Form-of-supply helps with economical production

Citation

(1998), "Form-of-supply helps with economical production", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 70 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1998.12770ead.025

Form-of-supply helps with economical production

Form-of-supply helps with economical production

Keywords Alloys, Brush Wellman, Bushing

One of the most popular metals and alloys available from Brush Wellman is copper-beryllium Brush Alloy 25. This is now stocked as bar, hollow bar, plate and strip in a variety of sizes but, if a customer requests it, forgings can also be produced. Being able to supply the alloy in a form closer to the final shape of the component can save on both material costs and machining time.

Components such as ball valves, valve seat and seals are typical applications. Spherical ball valve and the ring-shaped valve seals, for example, are machined from hollow bar supplied by Brush Wellman. Other grades of copper-beryllium are supplied to the aerospace industry for use in bushings and bearings for landing gear and control surface mechanisms. The company has gone one stage further here and has developed a range of standard sizes of hollow bar, which have been designed to minimise the machining required to produce the bushes.

The result of this is that, although copper-beryllium is more expensive per kilogram than some of the alternative bushing materials, the weight of material required and machining time are so much less that the overall cost can be lower.

Other material properties which make Brush Alloy 25 suitable for use in valve components are low modulus of elasticity, high strength, low coefficient of friction and good galling resistance. Because copper-beryllium can be heat treated to induce precipitation hardening, the strength can be fine-tuned to suit a particular application. This is normally done by the material supplier prior to delivery to the manufacturer.

Brush Wellman has a team of materials experts and engineers able to assist with customers' component designs and, for those who do not have such a facility in-house, Brush Wellman can provide a finite element analysis service.

For further details contact Brush Wellman Limited. Tel: +44 (0) 118 930 3733; Fax: +44 (0) 118 930 3635.