish): Specular highlight, deep shadow rim. Drives PBR defaults: metalness 1, low roughness, IOR 1.45. Polished steel, gold, copper.
PBR: Physically-Based Rendering. The shading model every modern 3D app uses, parameterized by metallic / roughness / IOR / transmission / clearcoat / sheen. ForMatter publishes starter values for every material entry.
Principled BSDF: Blender's name for the consolidated PBR shader. Most other apps ship the same shader under different names (Standard Surface, ShaderGraph, Substance). One node, every output.
process: How the material is MADE INTO the thing. The second entity. Cast, machined, kerf-bent, anodized, planished, granulated. Process is a peer of material, not a footnote.
quote: A voice block carrying a verbatim quotation from a living author, with citation. Distinct from a channeled block. Living = quote only; the rule is enforced at the schema layer.
roughness: Microsurface scatter. 0 is mirror-smooth; 1 is fully diffuse. Most real surfaces sit between 0.2 and 0.8.
sphere proxy: ForMatter's visible-character stand-in for every material. CSS-gradient driven by the entry's palette and finish, not a baked render. Honest about being a proxy, scales to six hundred entries cheaply, tweakable in one place.
substitute: A peer material that could fill a similar role. Cross-references render as sphere pills inside an entry — the gallery feeling extends inward.
transmission: How much light passes through. 1 is fully transparent; 0 is opaque. Glass, gemstones, clear plastics carry transmission.
voice block: A versal block where a real authored voice attaches to the material or process. Schema-tagged with status (living / dead) and mode (quote / channeled). Citations always.
woodgrain (finish): Directional sheen with grain ring. Drives PBR defaults: anisotropic 0.6, medium roughness, no metalness. Every wood entry.

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ForMatter

Materials and processes for people who design and make things.

A local-first library of materials, processes, and applications, equal weight, citable everywhere. Part of the renato.design ecosystem — sibling of Plenum, Specimen, Ingenue, gesture, graf, and the Renato Rhino plug-ins. Form and matter, inseparable.

Why this exists

Half of teaching materials is teaching how the material is made into the thing. The standard subscription library was always light on that half. The wedge here isn't better samples or a prettier interface — it's treating Process as a peer entity, not a footnote.

Rules of the house

Citations or it didn't happen. Every property number, every claim, every borrowed register has a traceable source.
Living authors are quoted only. Verbatim or not at all.
Dead authors may be channeled within their philosophy — marked, cited, never impersonated.
Confidence labeled honestly. A senior's low-confidence-with-three-citations beats a freshman's high-confidence-with-none.
Local-first. Works offline, no login, no subscription.

Sister apps

Ingenue — five voices argue about what to build from electronic parts. Where ForMatter teaches what the thing is made of, Ingenue proposes what the thing could be.
Plenum — vehicle codes through the camera, doo-wop register.
Specimen — iOS field-collection for design students.
renato.design — the rest.

Sources

Conway's Material World on raw materials, Lefteri's Making It on processes, Untracht and McCreight on metalsmithing, USDA Forest Products Lab on woods, GIA on gemstones, Schott / CoorsTek / Toray / Owens Corning datasheets, MakeItFrom for verifiable property numbers, ASM Handbook, ISO standards. Voice blocks: Barthes, Yanagi, Benjamin channeled within their philosophy; Lefteri verbatim. All cited.

v0.5 — 2026-04-27 · Phil Renato · renato.design · MIT-licensed code, CC BY-NC research content