MATERIALS

The following will be a general discussion of Music wire is best used for smaller springs.

materials used in both compression springs as well It comes in wire sizes from .004 inches to .125

as stamped cantilever type springs used in battery inches in increments of .001 of an inch. Wire is

contact applications. The five basic materials drawn in many sizes, which allows a designer more

discussed will be music wire, stainless steel, options in spring design. Temperatures over 1210˚C

spring brass, phosphor bronze, and beryllium- (2500˚F) can cause the spring to relax, depending

copper. Each of these materials has many different upon the loading. For example: if a spring is loaded

alloys. Their composition and manufacturing to 90,000 PSI 1210˚C (2500˚F), it can cause a 5% drop

processes differ to a slight degree to yield different in spring force. Manufacturers can provide data to

performance results. Scientists and engineers have aid designers in this area.

devoted considerable time developing and studying

Most music wire is made from .8 to .9% carbon.
these materials. It would be impossible to discuss
Music wire also contains manganese, silicon,
them all in detail.
phosphorus, and sulphur. Each manufacturer

The following pages will provide a brief overview. has its own procedure and chemical composition,

All five materials can be used to make wound which can affect the outcome of the finished

compression springs; however, music wire and product. Wire is drawn through multiple dies to

other high carbon steels as well as stainless steels form and harden the wire. This process cold works

are seldom used to make stamped contacts because the wire. The cold work is what produces the

tooling costs would be too great. tensile strength of the wire. So each batch of wire

will have slightly different mechanical properties.

Music Wire The purchaser must test each batch to make sure it

has the right properties.

Music wire, commonly called piano wire, is a high

carbon cold drawn steel. It is considered to be the

The elastic limit of music wire is usually 65 to 75%
best quality steel used for springs. It has high
in tension and 45 to 65% in torsion. The electrical
tensile strength, high elastic limit, and can
conductivity is between 8 to 12% of copper. The
withstand high stresses under repeated loads.
conductivity can be enhanced considerably through
As you might guess from the name, this type of
plating. The modulus of elasticity of wire is affected
wire was developed for musical string
by the diameter it is drawn to. It can vary from 30
instruments. A thin coat of tin is usually applied to
million PSI for small wires to 28 million PSI in larger
prevent corrosion. This tin coat also provides a
wires. In torsion it can vary from 12 million to 11.5
good base to further electroplate if desired.
million PSI. Heat treatment can be used to reduce

stresses built up in winding.

Stainless Steel resistance to corrosion. Brass is hardened through

working the material. It can be bought in the form

Stainless steel is very similar to other steels except
of wire rods, sheets and coils. Brass can also be
it contains chromium, from 12 to 20%. It may also
bought in 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and full hardness. Most
contain nickel up to 10%. Chromium and nickel
brass can be welded, soldered, and plated. It is
make steel corrosion resistant. Passivating is also
easily formed, bent and cut. Stamping is a common
a process used to enhance the anti-corrosiveness
method used to make parts out of brass.
of stainless steel. Stainless steel is commonly used

for springs that will be exposed to environments

Spring Brass
that are corrosive in nature.
Spring brass is usually defined as 70% copper and
The American Iron Steel Institute has set standards 30% zinc. It is the cheapest of the brasses and used
for different grades of stainless steel and in applications where cost is a factor. It can be
designated type numbers so they can be easily easily formed and drawn. It can only be hardened
specified. They are called the 300 and 400 series. by work hardening. It is good in applications of
The 300 series contains chromium and nickel at low stress and low fatigue. It should not be used
percentages of 18 and 8 respectively. Heat-treating in applications over 790˚C (1750˚F.) The modulus in
can not harden these types. They are hardened tension is around 15 million PSI and in torsion is 5
from cold working. Steels can be ordered 1/4, 1/2, million PSI. Tensile strength can vary between 70
3/4, and full hard. The modulus of elasticity of thousand and 95 thousand PSI depending upon
stainless steel can vary from 28 million to 30 million hardness.
PSI. Tensile strength can vary from 100,000 to

220,000 PSI. Most manufacturers can provide data Phosphor Bronze

on each grade they manufacture.
Phosphor bronze is a copper alloy with little or

Brass no zinc but possesses 4 to 10% tin and some

phosphorus. It is corrosion resistant. It has better

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. However the
mechanical and electrical properties than spring
word brass is a generalisation because many things
brass. It has a higher cost but also has a higher
can be added to brass to achieve different types
modulus at 16 to 17 million PSI for tension. It may
of mechanical and electronic properties. There are
be stressed 30 to 50% higher and offers higher
many different types of brass and manufacturers
fatigue life. It is best not to exceed 1070˚C (2250˚F.)
go to great effort not to reveal the exact
This material is the most extensively used stamped
compositions. Tin, lead, aluminum, silicon, iron,
spring material due to its cost and performance.
phosphorus, nickel, beryllium, manganese,

chromium, antimony, tellurium, and selenium

can be added in various amounts to get different

properties. Copper base alloys have excellent

Beryllium-Copper It can withstand high stress and has long

fatigue life. Its modulous tension is between

This material is made out of 98% copper and 2%
17 million and 20 million PSI. It can also be used
beryllium. Unlike other copper alloys it can be heat
in temperatures up to 149˚C (300˚F). This material
treated for hardness. Its forming properties are
is used to make high quality stamped electronic
excellent. There is no difference in its mechanical
contacts. It also has the highest cost of all the
properties based on cold rolling directions unlike
copper alloys.
the other copper alloys. Its electrical conductivity

is twice that of phosphor bronze.

Materials chart

Tensile Tensile Torsional Operating

Conductivity Rockwell
Composition Modulus Strength x Modulus Temperature
IACS Hardness
x 10^6 psi 10^3 psi x 10^6 psi degrees ˚F

99% iron
Music 1% carbon
Wire small amounts
28 - 30 230 - 399 11.5 - 12 250 8 - 12 C41 - 60
other elements

Stainless 12-20% Cr
Steel 14-18% Ni
28 - 30 100 - 335 10 - 12 288 - 343 8 - 12 C35 - 57

Spring 70% Cu
Brass 30% Zn
15 - 16 70 - 95 5-6 180 50 - 100 C25 - 30

94-96% Cu
Phosphor
Bronze
4-6% Tn 15 - 16 95 - 110 NA 200 30 - 75 B94 - 98
some Zn

Beryllium 98% Cu
Copper 2% Be
17 - 20 180 - 200 NA 400 15 - 60 C39
CONTACT PERFORMANCE
Contact performance is based on many factors and If the contact force is not high enough this point
conditions. Contact force, the area of contact and contact could produce high contact resistance and
the quality of contact is a large factor. The base arching. Arching can then further deteriorate the
material, its conductivity and the type of plating contact surface, which can cause pitting, and
materials used for both of the mating surfaces further corrosion. Arching also produces oxides,
have a large effect on the performance of the which can also increase contact resistance. Raising
contact. The effects of corrosion due to atmospheric the contact force can cause more of these high
conditions and other corrosive conditions can points to make better contact. Adequate contact
severely deteriorate contact performance, as can force can flatten out these contact points and lower
oxide build up on contact surfaces. Contact the contact resistance.
performance is also influenced by the shape of the

contact mating surfaces and how they interconnect. Dimple Features in Stamped Contacts
Circular dimple type contact areas are usually good
Scientists have spent considerable time studying
practice to enhance contact pressure. With stamped
and documenting this subject. An excellent
contacts a circular dimple can easily be added
reference guide on this subject is Electrical Contacts
during the stamping process. The size and curvature
Principle and Applications edited by Paul Slade and
will vary with each application. The effectiveness of
published by Marcel Decker. This text explores the
the dimple used must be tested and modified to
above subjects in great detail.
yield the desired results for each unique

Contact Force and Pressure application. If the dimple is too small and too sharp

the dimple could score the matting surface. If the

Each electrical signal has a minimum contact force
dimple is too big its effect will be minimal.
associated with it. Pressure is defined as the force

per square inch. Each interconnection has an area

of contact that the electrical signal passes through.

This area is dictated by the shape of the

interconnections and the roughness of the plated or

non-plated surfaces. Even though a contact surface

may visually appear smooth, on a microscopic level

the surface may be very rough. This can cause point

contacts in the contact area.

Fig-1 Base Material and Conductivity
Conductivity is the ease at which an electrical

signal can flow. Copper has the highest known

conductivity. Electrical conductivity is related

closely to thermal conductivity. So a material that

is electrically conductive is usually thermally

conductive. Electrical conductivity is expressed as

These drawings show a typical stamped contact with
a percentage of the International Annealed Copper
a dimple type feature to optimise contact pressure.
Standard (%IACS) measured at 20ºC for material in

Fig-2 annealed temper. Pure copper has an electrical

conductivity of 101 IACS. As elements are added

to copper the conductivity decreases, but the alloys

created have superior mechanical properties. The

conductivity of a material is usually inversely

related to the mechanical properties of the

material. So, the designer must trade off between

conductivity and mechanical performance. The

conductivity of copper alloys can vary between 5

Designing a wiping action into the mating
and 101 IACS depending upon which alloy is used.
condition can also enhance contact pressure. The

wiping action tends to flatten out these high spots Fig-3

in the mating surfaces. The contact force must be Electrical Conductivity
100
kept to safe levels such that the wiping action does 100

not erode the plating if plating is used. Curved

75
cantilever beams lend themselves perfectly for
%IACS

wiping actions. As the contact is deflected the 50

contact point usually shifts slightly which causes

the wiping action on the mating surface. Wiping 25 28 28

actions can also wipe away oxides that can form 15 18
11
0
on contact surfaces. These oxides are caused by C110 C260 C425 C510 C688 C725
Alloy
reactions between the surface material and gasses

in the atmosphere. The presence of oxides can act Figure 3 displays the relationship between
as an insulator that raises the contact resistance. different copper alloys and their conductivity.
Over a period of time oxides can completely block The table shown in Fig-4 (overleaf) also shows the
the electrical signal. Helical springs do not lend strength of copper alloys. If you compare this data
themselves to creating dimple features like stamped you will observe how the conductivity decreases
contacts. Creating a wiping action with a helical as the strength increases. This is also true for other
spring is also not easy. materials such as steel. This information was taken

from an Olin Brass materials guide.

Fig-4 stock material. Common cladding materials are pure

Gold, 75Au25Ag, 80Pd20Ni, 60Pd40Ag, 69Au25Ag6Pt

Strength Comparison and Palladium. Plating after the contact or spring has
C110 C260 C425 C510 C688 C725
been formed can be done by electrolytic and non-
Temper T.S. (ksl)
electric methods. The following materials can be
Half Hard 37-46 57-67 57-69 58-73 97-112 65-80
used for plating; Tin and tin lead alloys, hard golds,
Hard 43-52 71-81 70-82 76-91 106-120 75-90
gold flash, silver, silver gold alloys, nickel and nickel
Spring 50-58 91-100 84-94 95-110 123-133 85-100
alloys. Most of these platings are added in very thin
Temper Y.S. (ksl)
films between 1um to 5um.
Half Hard 30-44 42-60 51-66 47-68 82-102 59-78

Hard 41-50 67-78 66-79 74-88 95-108 73-88 Hard gold is the best finish for most contact

Spring 48-57 82-91 81-89 92-108 111-117 83-97 applications. Noble metals are less prone to film

build-up. Gold is subject to pore corrosion. Because

The conductivity of most steels are between 10 of the high conductivity, it can be used to drop the
and 15 IACS. The conductivity of gold is 77 and contact force needed to transmit the signal desired.
silver is 100 IACS. Gold and silver have excellent

conductivity and that is why they are used for Palladium and palladium-nickel alloys are used in

plating. However these elements are very soft place of gold where cost is a concern. Palladium is

so they are usually alloyed with other materials, about 1/3 to half the cost of gold. It however can

reducing their conductivity but raising their develop films in polluted environments.

resistance to wear.
Tin and tin lead alloys are relatively inexpensive but

due to softness are not durable. Tin can also grow

Plating
what is known as tin whiskers and fretting corrosion.
Plating of base spring and contact materials is

used to enhance the conductivity of base materials Nickel is also an inexpensive material but develops

and also coat the base material to protect from thick oxide coatings which must be broken by high

corrosion. There are two main ways to add precious contact force and whipping action of the contact.

metal to a base material, plating and cladding. Since nickel is used to plate most batteries nickel is

Inlaying or cladding a plating material into a base an obvious choice for the mating contact. Using the

material can be done by skiving a groove into the same material removes the possibility of galvanic

substrate material into which a strip of plating corrosion and wear challenges, plus using the same

material is placed. Rolling the material to the plating on mating surfaces creates similar wear.

desired thickness also bonds the material together. Plating hardness also plays a roll in picking adequate

Inlaying can also be done for wire by pressing the plating. High conductivity is desired but high

substrate material in the form of rods into tubes conductivity is usually related to softness, which in

of the plating material. The composite is drawn turn means low wear resistance. Again we see there

through dies to the desired wire diameter. Inlayed is a trade off between conductivity and hardness.

materials are very expensive, but remove the need The table opposite (Fig-5) shows relative hardness

to plate after the spring or contact is manufactured. values for electro-deposited plating alloys.

It is similar to paying for the plating up front in the

Fig-5 Base Material
Base material in the form of drawn wire for wound
Tin-Lead Alloys 7-12
springs or rolled sheets for stamped contacts are
Tin 8-35
affected daily by the cost of fair market value of
Gold, Pure 40-90
the base materials, especially when you are dealing
Silver 40-185
with the more precious type metals. Markets
Hard Gold 160-220
control these metals just as the prices of stocks are
Palladium 200-300 controlled by the stock market. Supply and demand
80Pd20Ni 355-550 is the basic rule. The more exotic a material, the
Nickel 800-1000 higher the cost. Alloys including many elements
Ruthenium 800-1000 usually require more sophisticated processing with

higher quality control. These alloys usually have

Conclusion: higher mechanical properties, so there is a direct

relationship between performance and price.

A designer is challenged with choosing a base
material that can yield the necessary mechanical This performance could be strength, corrosion

properties required for contact force whilst being resistance, resistance to strength relaxation and

aware of its conductivity. Conductivity can then be so on. The more a material is worked the more

enhanced by plating the base material, and dimple it costs; for example, full hard material is more

features introduced to improve contact pressure, expensive than half-hard. The thickness of the stock

lowering contact resistance. Plating can enhance material and the tolerance required by the designer

the interconnection, however it can introduce can affect the cost. A tighter tolerance can drive up

added cost, oxidation and corrosion problems. cost. A tolerance of (+) or (-) .0005 will have a
Each interconnection problem is different greater cost than (+) or (-) .001. Cladding a material
and must be treated so. or adding an inlay into a base material will increase

material cost considerably, but the cost can be

balanced out if plating is not used. Paying up front

for inlaying can sometimes provide a cost saving,

it can however increase your manufacturing costs.

COSTS Manufacturing with inlaying and cladding can be
Cost is a combination of many elements: base tricky and require greater inspection and quality
materials, tooling used to manufacture the base control. Scrapping a lot of contacts made with
material into the spring, manufacturing time inlayed material is more expensive than
needed or machine running time, secondary scrapping a lot of non-inlayed material. It is safer
operations, plating and volume - all need to be to stamp or wind than inspect and then plate,
addressed before deciding on a spring design. since a dimensional mistake can be detected prior

to plating.
Tooling and Manufacturing The forming stations place the bends and forms
needed. There is a tool made for each blank and
Tooling for wound springs includes a spring
form. Each blank and forming tool must be made
winding machine and the arbor needed to wind the
and heat-treated. The harder the base material the
spring. The daily volume needed dictates how many
more expensive the tool will be because it will
machines are needed or how many shifts need to
require a more sophisticated tool steel and heat
run. If it takes 10 seconds to wind a spring then 6
treating to stand up to the work required. The
springs can be wound per minute and 360 springs
larger the number of forms and blanks and the
per hour. Calculations like these must be made to
more complicated each form and blank is, the more
determine the number of machines or number of
expensive the tool will be. The tolerance associated
shifts. The number of springs made per hour
with each blank and form also increases the cost.
dictates the piece part price because there is a
The speed of the die and the number of stations
machine time cost per hour. This cost is based on
dictate the time it takes to make each part. The
the people needed to set up the machine, check
more parts that can be made per hour the lower
the finished product and maintain the machine.
the cost. Once the tool is paid for, costs will include
For most requirements, contracting spring winding
the machine time, the material needed and the
to spring manufacturing companies is the best
maintenance of the tool. This is usually included
option, eliminating the need to purchase machines
in the piece part price. Just as with spring winding,
and train people to set them up, run them and
most of the time it is better to farm out this work
maintain them. It is also easier to design a spring
to a stamping house because they have the
in such a way that it may be bought off the shelf.
expertise and the presses. Once the design is
There are many companies that make and stock
complete a stamping house can quote the price
certain sizes that are commonly used for known
of the tool and a piece part price for the part.
applications, lowering the cost dramatically.

Plating
Tooling for stamped contacts is more complicated.
This requires a stamping press as well as the design Plating can be done in different ways. Barrel or

and manufacture of a stamping tool. Further costs batch plating can be done with contacts that will

include the maintenance of that tool and the set not tangle or can be easily untangled. Barrel plating

up cost to install the tool in the press when parts is also used where the whole contact is plated -

are needed. Tools can be designed with multiple excellent for wound springs. A de-tangling feature

capacity. They could be designed with one contact can be designed into the spring by having some

per strip or as many as four contacts per strip. A dead coils in the middle. Dipped plating is done

one capacity tool is less expensive than a two or when the contacts are still on the stamping strip

four capacity tool because each stamping station and they are dipped into the plating and only a

must be duplicated so many times. Each tool has selected area is plated. This is commonly done in

blanking stations and stamping stations. The strip the electronic connector industry. The contacts are

is fed into the tool and is carried by carriers left on the strip. They are made on the strip in the

through the die. Each time the die opens and closes same spacing or pitch that they are assembled into

the strip moves to a different station. The blanking the insulator. After plating they are pressed into the

stations remove material not needed in the part. insulator and the strip is broken away.
The cost of plating is dictated by the cost of the price of the contact. This is because it could take
precious metal used, the time it takes to plate and hours of a toolmaker’s time to produce all the
the cost of that time. Cost of plating materials such blanks and bends necessary to make the contact.
as contact material can vary day to day. The more Sample charges of wound springs are usually
sophisticated the plating alloy is the higher the much less. This usually requires a set up charge
cost. The plating demands sometimes require a base comparable to a few hours of running time.
coat and a flash coat. This is obviously an added
The tooling and set up charge is the largest up
cost. Barrel plating is usually less expensive because
front cost. The longer a tool is run the smaller the
it requires less prep time and many parts can be
part price becomes because it eliminates the human
done simultaneously, however it has added cost if
factor to set the tool up. If a tool can be run
the contacts need to be de-tangled. Dip plating uses
without human supervision or with minimal
less plating but requires more handling costs and
supervision this can also reduce part cost. A spring
set up time. This process is very time consuming
machine can only produce one spring at a time.
because there the number of contacts that can be
To up the capacity, more spring machines must be
dipped at once is limited, increasing costs further.
purchased. A stamping die can be made with one
Again this process is best left to companies that are
to four part capacities. This cuts the cost
experts in this area. There are many environmental
dramatically because it is doing the same work
requirements to deal with if one wishes to do their
and spending the same time to produce more parts.
own plating. Once the plating requirements are
This, however, may require a bigger machine with
known and the spring or contact design is complete
higher force capacity. It can also require more
a plating company can supply a piece part quote.
quality control costs and higher maintenance.
Volume needs dictate the part capacity of the tool.
Secondary Operations
It would be more cost effective to build a one-part
Secondary operations, aside from plating, can be
capacity tool for small volumes; higher volumes
costly because they usually require handling and
would demand higher capacity tooling.
fixtures. This should be avoided whenever possible.
Each time a human being handles a part it becomes A spring or stamping supplier should not only
more expensive. Secondary operations can be supply a part price but there should be price breaks
cutting contact strips into lengths, separating the based on different levels of volume. The higher the
strip from the contact, or bending contact tails after volumes the less the price. The designer should get
assembly. For springs, secondary operations could several quotes from different suppliers and base
be grinding the ends of springs and welding or them not only on price but the quality of the work
soldering elements to the spring. and the supplier’s reliability to meet deadlines and
supply parts that meet specification. The price will
Volumes increase if the parts have to be scrapped, returned
or reworked. Sometimes paying a little more for a
Volumes are the biggest variable in cost. The higher
part from a more reliable supplier is actually more
the volume the lower the cost of a part. When
cost effective.
prototyping a stamped contact a sample charge
could be astronomical compared to the high volume