


Lead
Free Brass Casting Alloys For The 21st Century
Federalloy - the successful solution
Federalloy alloys were invented by Mr. A.R. Singh, a
Vice President and metallurgist with The Federal Metal Company. Mr.
Singh recognized, as many researchers before him had, that a logical
lead substitute in brass alloys could be provided by the element bismuth.
While bismuth shares many characteristics with lead, its primary drawback
as a lead substitute is its brittleness. Mr. Singh was able to overcome
this and all other obstacles in creating the Federalloy family of lead
free brass and bronze casting alloys. The solution is not only effective
but so unique that The Federal Metal Company has received patents from
the U.S. Patent Office and has applied for others in many countries
around the world.
- Federalloy® has passed NSF/ANSI Standard 61, Sections
8 and 9 for a wide variety of castings as experienced by end users.
- Alloy Diversity - There are currently over 15 different Federalloy®
alloys being used to accommodate the great variety of brass cast products.
The unique Federalloy® technology enables production engineers
to tailor any Federalloy alloy to their own requirements.
- Mechanical Property Assurance - Tensile and yield strengths
are similar to their leaded alloy equivalents. Unlike other
copper bismuth alloys, Federalloy® also assures that elongation,
a key benchmark for ductility, approximates its leaded alloy counterparts.
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Similar Physical Characteristics
Federalloy alloys are fine tuned to the leaded brass alloy castings
they are replacing. Federalloy alloys have been tested to assure tensile
strength, yield strength, and percentage elongation results
in line with the leaded brass castings used for the same purpose.
Machinability ratings are also similar.
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No Lead Guarantee
Since all standard Federalloy alloys contain less than 0.10% lead,
there is little likelihood that a Federalloy casting will be a source
of lead to any user. Today, millions of pounds of Federalloy castings
have been produced virtually all of which have passed NSF
Standard 61, Sections 8 and 9 Test Requirements.
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Superior Quality Castings
The study of photomicrographs clearly demonstrates that the uniform
distribution of bismuth in brass alloys is superior to the non-uniform
distribution of lead in brass and bronze castings.
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Polishing and Plating
Foundries and end users of lead free castings are pleased with Federalloy's
polishing and plating characteristics.
- Federalloy® introduces a new generation of alloys
Through the purchase of the North American rights to the IMI Yorkshire patent,
Federal Metal introduces Federalloy® I-844 Mod. This new Federalloy (UNS C89844) is approved for
ASTM B30, B584, and B763. Federalloy® I-844 Mod also enables foundry suppliers to achieve better
castability at lower pouring temperatures, resulting in lower costs to end users.
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