The most common Copper alloy is Brass. The addition of Zinc to Copper provides strong material with good conductivity. Brass can be cold worked, stamped, rolled, bent, plated, and can soldered. Brass has good corrosion resistance, but in moist atmosphere it oxides in a greenish layer. Brass can be Tin plated to improve its resistivity to corrosion and to improve its solderability.
Products made of Brass strips are very common: electrical switches, electrical outlets, plugs, cable terminals, gun cartridges, luxurious fittings, and many more.
Some grades of Brass can be deep drawn and an alloy known as Brass 70/30 is also known as Cartridge Brass, as gun cartridges are produced from this alloy. Due to its golden color, Brass is used in different decorative and architectural elements, badges and signs, and can be polished to a very high level by mechanical means and special pastes.
Very thin gauges of Brass are also used as shims or spacers. Being less hard than steel makes it suitable to seal gaps between steel surfaces.
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