Brass

Brass is the term used for alloys of copper and zinc, the amount of zinc varying from 5 to 45 percent to create a range of brasses each with unique properties. Note that in comparison bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin. more...

Home
Brass
Baritone, Tuba
Cornet, Trumpet
Flugelhorn
French Horn
Other Brass
Trombone
Vintage, Pre-1980
DJ Gear & Lighting
Electronic
Equipment
Guitar
Harmonica
Instruction Books, CDs,...
Keyboard, Piano
Other Instruments
Percussion
Pro Audio
Sheet Music, Song Books
String
Wholesale Lots
Woodwind

. Despite this distinction, some types of brasses are called bronzes.

Brass has a yellow color, somewhat similar to gold. It is relatively resistant to tarnishing, and is often used as decoration.

Brass has been known to man since prehistoric times, long before zinc itself was discovered. It was produced by melting copper together with calamine, a zinc ore. During this process, the zinc is extracted from the calamine and mixes with the copper. Pure zinc, on the other hand, is too reactive to have been produced by ancient metalworking techniques.

Properties

The malleability and acoustic properties of brass have made it the metal of choice for brass musical instruments such as the trombone, tuba, trumpet and euphonium. Even though saxophones and harmonicas are made out of brass, the saxophone is a woodwind instrument and the harmonica is a free reed aerophone. In organ pipes designed as "reed" pipes, brass strips are used as the "reed". It has higher malleability than copper or zinc.

By varying the proportions of copper and zinc, the properties of the brass can be changed, allowing hard and soft brasses. The relatively low melting point (900–940 °C depending on composition) of brass and its flow characteristics make it a relatively easy material to cast.

Today almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled. Brass scrap is collected and transported to the foundry where it is melted and recast into billets. Billets are later heated up and extruded into the right form and size.

Aluminum makes brass stronger and more corrosion resistant. Aluminum also causes a highly beneficial hard layer of aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) to be formed on the surface that is thin, transparent and self healing. Tin has a similar effect and finds its use especially in sea water applications (naval brasses). Combinations of iron, aluminum, silicon and manganese make brass wear and tear resistant. A well known alloy used in the automotive industry is 'LDM C673', where the right combination of manganese and silicon lead to a strong and resistant brass.

The so called dezincification resistant (DZR) brasses, like alloy 'LDM G563' (known for its brand name 'Enkotal'), are used where there is a large corrosion risk and where normal brasses do not meet the standards. Applications with high water temperatures, chlorides present or deviating water qualities (soft water) play a role. DZR-brass is excellent in water boiler systems. This brass alloy must be produced with great care, with special attention placed on a balanced composition and proper production temperatures and parameters to avoid long-term failures. Drunen, Netherlands, has the only active production facility which makes these high grade brass alloys.

Read more at Wikipedia.org