By

Rotax Metals

Why Use Brass Tubing Supplies for Your Construction and Decoration Projects

Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, is prized for its many useful properties. Although not as popular as its older sibling “bronze”, it sure has made a name for itself after benefiting a lot of different industries, from manufacturing and transportation to distribution and service. Today, it can be seen in various forms, including sheets, bars, and ornamental pieces.

Brass Tubing: A Great Choice for All of Your Metal Addition Needs

Among the many forms of brass, the one thing that makes it extremely useful is tubing. Brass tubes are quite a favorite in many industries because they are sturdy in construction, easy to install, corrosion resistant, and have durable and elegant-looking finish. They’ve even inherited copper’s antimicrobial properties, which make them all the more sought after for a great deal of applications.

Tubes and Pipes

There’s a difference between a tube and a pipe that anyone who’s considering using a hollow cylindrical material for their project should know. Although tubes and pipes look the same, they are made for different purposes. Pipes are used to convey something, such as gas or fluid, while tubes are used to support something as in construction or as an architectural element.

With its amazing properties, brass can actually perform both purposes. It is even a preferred material for water systems and sanitary fittings because of its antimicrobial properties. Because it’s also resistant to corrosion and very durable, it can withstand long exposure to water or even to corrosive fluids. As a tube, brass can provide both strength and aesthetic appeal, a combination that other metals can hardly achieve.

Other Applications

Brass tubing is also a good material for furniture and lighting fixtures. Not only does it have a nice sheen, it also has a gold-like appearance that has a transformative effect. To make the most of its antibacterial properties, it can be used for doorknobs, handles, and rails. For ultimate sanitation and use for maritime applications, admiralty brass tubes are the perfect choice.

If you are planning to use brass tubing for any of your future projects, make sure that you will get your materials from the best supplier. It helps to find one that specializes in copper alloys, which include brass, and have been in the business for a long time. Long years of establishment mean vast experience in providing for all kinds of project and having a large network of reputable manufacturers.

Source:

What Is Brass Tubing And What Are Its Common Uses?, selfgrowth.com

Interesting Facts about Naval Brass and Its Properties that You Probably Didn’t Know

Naval brass, as its name suggests, was originally meant to be used for water-related applications, specifically sea water. The open waters have high salinity or salt concentration, which can easily damage metals that are not protected against corrosion. Once corrosion starts, it can be difficult to prevent it from spreading throughout the vessel.

Top Things to Know About Naval Brass If You’re Considering Its Use

It is for this very reason that naval brass was created. The tin added into the alloy significantly increases the resulting metal corrosion resistance, allowing brass to last and endure saltwater for longer.

On top of anti-corrosion, the presence of tin also helps increase naval brass’ resistance to dezincification, a type of corrosion in which only zinc is removed from a material, thereby weakening it and making it prone to damage. According to maritime history, dezincification used to be known as “condensiritis,” and had been the subject of various attempts at resolution.

Among all the trial and errors that pushed through, naval brass was one of those that succeeded and continues to this day to persist.

Naval Brass Applications

Although naval brass is primarily known for what it is made to do for the maritime industry, rest assured that there are plenty of other applications for it. Aside from marine hardware applications, it’s also perfect for wear strip and bushings, as well as fastener and valve stems. This is all thanks to the metal’s incredible tensile strength and resistance to regular wear and tear better than others.

More specific applications include shafting, propeller shafts, and also turnbuckles. Beyond that, it can also be used in condenser plates, balls, dies, heat exchanger tubes, aircraft turnbuckle barrels, and welding rods.

Other Types of Brass

Aside from naval brasses, there are also various other types that you can look at for more choices. For example, there’s the “yellow brass” and the “red brass” types. Yellow brass pertains to the kind of brass that has a much higher zinc content (usually at 33%), which gives the material a golden yellow color. This is also more recognized as the brass used as fittings and hardware in bathrooms and kitchen.
Red brass, on the other hand, has a higher copper content, rated at some 85%. This alloy also is otherwise known as gunmetal (C23000), and contain tin (Cu-Zn-Sn).

Choosing Brass

Whether it’s naval, yellow, or red brass you’re getting for your needs, it’s important that you also look into the properties of each and how it can best serve your purpose. Keep in mind that the different combinations of alloys in brass ultimately affect their final structure. Alpha brasses, for example, have less than 37% zinc in them. As such, they tend to be softer and more ductile than the others. The benefit of this is that alpha brasses are easily shaped and formed into whatever you deem fit.

On the other hand, there’s the alpha-beta brass, otherwise known as “duplex” or “hot-working” brasses. This can have as much as 37% to 45% zinc, and is generally found to be a lot stronger and harder, although it has a lower cold ductility. Alpha-beta brass is mostly used hot by extrusion, as well as in die-casting or stamping.

Beta brasses are basically rarer than the two other types of brasses, and contain 45% zinc content. This is also known to be the hardest and strongest among the three, and can only be used in casting or hot work.

This may be all new information to you, especially since you used to think brass is brass is brass—and apparently it isn’t. This is why it’s advisable that you first consult with folks who know about these materials in and out, such as the professionals from suppliers like Rotax Metals. With their expert guidance, you should be able to get the right material you need.

Sources:
Learn About the Different Brass Types. TheBalance.com.
What Is Naval Brass? NationalBronze.com.

The Different Techniques for Making Brass Extrusions

Extrusion is a metalworking process that involves forcing a metal inside a die with a different cross section. Due to the compression and force applied onto the inlet, the metal is deformed as it is fed and the different shapes of the brass extrusions are formed. Most people already know the gist of the extrusion manufacturing, but what many don’t know is the different types of extrusion processing. Here are the four major types of extrusion and how each of them works:

A Musical Instrument Made of Quality Brass Exudes an Elegant Gold Sheen

Direct Extrusions. Also known as the forward extrusion, this process involves having the billet move in the same direction as the ram and punch. A lot of friction is created between the container and the billet because the billet slides against a stationary wall. This method requires a lot of force to make the final product. To prevent oxidation, a dummy block with a slightly smaller diameter is used during hot extrusion. This process is best used for creating solid circular and non-circular extrusions as well as hollowed tubes and cups.

Indirect Extrusion. Also known as backward extrusion, indirect extrusion occurs when the punch moves in the opposite direction of the billet. There is less friction because no relative motion between the billet and container happens. This also means that less force is required during the manufacturing of extrusions. Although indirect extrusion uses less energy, the process cannot produce long extrusions. Many manufacturers actually combine both direct and indirect extrusion to create final products of the best quality.

Hydrostatic Extrusion. As the name suggests, this process involves the use of liquids. The pressure for extrusion is transmitted via the fluid. There is no friction created in this process because no contact between the container and billet is established. Highly brittle materials benefit the most from this process because pressure is limited and the process is done in room temperature.

Impact Extrusion. The best way to produce hollow sections like cups is through the impact extrusion method. However, this type of extrusion process is also best for manufacturing metal tubes with smaller wall thickness. Metal tubes like brass, copper, lead, and aluminum are all made using impact extrusion. The process is very simple seeing as the punch strikes at the slug at very high speeds to create a forceful impact and the extrusions are made.

Metal extrusions like those made of brass have a plethora of uses. Although the processes involved in making the pieces are a little complicated it is always good to know how things are made.

Sources:

Types of Extrusion and Extrusion Equipment: Module 5 Extrusion Lecture PDF, NPTEL.ac.in
Extrusion and Their Types in Manufacturing Process, IndiaStudyChannel.com

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