Brass is known to be an extremely common copper alloy material. Leaded brass is one of the most widely used. Leaded brass is mainly made from copper-zinc alloys with a small amount of lead and fewer complex elements, and the lead content is usually between 2% and 4%.
Lead brass has excellent cutting performance, wear resistance and high strength, and is mainly used in various connectors, valves and valve stem bearings in mechanical engineering. Among them, hot forging valve blanks, lock making industry and clock industry are the three important markets. Lead brass is low cost, its alloy composition can accommodate a variety of alloying elements, and the content requirements are relatively loose, laying the foundation for the comprehensive utilisation of copper alloy raw materials. However, due to the lead element has a certain degree of toxicity, making leaded brass in the environmental protection, health performance has been limited to a certain extent.
And lead-free environmental protection copper is not completely lead-free, but refers to which the lead content is very low. In accordance with international environmental protection requirements, lead-free copper is gradually replacing leaded brass with better forging performance and cutting performance.
Lead-free copper is widely used in electronics, auto parts, sanitary ware, valves, watches, electrical appliances, locks, medical equipment, children’s toys and other industries.
Generally speaking, the lead content of brass used in different fields must meet the following standards:
1,Electronic and automobile parts: the lead Pb content of copper alloy is less than 0.4%;
2, sanitary ware and various valves: copper alloy lead Pb content of less than 0.25%;
3,American Copper Industry Association: the lead Pb content of copper alloy is less than 0.09%;
4, the U.S. electronics industry: copper alloy lead Pb content of less than 0.01%;
To sum up, what is the core difference between lead-free brass and lead brass?
1, compositional differences:
Lead-free brass generally includes copper, zinc, nickel, tin and other elements, its composition ratio is different, performance is different, lead content is generally less than 0.5%.
Leaded brass, on the other hand, is an alloy of copper mixed with a certain proportion of zinc and lead, and the lead content is usually between 2% and 4%.
2. Environmental differences
Lead will cause a certain degree of harm to the environment and human health, and lead-free brass does not have this problem, so in the environmental protection, health and other aspects of a better performance.
3. Difference in corrosion resistance
Lead-free brass has better oxidation and corrosion resistance than leaded brass. In some specific working environment, such as poor water quality, the use of lead-free brass pipes, valves and other parts will be more suitable.
4. Processing performance differences
The processing performance of leaded brass is very good, easy casting, can be formed by extrusion, stamping and other ways of processing. Lead-free brass has higher strength and hardness, but its manufacturing cost is usually higher than that of lead brass.
5,Application
Lead-free brass is widely used in related fields with certain requirements on environmental protection, such as drinking water system, hot water system, air-conditioning equipment, children’s toys and so on.
Leaded brass is generally used in the fields of locks, radios, electrical fittings and automobile manufacturing. With the enhancement of environmental protection consciousness, even the use of leaded brass for the production of drinking water system, hot water system and so on has been banned in many countries.
To sum up, there are some differences between lead-free brass and leaded brass in terms of composition, environmental protection, corrosion resistance and processing performance. Lead-free brass has better performance in environmental protection and other aspects, while leaded brass has better processing performance. When choosing to use brass products, the choice should be based on the use of the environment and the required functional characteristics.
