Materials Expertise.

Material selection in precision turning is not a procurement decision, it is an engineering one. The wrong alloy produces parts that are dimensionally correct but fail in service. The right alloy machines cleanly, holds tolerance under thermal and mechanical load, and performs reliably in the end application for years. When you send a drawing with a material specified, we confirm whether it is optimal for the process and the application, or suggest an alternative that performs better, machines more efficiently, or reduces cost without compromising function.

Brass: the core material.

Brass is the alloy behind most of the parts we turn across electrical, connector and industrial applications. Free-cutting brass alloys machine cleanly on the rotary transfer fleet at full speed, producing consistent dimensional results across hundreds of millions of parts a year. Standard grades include CuZn39Pb3 (CW614N), CuZn40Pb2 (CW617N) and CuZn37 (CW508L).

Lead-free brass: RoHS Conform.

We were early to lead-free brass, ahead of RoHS obligations, and run it at full production volume. Using bismuth-brass and other RoHS Conform alloys such as CuZn42 (CW510L) and CuZn40 (CW509L), we supply components dimensionally and functionally equivalent to leaded brass, at the same volume, the same tolerances, with material certificates on request, before the order. If you are subject to RoHS audits across your supply chain, this is not an option, it is a requirement.

Steel, lead-free steel and stainless steel.

Free-cutting steel (11SMnPb30, 11SMnPb37) is our second core material, used where higher strength, magnetic properties or specific cost targets rule out brass. It runs on dedicated machines to avoid cross-contamination with brass production. For supply chains that must be RoHS Conform, we also run lead-free free-cutting steel (11SMn30, 11SMn37), and stainless steel (1.4305) where corrosion resistance or hygiene requirements demand it.

Where Europe is heading on lead in brass.

Europe is phasing lead down, and not only in one sector. RoHS caps lead in electrical and electronic equipment at 0.1%: leaded machining brass is allowed today only under an exemption for copper alloys, up to 4% lead, and that exemption now carries an expiry date and is under review. Lead also stands on the REACH candidate list of substances of very high concern, so a part with more than 0.1% lead must be declared down the supply chain. That pressure lands on the turned brass parts inside connectors, plugs and appliances long before it reaches the end product. The practical question for a manufacturer is not whether a lead-free alloy exists. It is whether anyone will machine it at real volume, to the same drawing, without a pilot project.

We have run lead-free brass in serial production for years, not as a trial line. CuZn42 (CW510L), CuZn40 (CW509L) and bismuth-brass are machined from coil on the rotary transfer fleet at ⌀3 to 11 mm, at the same volumes and the same tolerances as leaded brass, from 500,000 pieces per part number per year.

Which grade a part needs is your specification to make, against the rules that apply to your market and your application. We machine the grade the drawing calls for and document it: material certificates and certificates of conformity on request, if requested before the order, with lead-free grades RoHS Conform. If you are converting an existing leaded part, send the drawing and the annual volume and we will tell you what changes in machining and what does not change on the print.