Materials database

Low-zinc brass (Tombak/Gilding Metal) — 85/15 Cu-Zn. Rich golden color, excellent cold formability, and good corrosion resistance. Lower Zn than CuZn20 — closer to pure copper in color and properties. Used for ammunition cartridge cases, decorative hardware, coins/medals, jewelry components, and architectural trim where a rich gold appearance is desired.

Gilding brass / 80-20 brass — the highest-Cu common brass. Excellent cold formability (best of all brasses), good corrosion resistance, and attractive golden color. Used for architectural trim, bullet jackets, jewelry, zippers, coins, and decorative hardware. ≈ UNS C24000.

Single-phase alpha brass — Cu 72%, Zn 28%. Excellent cold formability (deep drawing, spinning, bending). Better corrosion resistance than higher-Zn brasses (CuZn37, CuZn40). Used for cartridge cases (hence "cartridge brass"), musical instruments, lamp fittings, radiator cores, and decorative hardware. Good dezincification resistance.

Admiralty Brass — 70/28/1 Cu-Zn-Sn. The 1% Sn addition provides excellent resistance to dezincification in seawater and brackish water. THE condenser tube material for power plants and ships. Also known as Admiralty Metal. Used for condenser tubes, heat exchanger tubes, distiller tubes, and marine hardware.

Alpha brass with 30% Zn — excellent cold formability (deep drawing, spinning, stamping) and good corrosion resistance. Known as Cartridge Brass (C26000). The golden-yellow color makes it popular for decorative applications. Not susceptible to dezincification (unlike higher-Zn brasses). Used for cartridge cases, radiator cores, lamp fittings, drawn tubes, electrical sockets, musical instruments and decorative hardware.

70/30 Brass — the "Cartridge Brass." Best cold formability of all brasses. Excellent deep drawing properties. Good corrosion resistance (better than higher-Zn brasses). Used for cartridge cases, radiator cores, lamp fittings, musical instruments, and decorative hardware. ≈ UNS C26000.

Dezincification-resistant (DZR) leaded brass with arsenic addition (0.02–0.15% As). Specifically developed for potable water applications where standard brasses suffer dezincification attack. Good machinability (70% of CW614N). Compliant with WRAS (UK), ACS (France), 4MS (EU) approvals for drinking water. Used for water meter bodies, valves, fittings and plumbing components. The As addition inhibits selective zinc leaching in aggressive water conditions.

Lead-free alpha/alpha+beta brass (63% Cu, 37% Zn). Compromise between cold formability (CuZn35) and hot formability (CuZn40). The most widely used unleaded brass. Used for cartridge cases, radiator cores, lamp components, plumbing fixtures, and decorative hardware.

Free-cutting brass with 2% lead. Good machinability (80% of CuZn39Pb3) with slightly better cold formability. Used for fittings, valves, electrical connectors, and turned parts where slightly less Pb is acceptable or required by regulation. ≈ UNS C37700.

The most widely used free-cutting brass (machinability index 100%). Excellent for high-speed automatic lathe work. Used for turned parts, faucets, valves, fittings, screws, nuts, electrical connectors, and watch components. Also known as MS58.

Muntz Metal / 60-40 Brass — at the alpha-beta boundary, the strongest common unleaded brass. Good hot workability (extrusion, forging, hot stamping). Poor cold formability vs lower-Zn brasses. Susceptible to dezincification in aggressive waters. Used for architectural extrusions, heat exchanger tubes, condenser plates, and marine hardware. ≈ UNS C28000.