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All About Brass as a Manufacturing Material
Table of Contents
What is Brass?
Brass is a metal that we make from copper and zinc. It is gold in color and very shiny. People have used brass for a very long time. Long ago, people made brass tools and things for their homes. Now, we use brass to make many things in factories.[^1] Chile sells the most brass in the world. They sold $40 billion worth in 2023. Then comes Germany with $29 billion and Japan with $24.7 billion. The United States is number four with $22 billion.[^2]
What Is In Brass?
Brass has two main parts:
- Copper: 60% to 95%
- Zinc: 5% to 40%
Sometimes, we add other metals to make brass work better:
- Lead: Makes it easy to cut
- Tin: Helps it not rust
- Aluminum: Makes it stronger
There are two main colors of brass:
- Red brass has more copper. It looks more red.
- Yellow brass has more zinc. It looks more gold.
Types of Brass
There are many types of brass. Each type is good for different jobs.
| Type of Brass | What’s In It | What It’s Good For |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha Brass | Less than 35% zinc | Can be shaped when cold, good for pipes |
| Alpha-Beta Brass | 35-45% zinc | Can be shaped when hot, used in ships |
| Leaded Brass (C36000) | Has lead added | Easy to cut, used for gears |
| Naval Brass (C46400) | Has tin added | Does not rust in salt water |
There are also special types of brass that don’t lose zinc in water and types that have no lead for when we need to be safe.[^3]
How We Make Brass
Let me tell you how we make brass in factories:
- Step 1: Get the Materials First, we need copper and zinc. We can use new metal or we can use old brass things and melt them down. Using old brass is good for our Earth. About 30% of brass comes from old brass things that we reuse.[^2]
- Step 2: Melt and Mix Next, we put the metals in a very hot oven. The oven can get up to 1000°C! That’s very, very hot. When the metals melt, we mix them up very well so the brass is the same all the way through.
- Step 3: Make Shapes There are many ways to make brass into shapes:
- Pushing it through a hole to make long pieces
- Rolling it flat to make sheets
- Hitting it with big tools to make complex shapes
- Using computers to cut it into exact shapes
- Pouring melted brass into molds
- Step 4: Make It Look Nice Last, we can make the brass look nice by:
- Polishing it so it is very shiny
- Coating it with other metals
- Coloring it to make it look pretty
What We Use Brass For
Brass is used to make many things:
- For Homes
- Pipes and things for water
- Door knobs and locks
- Lamps and things that look nice
- For Cars
- Parts that help cool the car
- Wires and things for electricity
- For Boats
- Parts that don’t rust in salt water
- Propellers that help boats move
- For Music
- Trumpets
- Trombones
- Saxophones
- For Health
- Things in hospitals that kill germs
- Door knobs that stop germs from spreading
Did you know? Brass door knobs in hospitals kill 90% more germs than steel door knobs. That helps keep people from getting sick![^4]
Why Brass Is Good
There are many reasons why people like to use brass:
- It Is Easy to Work With You can cut it, bend it, and make it into many shapes. It costs 40% less to cut brass than to cut steel because tools last longer when cutting brass.[^5]
- It Lasts a Long Time Brass does not rust like iron does. It can last for many years, even in wet places. Naval brass can last more than 20 years in salt water without breaking down![^3]
- It Saves Money Brass can be used again and again. We can melt old brass things and make new brass things. About 90% of brass is used again in this way.
- It Is Safe Brass does not make sparks when you hit it. This makes it safe to use near things that can catch fire or blow up.
Problems With Brass
Even though brass is very good, it does have some problems:
- It Can Lose Zinc Sometimes the zinc in brass can wash away if it is in acid or water with chlorine. This makes the brass weak and it can break. We call this dezincification. We can fix this by using special types of brass like C68700.[^6]
- It Can Have Lead Some brass has lead in it to make it easier to cut. But lead can be bad for people. Now, there are rules that say we can’t use lead in many things. So, people are making new types of brass that don’t have lead.
- It Can Cost More Sometimes The price of copper can go up and down a lot. When copper costs more, brass costs more too. This can make it hard for factories to know how much money they will need to make brass things.
Brass vs. Other Metals
Let’s see how brass is different from other metals:
- Brass vs. Bronze
- Bronze has copper and tin
- Brass has copper and zinc
- Bronze is harder but brass is easier to shape
- Brass costs less than bronze
- Brass vs. Aluminum
- Aluminum is lighter than brass
- Brass is better at letting heat and electricity go through it
- Brass is stronger than aluminum
- Brass kills more germs than aluminum
New Things About Brass
People are always finding new ways to use brass:
- Green Brass People are making brass with bismuth or silicon instead of lead. This is better for our Earth and for people.
- 3D Printing Now we can use special machines to print brass things! This lets us make very complex shapes that we could not make before.
- Using It Again More and more people are melting old brass to make new brass. This helps our Earth by using less new metal and making less trash.
Questions People Ask
- Does brass rust? No, brass does not rust like iron does. But it can get dark spots over time. You can clean these spots or put a special coating on the brass to keep it shiny.
- What brass is best for salt water? Naval brass (C46400) is best for salt water. It has tin in it that helps it not break down in salt water.
- Why do we use brass for bullet cases? We use brass (C26000) for bullet cases because it can stretch without breaking and it slides well in guns.
Wrap-Up
Brass is an amazing metal that we make from copper and zinc. It comes in many types, each good for different jobs. We can make it into many shapes and it is used in homes, cars, boats, and more. Brass is good because it is easy to work with, lasts a long time, can be used again and again, and is safe. It does have some problems, but people are finding ways to make it even better. Next time you see something gold and shiny, it might be brass!
References/Footnotes
[^1]: Based on historical usage of brass from ancient civilizations to modern manufacturing. [^2]: Data from global export statistics showing Chile’s $40B brass export leadership. (Also mentioned in “How We Make Brass”) [^3]: Information on brass alloy types and their specific applications. (Also mentioned in “Why Brass Is Good”) [^4]: Study on antimicrobial properties showing brass doorknobs reduce bacterial transmission by 90%. [^5]: Manufacturing cost comparison showing 40% savings when machining brass vs. stainless steel. [^6]: Information on dezincification and resistant alloys like C68700.
