What is beryllium copper/beryllium bronzeBeryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)is a type of Wuxi bronze with beryllium as the main alloy component. It contains 1.7-2.5% beryllium and a small amount of nickel, chromium, titanium and other elements. After quenching and aging treatment, the strength limit can reach 1250-1500MPa, close to the level of medium strength steel. In the quenched state, it has good plasticity and can be processed into various semi-finished products. Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)has high hardness, elastic limit, fatigue limit, and wear resistance, as well as good corrosion resistance, thermal conductivity, and conductivity. It does not generate sparks when impacted and is widely used as important elastic components, wear-resistant parts, and explosion-proof tools. Commonly used brands include QBe2, QBe2.5, QBe1.7, QBe1.9, etc.
Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)is a bronze with beryllium as the main additive element. The beryllium content of Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)is 0.2%~2%, and a small amount of cobalt or nickel third component (0.2%~2.0%) is added. This alloy can be heat treated for strengthening. It is an ideal high conductivity, high-strength elastic material. Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)is non magnetic, resistant to sparks, wear, corrosion, fatigue, and stress relaxation. And it is easy to cast and press to form. The typical uses of Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)castings are as molds for plastics or glass, resistance welding electrodes, explosion-proof tools for petroleum exploration, and protective covers for submarine cables. The typical use of Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)processing material is for current-carrying springs, connectors, contacts, fastening springs, leaf and spiral springs, bellows, and lead frames in electronic devices
Classification of beryllium copper
Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)is a bronze with beryllium as the main additive element. The beryllium content of Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)is 0.2%~2%, and a small amount of cobalt or nickel third component (0.2%~2.0%) is added. This alloy can be heat treated for strengthening. It is an ideal high conductivity, high-strength elastic material. Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)is non magnetic, resistant to sparks, wear, corrosion, fatigue, and stress relaxation. And it is easy to cast and press to form. The typical uses of Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)castings are as molds for plastics or glass, resistance welding electrodes, explosion-proof tools for petroleum exploration, and protective covers for submarine cables. The typical use of Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)processing material is for current-carrying springs, connectors, contacts, fastening springs, leaf and spiral springs, bellows, and lead frames in electronic devices
Beryllium copper performance
Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)has excellent comprehensive properties. Its mechanical properties, including strength, hardness, wear resistance, and fatigue resistance, rank first in copper alloys. Its conductivity, thermal conductivity, non magnetism, and spark resistance cannot be compared to other copper materials. In the solid solution soft state, the strength and conductivity of Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)are at their lowest values. After work hardening, the strength increases, but the conductivity is still at its lowest value. After aging heat treatment, its strength and conductivity significantly increase.
The machining performance, welding performance, and polishing performance of Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)are similar to those of ordinary high copper alloys. In order to improve the machining performance of this alloy and meet the precision requirements of precision parts, various countries have developed a high-strength Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)(C17300) containing 0.2% to 0.6% lead. Its various properties are equivalent to C17200, but the cutting coefficient of the alloy has been increased from the original 20% to 60% (100% for easy cutting brass)..
Beryllium copper production process
Beryllium copper is a typical aging precipitation strengthening alloy. The typical heat treatment process for high-strength beryllium copper is to hold it at a temperature of 760-830 ℃ for an appropriate time (at least 60 minutes for every 25mm thick plate), so that the solute atom beryllium is fully dissolved in the copper matrix, forming a face centered cubic lattice α Phase supersaturated solid solution. Subsequently, the desorption and precipitation process was completed by holding at a temperature of 320-340 ℃ for 2-3 hours, forming γ′ Phase (CuBe2 metastable phase). This phase is coherent with the matrix, resulting in a stress field and strengthening the matrix. The typical heat treatment process for high conductivity beryllium copper is to hold it at a high temperature of 900-950 ℃ for a period of time to complete the solid solution process, followed by holding it at 450-480 ℃ for 2-4 hours to achieve the precipitation process. Due to the addition of a large amount of cobalt or nickel in the alloy, the dispersion strengthening particles are mostly intermetallic compounds formed by cobalt or nickel and beryllium. In order to further improve the strength of the alloy, a certain degree of cold work is often performed on the alloy after solution heat treatment and before aging heat treatment, aiming to achieve a comprehensive strengthening effect of cold work hardening and aging hardening. Its cold working degree generally does not exceed 37%. Solution heat treatment should generally be carried out by the alloy production plant. Users will punch the solid solution heat treated and cold rolled strip into parts, and then self age heat treat to obtain high-strength spring components. In recent years, the United States has developed strips that have undergone aging heat treatment by beryllium copper manufacturers, and customers can directly punch them into parts for use. After various processes of processing beryllium bronze, the letter representation for alloy state in Europe and America is: A represents the solution annealed state. The alloy is in the softest state and is easy to be stamped and formed, and needs further cold processing or direct aging strengthening treatment. H represents the work hardening state (hard). Taking cold-rolled sheet metal as an example, 37% of the cold working degree is in the fully hard state (H), 21% is in the semi hard state (1/2H), and 11% is in the 1/4 hard state (1/4H). Users can choose the appropriate soft and hard state based on the difficulty of stamping the part shape. T represents the heat treatment state that has been aged and strengthened. If a comprehensive strengthening process of deformation and aging is adopted, its state is represented by HT
Beryllium copper safety protection
The beryllium contained in Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)alloy has a mass percentage of 2%, but an atomic percentage of 9.0122%. Beryllium oxide (BeO) is formed during high-temperature operations such as melting, casting, heat treatment, welding, and cutting machining. Most beryllium oxide will firmly adhere to the surface of the original workpiece, but in intense movements such as cutting, polishing, welding, and other operations, fine particles (less than 10 μ m) Dust can be suspended in the air, and if inhaled excessively by operators, it can lead to occupational diseases such as "beryllium lung". Therefore, the above working environment must have a complete directional exhaust device. Cutting, polishing, and other processes must be carried out in a moist state with coolant. The standard established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States is to conduct regular air sampling of beryllium product workshops and their surrounding environment. For workers who work for 8 hours a day, the beryllium content in their work environment must not exceed 2 μ G/m3. In order to reduce the pollution caused by beryllium copper, China and Japan have developed titanium and its elasticity in recent years, which can be used as a good substitute material for Beryllium copper(Beryllium bronze)in some workplaces.
Hong Kong Company: Jiasheng International Industrial Co., Ltd | Hong Kong Company: Haitong International Trade CO., Ltd Jiangsu Factory: Jiangsu Xiongsheng New Materials Co., Ltd | Guangdong factory: Dongguan Jiasheng Copper Materials Co., Ltd
