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Iron vs. PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes Compare Iron vs. PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.
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Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Plastic PBT GF30 Plastic PPS GF40 Plastic LCP GF30 Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Aluminum A380 Aluminum 6063-T6 Aluminum 1100-O Aluminum ADC12 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless Steel 304 Stainless Steel 316 Stainless Steel 303 Stainless Steel 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Magnesium AZ91D Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall PCB Laminate FR-4 PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes Silicon Ceramic Alumina 96% Ceramic Aluminum Nitride Solder SAC305 Iron Wrought Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA Plastic PBT GF30 Plastic PPS GF40 Plastic LCP GF30 Rubber Wood Aluminum Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Aluminum A380 Aluminum 6063-T6 Aluminum 1100-O Aluminum ADC12 Steel Steel AISI 1018 Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Iron Titanium Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Stainless Steel 304 Stainless Steel 316 Stainless Steel 303 Stainless Steel 17-4PH Brass C360 Brass C260 Copper C110 Glass Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Magnesium AZ91D Zinc Zamak 3 FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Standard SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Concrete Brick Plywood Drywall PCB Laminate FR-4 PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes Silicon Ceramic Alumina 96% Ceramic Aluminum Nitride Solder SAC305 PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes Composite Try it on a partA sample part to run stress or thermal on, free in your browser Open in LessCAD Open in LessCAD Mechanical Yield strength 186 MPa source typical (0.2% YS), hot rolled + SRA/recrystallization anneal not given (tensile used) Ultimate tensile strength 290 MPa source typical, SRA/recrystallization anneal 246–385 MPa source the bare laminate's (fr4-370hr), in-plane: cross direction .. length direction (ASTM D3039) Elongation at break 38 % source typical, gauge 4D0 not sourced Young's modulus (stiffness) 207 GPa source typical, after SRA/recrystallization anneal 21.9–25.8 GPa source the bare laminate's (fr4-370hr), in-plane: cross direction .. length direction (ASTM D790-15e2); the copper planes are left out Density 7,860 kg/m³ source typical not sourced Strength to weight 23.7 kN·m/kg not sourced Stiffness to weight 26.3 MN·m/kg not sourced Poisson's ratio 0.282 source NIST critically evaluated best value (polycrystalline iron) 0.171–0.177 source the bare laminate's (fr4-370hr), in-plane: cross direction .. length direction Shear modulus 80.7 GPa 7.94x stiffer in shear 10.2 GPa Bulk modulus 158 GPa 12.2 GPa Speed of sound 5,132 m/s not sourced Thermal Thermal conductivity 73.2 W/m·K source typical at 20 °C not sourced Thermal expansion 13.7 µm/m·K source mean, 20-399 °C 13–14 µm/m·K source the bare laminate's (fr4-370hr), in-plane X/Y-axis, below Tg (IPC-TM-650 2.4.24C) 100 mm part over a 50 °C swing 68.5 µm growth 67.5 µm growth 1% less Specific heat 450 J/kg·K source typical not sourced Heats up and cools (diffusivity) 20.7 mm²/s not sourced Thermal shock resistance 3,447 W/m not sourced Melting point 1,532 °C source typical not sourced Values for Cleveland-Cliffs / AK Steel ARMCO Pure Iron Product Data Bulletin (07/2022): Table 1 typical physical properties, Table 2 typical mechanical properties after SRA/recrystallization anneal. A whole circuit board read as one orthotropic plate: the JEDEC high-K thermal test board (JESD51-7, "2s2p"), 0.062 in (1.575 mm) thick with two internal solid copper planes 0.0014 in (1 oz) thick, as Texas Instruments SZZA017A Table 1 gives it. Copper C110 and the Isola 370HR laminate from this library; the layers conduct in parallel along the board and in series through it (boardStackup.ts). Its two 0.0028 in trace layers cover little of the board and are left out; vias are ignored. Mechanical values are the bare laminate's.
Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.
Questions Is Iron stronger than PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes? PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes is stronger: its tensile strength is 315 MPa against yield strength 186 MPa for Iron (1.7x).
Which is stiffer, Iron or PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes? Iron is stiffer: Young's modulus 207 GPa against 23.9 GPa for PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes, so the same part in Iron deflects less under the same load.
Which expands less with temperature? PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes expands less: 13.5 µm/m·K against 13.7 µm/m·K for Iron.
Among 73 materials 1k 10k 0.1 1 10 100 Density (kg/m³) Young's modulus (GPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Aluminum Steel Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless Steel 304 Stainless Steel 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless Steel 303 Stainless Steel 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel PCB Laminate FR-4 Silicon Ceramic Alumina 96% Ceramic Aluminum Nitride Aluminum A380 Aluminum 6063-T6 Aluminum 1100-O Aluminum ADC12 Magnesium AZ91D Solder SAC305 Plastic PBT GF30 Plastic PPS GF40 Plastic LCP GF30 Iron Stiffness against density 1k 10k 10 100 1k Density (kg/m³) Yield strength (MPa) Plastic PLA Plastic PETG Plastic ABS Plastic TPU Plastic Nylon Rubber Aluminum Steel Titanium Steel AISI 1018 Stainless Steel 304 Stainless Steel 316 Aluminum 6061-T6 Aluminum 7075-T6 Brass C360 Copper C110 Glass Steel AISI 1045 Steel AISI 4340 Steel A992 Stainless Steel 303 Stainless Steel 17-4PH Aluminum 2024-T351 Aluminum 5052-H32 Aluminum 7050-T7451 Titanium Ti-6Al-4V Brass C260 Nickel Inconel 718 Magnesium AZ31B-H24 Zinc Zamak 3 Plastic ABS (bulk/injection) Plastic Polycarbonate Plastic POM/Acetal Plastic Nylon PA6 Plastic Nylon PA66 Plastic PEEK Plastic PTFE Plastic UHMWPE Plastic HDPE Plastic Polypropylene Plastic PMMA FDM ASA FDM Polycarbonate FDM PAHT-CF FDM HIPS SLA Resin Tough 2000 SLA Resin Elastic 50A SLS PA12 Nylon DMLS AlSi10Mg Aluminum DMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI Titanium DMLS 316L Stainless Steel DMLS 17-4PH Stainless Steel Brick PCB Laminate FR-4 Silicon Ceramic Alumina 96% Aluminum A380 Aluminum 6063-T6 Aluminum 1100-O Aluminum ADC12 Magnesium AZ91D Solder SAC305 Plastic PBT GF30 Plastic PPS GF40 Plastic LCP GF30 Iron Strength against density