BRAVO BRONZE
We often receive requests looking for “ASTM B584” bronze. Many of the customers looking for this type of bronze come to us with a bit of confusion on what exactly ASTM B584 bronze is and who supplies it.
The official definition of ASTM B584 is as follows:
(From the ASTM B584 Specification Document)
“This specification covers requirements for copper alloy sand castings for general applications”
We are accustomed to copper alloy numbers such as “C93200” or “C95400” which signify a specific alloy. The ASTM B584 does not specify any specific alloy, rather it specifies a group of copper alloys along with a specific method of casting these products. The ASTM B584 specification is for a number of different copper alloys manufactured by the sand or static casting process. Some of our customers come to us with a request for ASTM B584 bronze without any additional specification or description, this could be any of more than 50 different copper alloys. Below is a list of the copper alloys covered by the ASTM B584 specification. Included, for reference, in this table are the previous ASTM designations for the individual sand cast alloys.
| Classification | Copper Alloy No. | Previous Designation |
|---|---|---|
| Leaded Red Brass | C83450 | ....... |
| C83600 | B145 | |
| C83800 | B145 | |
| Leaded Yellow Brass | C85200 | B146 |
| C85400 | B146 | |
| C85700 | B146 | |
| High-Strenth Yellow Brass | C86200 | B147 |
| C86300 | B147 | |
| C86400 | B147 | |
| C86500 | B147 | |
| C86700 | B132 | |
| Silicon Bronze/Brass | C87300 | B198 |
| C87400 | B198 | |
| C87500 | B198 | |
| C87600 | B198 | |
| C87610 | B198 | |
| C87850 | ....... | |
| Bismuth Selenium Brass | C89520 | ....... |
| Bismuth Red Brass | C89833 | ....... |
| Bismuth Bronze | C89836 | ....... |
| Bismuth Semi-Red Brass | C89844 | ....... |
| Tin Bronze/Leaded Tin Bronze | C90300 | B143 |
| C90500 | B143 | |
| C92200 | ....... | |
| C92210 | B143 | |
| C92300 | B143 | |
| C92600 | ....... | |
| High-Leaded TIn Bronze | C93200 | B144 |
| C93500 | B144 | |
| C93700 | B144 | |
| C94300 | B144 | |
| Nickel-Tin Bronze | C94700 | B292 |
| C94800 | B292 | |
| C94900 | ....... | |
| Spinodal Alloy | C96800 | ....... |
| Leaded Nickel Bronze | C97300 | B149 |
| C97600 | B149 | |
| C97800 | B149 | |
As you can see, the specification of ASTM B584 clearly is not enough information to determine what copper alloy is required for your job. Individual copper alloys can have a number of possible ASTM specifications depending on the method of casting and/or form. The table below shows three of the most commonly used bronze alloys and the different ASTM specifications that can be associated with each of them depending on the method by which they are cast.
| Alloy | Ingot | Sand | Centrifugal | Continuous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C93200 | ASTM B30 | ASTM B584 | ASTM B271 | ASTM B505 |
| C95400 | ASTM B30 | ASTM B148 | ASTM B271 | ASTM B505 |
| C86300 | ASTM B30 | ASTM B22 | ASTM B271 | ASTM B505 |
The following list are additional ASTM specifications that can be referenced for various copper alloys.
Other Common ASTM Standards
B22- Specification for Bronze Castings for Bridges and Turntables
B61- Specification for Steam or Valve Bronze Castings
B62- Specification for Composition Bronze or Ounce Metal Castings
B66- Specification for Bronze Castings for Steam Locomotive Wearing Parts
B67- Specification for Car and Tender Journal Bearings, Lined
B148- Specification for Aluminum-Bronze Sand Castings
B176- Specification for Copper-Alloy Die Castings
B208- Practice for Preparing Tension Test Specimens for Copper Alloy Sand, Permanent Mold, Centrifugal, and Continuous Castings
B271- Specification for Copper-Base Alloy Centrifugal Castings
B369- Specification for Copper-Nickel Alloy Castings
B427- Specification for Gear Bronze Alloy Castings
B505/B505M- Specification for Copper Alloy Continuous Castings
B763- Specification for Copper Alloy Sand Castings for Valve Applications
B770- Specification for Copper-Beryllium Alloy Sand Castings for General Applications
B806- Specification for Copper Alloy Permanent Mold Castings for General Applications
B824- Specification for General Requirements for Copper Alloy Castings
So what is the best answer when looking for ASTM B584 Bronze? The first and most important step is to determine what is the actual copper alloy needed for the job. Most copper alloy numbers will have a “C” or “CDA” in front of a grouping of numbers. An example, “C93200” or “CDA 93200” Bearing Bronze.
If you can determine the correct alloy you are half way there. The next step is to verify that the method of casting is up to date. Often when our customers request a product under the ASTM B584 specification or any other specification that requires a sand cast product, we find that they are using an old or out dated print. Years ago sand casting used to be the most common and most effective way of casting copper alloy products. Over the years there have been substantial advancements in casting technology. For a great of number of bronze based products, a continuous or centrifugal cast bronze will yield a final product of greater quality and free of possible defects that can come as a result of sand casting.
If you do discover that a continuous cast bronze can be used for your project, then your job just became easier. We stock a very large inventory of continuous cast bronze bar stock in various shapes, sizes, and alloys. To make things even easier, most of our continuous cast bar stock is available online at bravobronze.com. With our easy to navigate online store you can get pricing for continuous cast bronze bar stock by the inch, instantly online. If you need to move forward with the job, then ordering your bar stock is just a few clicks away.
Hopefully with the information provided in this post, next time you are presented a request for ASTM B584 bronze, you’ll know exactly how to proceed.
