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AMPCO TECHNICAL REVIEW
Bronze, Brass and Aluminium Bronzes
Copper is one of the earliest identified metals
in the history of man and we can probably claim
that copper has been in use at least 8000 years.
As you all know Copper is too soft in its pure
form and therefore it is often alloyed to pro-
duce bronzes and brasses that deliver higher
mechanicals.
Proof of industrial copper production has
been discovered few years ago of a foundry
that dates back 3000 years B.C. near the Dead
Sea, and most copper developments initiated
probably in Egypt and China, however, the
Peruvian Incas were known to be able of alloy-
ing copper, probably 1000 years A.D.
The Bronze Age stretched from 3000 to about
1000 B.C. but the Middle Ages did see a great
development of copper usage, particularly in
jewelry, coins and weapon applications, as this
material was found quite durable and easier to
handle than stone; but the real growth took
place during the industrial revolution, with the
processes being industrialzed to support the
increased demand, until today.
Metallurgically, Bronze is a copper alloy con-
sisting of copper and tin. Usually other ele-
ments like lead, aluminum and iron may be
added to change the materials mechanical and
physical properties.
Bronze is a unique metal that displays a wide
and diversified combination of properties as
function of its chemistry.
Common families of Bronzes are:
Aluminium Bronzes,
Leaded Bronzes,
Tin Bronzes,
Leaded tin Bronzes,
Manganese Bronzes
As you certainly understand, we shall start with
ALUMINIUM BRONZES... since AMPCO METAL
did invent in an industrial form back in 1914 this
family of alloys.
ALUMINIUM BRONZES display probably the
higher mechanical properties of all bronzes
and in addition to their mechanical properties
they also display high corrosion resistance.
AMPCO METAL TECHNICAL REVIEW
Aluminium is the primary alloying element and
the Aluminium content control is critical to ob-
tain the correct alloy properties. The theory
goes that the higher the Aluminium content the
higher the strength and hardness, and the low-
er the ductility; therefore a correct balance of
the Aluminium content is needed for a
balanced alloy.
Iron is added in most grades of aluminium
bronzes and acts as grain refiner; it is beneficial
on the mechanical properties up to 4% content.
Nickel additions are always done in conjunction
with Iron for improved strength and corrosion
resistance, particularly in sea water environ-
ments; in such environment an alloy of 5% each
Iron and Nickel is the most popular alloy for the
production of high-strength with excellent
corrosion resistance castings, like ships pro-
pellers.
Manganese bronzes are also known as high-
strength brasses and the chemistry consists
primarily of Copper and Zinc, even if there are
other alloying elements like Aluminium, Man-
ganese and Iron.
This family of materials displays usually good
strength and good bearing properties (as long
as lubrication exists).
Tin bronzes are used in high-speed gear appli-
cations due to its excellent wear properties
displayed for instance for gear tooth surfaces.
Contrary to Aluminium bronzes, that can be
used in low-speed and high-loading gear appli-
cations, Tin bronzes do only support low/
medium stresses.
The Leaded bronzes can also be called
bearing alloys and consist of Copper, Lead
and Tin or even Zinc.
This family of alloys display the best lubricity
and low friction properties of all bronze alloys.
Lead is insoluble in most metals and stays in
the matrix as lead particles, that replace
grease/lubrication and smear during wear to
lubricate adequately the metal surfaces.
The downside of this family of alloys is the low
loading capacity displayed.
Luis Bento
Volume 1 Issue 1 June 2015
 Page 2

Weld Spatter Plates Application Data (1)

AMPCO CHICAGO just entered a very interesting
order from a customer named The Paslin Company
( http://www.paslin.com/) with a potential to reach
over $1mio in purchases p.a. of AMPCOLOY940
cut plate for their application: Weld Spatter Plates.
terial, that are generated at or near the welding arc.
Spatter is generally regarded as a nuisance and is a
critical factor to consider when developing an appli-
cation.
Why is Weld Spatter a Problem?
Spatter can cause numerous problems in most ma-
nufacturing processes.
The most common problems are:

1. Spatter balls sticking to workpieces or tooling

2. Spatter burning workers' clothing and skin
3. Loss of material from the arc and weld
4. Excessive clean-up of spatter.
Most manufacturers strive to reduce the amount of
spatter generated, if not eliminate it all together. To
resolve a problem you have to know why the pro-
blem is occurring - in this case what causes spatter.
Even if we could not fully solve the root cause of
the spatter problem, we could provide Paslin these
plates that minimize the extent of the damage.
Paslin has specified the use of AMPCOLOY 940 for
all of their MIG weld splatter plates needs; the high
thermal conductivity of AMPCOLOY 940 results in
excellent weld splatter resistance. Increased weld
splatter resistance corresponds to fewer mainte-
nance stops during production; taking into account
the plants lifetime maintenance costs and associat-
ed downtime, the use of AMPCOLOY 940 weld
splatter plates results in significant cost savings rela-
tive to tool steel. Due to the high thermal conductivi-
ty of AMPCOLOY 940, the weld splatter cools al-
most immediately upon contacting the plates; the
weld splatter then falls to the ground or can be easi- Where Does Spatter Come From?
ly wiped away with a towel. When tool steel is used
Spatter is caused by several factors. The main factor
for these plates, the weld splatter remains in the liq-
is a disturbance in the molten weld pool during the
uid phase for a longer period of time and it is very transfer of wire into the weld. Typically, this is
difficult to remove. caused by the relationship between amperage and
voltage. This is usually seen when the welding vol-
What is Weld Spatter? tage is too low or the amperage is too high for a
given wire and gas combination. In this situation, the
A very common occurrence in gas metal arc wel- arc is too cold to keep the wire and pool molten and
ding (GMAW) is the creation of what welders call causes a stubbing effect of the wire. This can occur
"spatter," which is essentially droplets of molten ma- at both high and low current ranges.

AMPCO METAL TECHNICAL REVIEW Volume 1 Issue 1 June 2015

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Weld Spatter Plates Application Data (2)

Spatter may also be generated as a result of the gas
selected. In GMAW, the use of CO2 increases the
arc energy and is very cost-effective, but it creates
more weld spatter. Argon is commonly used to
counter balance the spatter generated from CO2.
What Else Can Cause Spatter?
What Factors Influence Spatter?
Additionally, there are a number of other factors that
can worsen spatter generation. Some of these condi-
tions relate to consumables, some are torch-related,
and others are a reflection of production environ-
ments:

Poor-quality welding wire.

Incorrect gas mixtures.
Poor welding surface conditions (such as oily
parts, paint, rust, etc.)
Improper torch angle
Wire stick-out length
Grounding location
Wind / loss of shielding gas
Moisture in the atmosphere.

Usually, combinations of these factors cause an im-

balance in the amperage and voltage. For example,
Other patterns that can generate spatter include:
oil on the parts being welded may cause a welding
power supply to receive inconstant feedback and
1. In a short arc process, the weld droplet con-
tacts the weld pool and scatters the base me- result in the power supply over- or under-
tal before fusion. compensating.
2. When fusion occurs after short-circuiting and
the weld bead heats due to a large increase Watch the following video to learn more about why
in current. This is essentially the problem
described above, where the amperage spatter matters:
becomes too excessive for the given welding
wire. This is also what most welders like to
refer to as the "arc explosion" or the popping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RstpOxetyKw
that causes spatter.
3. An arc repulsion force causes the weld bead
to break off and scatter.
4. Splashing occurs when a weld droplet falls Luis Bento
into the molten pool. This is very common in a
globular transfer mode.
5. When the weld bead is affected by the ma-
gnetic repulsion force of the short circuit in
the weld pool
Most of these factors can be controlled or restricted
through various techniques. Recent research has led
to new technological developments that have grea-
tly improved curbing of welding spatter levels.

AMPCO METAL TECHNICAL REVIEW Volume 1 Issue 1 June 2015

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Beryllium or not Beryllium thats the question

and very often workers breach this safety rules.
Some German customers are requesting more and
more a Be-free electrodes for resistance welding Some customers avoid this issues with choosing
applications. AMPCOLOY940 instead of 0,5% Beryllium copper
(for example Elmedur HA from Thyssen).
Background for this ban of Be-containing alloys is on
one hand the request of the safety regulations in the One very well known company producing exhaust
company, and on pipe systems made numerous detailed tests now
the other hand the with AMPCOLOY940. Conditions were exactly the
workers them- same like when welding with the Elmedur HA elec-
selves, who don't trodes.
like to work any They have now replaced all electrodes made of
longer with these Elmedur HA by AMPCOLOY940 without changing
alloys. any welding parameters. The results of the weld is
Besides the well the same like with the Be-containing electrodes.
know reasons to All specifications in the drawings were changed now
handle Be-alloys to AMPCOLOY940. The objective is obviously not
with care during to cannibalize our AMPCOLOY95 or
the welding pro- AMPCOLOY88, but it could be a good entry if
cess themselves (avoiding of inhalation of smoke), some customers wants to replace their Beryllium-
there is another not so well know point to respect: In containing alloys anyway.
the welding process, very often one will find stick- Or if you want to kick out a competitor, proposing a
ing material onto the electrodes. different alloy might be easier instead of just replac-
These electrodes will be often re-grinded manually. ing the brand.
As the grinding dust is containing Be, too, it is a must
to wear protective masks during the grinding.
Anette Wloch-Strauss
However, this masks are disliked (sweaty and hot)
AMPCO METAL GERMANY

AMPCO METAL TECHNICAL REVIEW Volume 1 Issue 1 June 2015

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Typical machined parts for our recent German

investment: MAZAK Slant Turn Nexus 500M
AMPCO METAL GERMANY has recently invested in a new GENERAL ENGINEERING
large CNC turning center. Sliding/guiding bushings, wiper rings eith large dimen-
This Application sheet offers a description of suitable ma- sions are mostly found from pant manufcatruers and hae-
chined parts for this Mazak turning center. With this new vay machinery produc-
turning center we could expand our range of machining ers such as presses
dimensions substantially: diameters upto 910mm and total manufacturers as
length of 2000mm can be machined in full CNC mode. maintenance compa-
This extended machining range offers significant selling nies.
advantages: while CNC lathes upto a dia. of 400mm are
standard in almost each machining shop, CNC-lathes
Sliding Bushing
with dia. up to 600mm are harder to find these days. How-
ever, machining capabilities with dia. over 600mm or
lengths 1000mm in CNC mode are definitely rare. On the
other side, finished parts with these dimensions are not
often required, but machining shops with such capabilities
are even rarer!
Another advantage is the impact of the material in the sell-
ing price: the bigger the finished part, the bigger the ma-
Wiper Ring
terial cost impact. Such means that the required higher
hourly rate for such a large machine has only a minor im-
pact in the overall pricing. In addition, all the parts dis- STEEL INDUSTRY
cussed hereunder are large, heavy and therefore those Oil squeezer rolls, guiding rolls, idler pulleys and pinch
are items with high sales value. rolls for rolling mills, pickling and coating plants. These
Such large parts are normally only requested in single applications are found in steel mills, and/or coating strip
units or at the best in low quantities; which means another steel plants, e.g. Sendzimir- , Rohn- or MKW-mills for cold
advantage: the small series is and has been AMPCOs rolling processes, predominantly for stainless steels.
forte for many years.
Typically finished parts in this size are bog
sliding bushings, sealing rngs, wiper dies,
roller cages, squeezer rolls (also Oil squeezer rolls
crowned), guding rolls, idler pulleys, Oil squeezer rolls
pinch rolls, deep drawing rings, blank coiler
holders, reverse drawing dies, short-
circuit rings, etc all round parts with cor-
responding large dimensions.
Typical customers are producers of ma-
chinery, plant, equipment and engine
manufacturers, and companies who are Redirection rolls Support roller and redirection rolls
doing maintenance work for such facilities
or machinery.

Harald Watzinger SKETCH: Cold Rolling Process (Sendzimir Mill) w. coiler and
different rolls.
AMPCO METAL GERMANY

AMPCO METAL TECHNICAL REVIEW Volume 1 Issue 1 June 2015

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MAZAK Slant Turn Nexus 500M (2)

Oil Squeezer roll

Drawing ring with replacement insert

Flange bushing

METAL FORMING-DEEP DRAWING

Large diameters (over 300mm) deep-drawing rings, iron-
ing rings, rolling tools and dies, blank holder and reverse
drawing tools. Such large drawing rings and blank hold-
ers are often used to shape steel rims, drums for washers
and dryers and beer barrels. Reverse drawing dies are Deep drawing die
although used for barrel production.

Deep drawing ring Ironing die

AMPCO METAL TECHNICAL REVIEW Volume 1 Issue 1 June 2015

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MAZAK Slant Turn Nexus 500M (3)

Ironing die, two-piece tool for diameter expanding

METAL FORMING - TUBE FORMING

Three-piece reverse drawing die

Roller cage

AMPCO 18 Roller Cages are used in the Tube Forming

applications, typically in the automotive and other metal
working
industries.

Reverse drawing process used to to realize higher

deformation grades.

First step is cupping; the second step the cups are

completely turned upside down - reverse drawing.
SKETCH: roller cage swaging equipt.

AMPCO METAL TECHNICAL REVIEW Volume 1 Issue 1 June 2015

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MAZAK Slant Turn Nexus 500M (4)

TUBE MANUFACTURING
Seam welding electrodes with bigger diamters used in
steel mills and other strip steel processing plants.
Seam welding electrodes are also used to produce air
conditioning systems, gas or fume extraction and ventila-
tion systems, radiators and similar applications.

Seam welding electrode

Bead forming die for curling rolled edges

SKETCH: rolled edges and curling process. Example of seam welding machine

QUIZZ OF THE DAY: (Ian and

Fernand are excluded from this quizz, sorry :-)
At Room Temperature, there is only one metal that is NOT solid. Which one ?

AMPCO METAL TECHNICAL REVIEW Volume 1 Issue 1 June 2015