Applications
Plastic tooling
& Molds - Oil & Gas - Aerospace - Electronics & Telecommunications - Resistance
Welding - Foundry Products
A. Plastic Tooling & Molds
Beryllium copper
plate and rod wrought products are utilized in the plastics processing
industry for plastic injection molds, blow molds, cavity inserts, and
associated production components such as manifolds and nozzles. The
material is specified in these applications due to it combination of
high strength and hardness coupled with excellent thermal conductivity
(as compared to tool steel and aluminum). The material performance properties
of beryllium copper provide the tangible benefits of improved cycle
time and piece part quality with the assurance of ongoing superior wear
and durability characteristics.
Beryllium copper
high strength wrought alloy (C17200), in a fully age hardened condition,
attains tensile strength properties in the 200 ksi range with a Rockwell
C45 peak hardness. This strength/hardness combination is the highest
available when compared to any of the other copper based alloys. In
industrial oil and gas applications beryllium copper alloys provide
critical components with important performance characteristics: non-sparking/non-magnetic,
superior wear and anti-galling properties, high hardness and strength,
high fatigue strength and toughness, plus good corrosion resistance.
Beryllium copper alloys improve component service life, enhance durability,
and reduce maintenance by imparting superior galling and friction wear
characteristics in commercial and military aircraft landing gear bushings
and bearings. Aerospace applications utilizing beryllium copper do so
for the materials:
High Strength & Hardness
Excellent Wear and Fatigue Resistance
Excellent Anti-Galling Characteristics
Good
Corrosion Resistance
Good Machining Characteristics
D. Electronics and Telecommunications
Beryllium copper strip alloys have historically been specified in electronic
connector applications in an impressive array of telecommunications,
computer, and automotive electronics applications. Beryllium copper
rod is utilized to produce certain machined connector designs and beryllium
copper casting alloys are specified for intricate miniature investment
cast connectors. Undersea fiber optic cable repeater housings and their
associated components have been specified in beryllium copper for many
years. These beryllium copper housing assemblies (wrought and cast components)
must perform flawlessly, for an extended service life measured in decades,
in the harsh deep water marine environment of the world’s oceans. Obviously,
beryllium copper’s special combination of corrosion resistance, high
strength, and durability characteristics match the severe operational
requirements.
Evolving electronics technology, and its subsequent application in cell phones, personal data devices, computers, and peripherals, is requiring higher reliability, increased performance materials. Beryllium copper alloys, and special hybrid beryllium copper/beryllium nickel alloys, are meeting these demanding application requirements. High strength and conductivity, excellent fatigue and wear properties, and wide variety of available material configurations and fabrication technologies, support beryllium containing alloys as strong material candidates for today’s electronic applications.
E. Resistance Welding
The high conductivity beryllium copper rod (C17510, 17500) is utilized to produce resistance welding equipment components (shanks, adaptors, holders, etc.).
Beryllium copper rod, plate and bar are specified for welder dies, welding wheels, and associated resistance welding components. Weld gun robots on automotive assembly lines make millions of individual welds utilizing sand cast beryllium copper C17510 weld gun arms (one of the primary structural components of the weld gun arm assembly on the robot). Beryllium copper is the material of choice for these applications because of its excellent elevated temperature fatigue strength combined with high strength/high hardness and electrical/thermal conductivity properties.
