Brush Wellman Alloy Products | Copper & Copper Beryllium Alloys | ToughMet®

Brush Engineered Materials

Taiwan

China

Hong Kong

Japan

TOUGH MATERIALS
FOR TOUGH
ENVIRONMENTS.

A Global Provider of High Performance Alloys and Engineered Solutions

Brush Wellman's Alloy Products group is the world's leading supplier of high performance alloys, providing high-strength, high-conductivity copper, copper beryllium and spinodal alloy products with unparalleled global service. Around the world, the company's engineered materials can be found in technically demanding end-use products serving markets such as aerospace, automotive, computer/telecommunications, custom engineered products, foundry, manufacturing equipment, medical, mobile equipment, oil/gas & energy, plastic tooling, resistance welding and undersea/marine.

Alloy products are manufactured at the company's facilities in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and are distributed worldwide through a network of company-owned service centers, outside distributors and agents.

For more than 30 years, Brush Wellman has designed, invented and commercialized alloys that have advanced the aerospace industry. Brush Wellman’s aerospace alloys, including Alloy 25, M25, BrushBronze^® 95510, and the increasingly popular ToughMet^® are now widely used on all models and vintages of aircraft, enabling optimization of aircraft design, increased reliability and improved performance.

Brush Wellman’s copper beryllium strip alloys are specified in automotive connector designs for their ability to provide reliability under extremely demanding operating conditions, including vibration, high temperatures, high current and a harsh environment. Many of the comforts and convenient features found in today’s automobiles rely on the performance of components using copper beryllium.

Reliability is key when choosing an alloy for Computer and Telecommunication applications. Electronic communication and data transfer requirements continue to drive the need for faster and more reliable connectors and contacts. Performance considerations such as miniaturization, harsh operating environments, mechanical shock, fatigue resistance, and high operating frequencies continue to challenge connector designers and material limitations.

Copper beryllium is specified and used in applications where a combination of high strength, high conductivity, excellent stress relaxation resistance and formability are required to optimize the contact design and maximize the reliability of the interface.

The extraordinary manufacturing and performance characteristics of the beryllium containing alloys offer significant advantages in today's foundry applications. The inherent strength, hardness, conductivity and castability of the copper beryllium alloys make them ideal for applications ranging from safety tools, golf clubs and plastic molds to critical aerospace and military cast parts. Similarly, beryllium containing master alloys are finding increasing applications, both as a base for proprietary casting alloys and as additives for aluminum and magnesium alloy products.

Brush Wellman’s ToughMet^®, a spinodally hardened copper nickel tin alloy that combines high strength, lubricity and wear resistance under severe loading conditions, is making inroads to manufacturing equipment. Rod and tube mills are now using ToughMet in downstream components like forming rolls, guide bars and pivot bushings. Additionally, ToughMet ways on extrusion presses are proving better wear resistance and less friction compared to aluminum bronze, increasing component life and decreasing downtime.

The Brush Engineered Materials family of companies, are together supplying materials solutions for the medical industry and specialties within that market. Materials developed and manufactured by our companies provide the medical industry with increased reliability and durability in many types of equipment used for such fields as surgery/laparascopic/endoscopic devices, imaging, cardiology and diagnostic sensors.

Brush Wellman Inc. Alloy Products supports the medical market though:

MRI compatible non-ferrous alloys with ultra low magnetic distortion used in MRI structural/bearing components, fixtures and for robotic surgery devices

Strip and rod alloys for high reliability electronic and electrical connector terminals

High conductivity plastic mold tooling alloys to provide rapid cooling, accurate dimensions and stress-free plastic parts

The perfect bearing material has high strength and hardness for maximum support and resistance to wear and deformation. It offers a low coefficient of friction and freedom from galling, so as not to interfere with movement in the designed direction, and a low elastic modulus that lets the bearing conform to the mating part for a well-distributed contact area. Corrosion resistance and high thermal conductivity allow the perfect bearing material to function in a variety of environments.

Brush Wellman’s ToughMet^® is proving a superior bearing material. Used today in Agricultural, Aerospace, Construction, Mining, Off-Highway, On-Highway, and High Performance Racing equipment it has outstanding strength and hardness compared to conventional bronze materials and even some steels. The coefficient of friction is similar to that of leaded bronze but ToughMet^® exhibits a yield strength up to six times greater.

Natural resource development presents materials engineers with the challenge of designing components for one of the most complex and hostile environments possible. Capital and operating costs connected with major resource development projects are very high and protection of the environment throughout the life of the project is paramount. Consequently, delays or accidents from equipment wear, malfunction, or failure on an offshore oil platform can be economically and environmentally damaging.

Functionality and reliability of critical equipment under these conditions is an absolute necessity and requires the best material—that is where Brush Wellman’s alloys come into play. Engineers choose Brush Wellman alloys to solve the challenges connected with natural resource development and production. Brush Wellman alloys, Alloy 25 and ToughMet^® are used for natural resource exploration, drilling, completion and production equipment because of their unique combination of properties, their excellent quality, and their consistent reliability.

MoldMAX HH^®, MoldMAX LH^®, MoldMAX^® SC, MoldMAX XL^® and MoldMAX^® V are Brush Wellman’s high performance alloys specifically designed for the plastic processing industry. Used in cores and cavities of plastics molds, these alloys provide a unique combination of thermal conductivity and strength that provide important benefits, inlcuding faster cycles, improved part quality and thermal management solutions, for the molding process.

For more than 20 years, Brush Wellman has been committed to bringing high thermal conductivity and uniform cooling to the plastics market. The characteristics of Brush Wellman’s mold alloys have reduced part costs substantially and produced more efficient manufacturing processes. On average the cost differential of tool steel to MoldMAX is recovered in cost reductions within the first three months of production.

Copper beryllium alloys exceed the requirements of the Resistance Welding Manufacturers Association (RWMA) for Class 3 and Class 4 alloys. Copper beryllium’s high strength, high conductivity, high elastic modulus and elevated temperature properties result in superior performance in welding applications compared to other copper alloys. Consumers will benefit from replacement parts, less down-time, and better accuracy as well as higher quality welds and longer die insert life.

Optical amplifiers, power sources, magnetometers, hydrophones and other high reliability systems are housed in hydrostatic sealed containers that must withstand demanding conditions in service and deployment. Copper beryllium alloys are noted for their superb performance during long term exposure. With a yield strength design allowable of 130 ksi and above, they serve well as the alloys of choice in the undersea environment. The ToughMet® alloys, with design allowables up to 110 ksi yield strength, benefit from outstanding resistance to corrosion and erosion; offer inherently low friction with virtual immunity to galling, and excel at carrying high loads under rotational or translational motion.