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Thread: Identify Beryllium Copper
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18th Dec 2021, 09:42 PM #1New Member
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Identify Beryllium Copper
I got a whole heap of stock including steel, brass, copper and beryllium-copper.
Question: is there a way, in a home workshop, to identify which stock is beryllium-copper with certainty (not just colour)?
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18th Dec 2021, 09:45 PM #2Most Valued Member
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I dont know of any way other than an xrf test, id take it to my local scrapyard and get them to test it. Beryllium copper is a pretty unpleasant material and can be quite dangerous.
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18th Dec 2021, 10:41 PM #3
Hi Guys,
Most Beryllium copper is found in springs and similar items used in electrical components.
Check Wikipedia for toxicity details ! Its the Beryllium that is toxic ! Basically do not burn or attempt to melt copper containing Beryllium. If you do then do it in a very well ventilated space, avoid the vapour !Best Regards:
Baron J.
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18th Dec 2021, 10:52 PM #4
Hi ITA124,
Get rid of it, no ifs, buts, or maybees.
Truly its not worth the risk.
Is your ongoing good health worth the loss of a few dollars worth of copper?
Beryllium is one of the nastiest metals around. On my desk is a copy of The Hazards of Welding, by Ben Bartlett -1989, a publication on the AMWU- Australian Metal Workers Union. The entry under the beryllium title is the largest of all metals listed in the book.
Welding it or machining with out proper procedure and PPE can make you very ill.
Beryllium can cause acute and chronic disease.
A few of the hazards noted for you
Respiratory problems
Damage to the eyes
Pulmonary Odema
Chronic beryllium disease
and it and suspected it was the trigger for other chronic diseases.
Some scrappies may have an XRF but I would think it would be the very large national companies due to the cost.
My old NDT boss looked at one but it was very expensive.We were a certified Nata lab and the times it would be required did not justify the cost.
Grahame
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18th Dec 2021, 10:58 PM #5
ITA124
Welcome to the MetalWork Forums
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Grahame
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18th Dec 2021, 11:26 PM #6Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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Identifying BeCu is not something to be trusted to by a scrappy with a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer unit. Be is a low Atomic Number Element (4th after H, He and Li) and this means its is very difficult to detect using most X-ray methods.
There are colormetric tests but these involve dissolution in acids and playing around with chemicals ie not good either.
There are two Basic types, the 2-4% Be stuff used to make non-sparking tools. This will be much harder than normal copper
Then there's the high conductivity stuff which is at the 10ths of percent Be that is used in electric applications. This will be nearly as soft as regular copper assuming none of it is work hardened.
I wouldn't trust any % to be safe.
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19th Dec 2021, 12:16 AM #7Gear expert in training
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Is BeCu unsafe to work with in general, or just melting/welding?
I recently had a run of 10 small parts at work for gear cutting (customer supplied the machined blanks, we just put teeth on). The machine pumps enough coolant to sink a ship, so it wasn't getting hot enough to smoke or anything like that and it's enclosed with fume extraction anywayGear cutting specialists and general engineers www.hardmanbros.com.au
Fine pitch gear cutting from 0.1 Module www.rigear.com.au
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19th Dec 2021, 08:35 AM #8Diamond Member
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The fumes/dust from it can cause extremely serious lung problems.
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19th Dec 2021, 08:54 AM #9Gear expert in training
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So if there's no dust or fumes it's safe?
Gear cutting specialists and general engineers www.hardmanbros.com.au
Fine pitch gear cutting from 0.1 Module www.rigear.com.au
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19th Dec 2021, 08:55 AM #10Most Valued Member
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According to this source it's safe as long as you don't produce dust:
https://materion.com/-/media/files/a...m-brochure.pdfChris
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19th Dec 2021, 08:56 AM #11Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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It doesnt naturally emit any fumes or dust so dustless mechanical working is OK.
Its safe to handle with bare hands - it's what gets inside you that matters. That included small chips that might get under skin.
At one point the docs thought I might have Be poisoning after I accidentally shattered a Be window on a large (50mm diam) Geiger detector at work. I was monitored for about 12 months after that but all I ended up getting was a series of flu bugs. 10+ Years later I got Sarcoidosis which can present in a similar way to Be poisoning and the Be is exposure incident came up again but the docs don’t think they’re related. I had two biopsies taken of the ganularomas in my lungs but they could not determine it one way or the other. Anyway it appears my Sarcoidosis is receding.
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19th Dec 2021, 09:18 AM #12Most Valued Member
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Thanks for the info about XRF testing Bob. Ots worth noting the guns have got a fair bit cheaper. Both scrapyards near me have them. They are in the 20 - 30k range now
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30th Dec 2021, 12:24 PM #13Senior Member
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Seems the supplier in Melbourne needs to get rid of all their inventory.
If the OP needs to dispose of bar stock in the 30~40mm range, might have some interest.
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30th Dec 2021, 01:19 PM #14Most Valued Member
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30th Dec 2021, 09:46 PM #15
Hi Chris,
There seems to be a lot of posters like that !
You should spend some time on the American forums. No consideration of courtesy there, you would be lucky if you got a "please". Both my children are secondary school teachers and both tell me that the pupils have little idea about common courtesy, particularly in the mixed race groups, and simply demand what they want.
Certainly there is a much better ethos down here !Best Regards:
Baron J.
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