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Radial Plastic Flow Machining (RPFM) is a novel severe plastic deformation process. By designing a specific plastic flow channel, the material is allowed to flow radially into the predetermined channel under the combined action of extrusion and cutting. A restricting ring is placed in the channel to form a copper terminal structure in one step. This study investigates in detail the formation mechanism, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of gradient structured copper terminals generated under different extrusion angles. It was found that as the extrusion angle increased, the high strain region slightly decreased, while the low strain region increased, allowing more material to be radially extruded. This indicates that tensile strength and toughness can be balanced by controlling different extrusion angle parameters. In performance testing, the study showed that the hardness of the copper terminals prepared by RPFM was more than double that of the original copper material, and the maximum tensile strength also doubled. Moreover, the performance of the copper terminals annealed at 150 ∘ C was similar to that of untreated copper terminals, demonstrating good thermal stability at this temperature. The study suggests that RPFM is not only an effective process for manufacturing gradient structured copper terminals in one step, but it also provides a new method for manufacturing copper terminals with excellent comprehensive performance. • Introduced Radial Plastic Flow Machining (RPFM) as a severe plastic deformation process. • Achieved one-step fabrication of gradient-structured copper terminals via RPFM. • Balanced high and low strain zones through varying extrusion angles. • Demonstrated significant improvement in hardness and tensile strength of copper terminals. • Confirmed good thermal stability at 150 °C for RPFM-prepared terminals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]