Standard Specification for Free-Cutting Brass Rod, Bar and Shapes
This standard is issued under the fixed designation B 16/B 16M; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year
of original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.
A superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the Department of Defense.
1. Scope*
1.1 This specification establishes the requirements for free-cutting brass rod, bar, wire, and shapes of any specified cross section produced from Copper Alloy UNS No. C36000 suitable for high-speed screw machining applications and moderate thread rolling.
1.2 Units—Values stated in either inch-pound units or SI units are to be regarded separately as standard. Within the text,
SI units are shown in brackets. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard.
1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
2. Referenced Documents
2.1 ASTM Standards: 2
B 249/B 249M Specification for General Requirements for Wrought Copper and Copper-Alloy Rod, Bar, Shapes, and Forgings
B 250/B 250M Specification for General Requirements for Wrought Copper-Alloy Wire
B 601 Practice for Temper Designations for Copper and Copper Alloys—Wrought and Cast
E 8 Test Methods for Tension Testing of Metallic Materials
E 8M Test Methods for Tension Testing of Metallic Mate-rials [Metric]
E 18 Test Methods for Rockwell Hardness and Rockwell Superficial Hardness of Metallic Materials
E 478 Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Copper Alloys
3. General Requirements
3.1 The following sections of Specifications B 249/B 249M
(rod, bar, and shapes), and B 250/B 250M (wrought copper
alloy wire) constitute a part of this specification.
3.1.1 Terminology,
3.1.2 Materials and Manufacture,
3.1.3 Workmanship, Finish, and Appearance,
3.1.4 Sampling,
3.1.5 Number of Tests and Retest,
3.1.6 Specimen Preparation,
3.1.7 Test Methods,
3.1.8 Significance of Numerical Limits,
3.1.9 Inspection,
3.1.10 Rejection and Rehearing,
3.1.11 Certification,
3.1.12 Mill Test Report,
3.1.13 Packaging and Package Marking, and
3.1.14 Supplementary Requirements.
3.2 In addition, when a section with a title identical to those referenced in 3.1 appears in this specification, it contains additional requirements that supplement those appearing in Specifications B 249/B 249M and B 250/B 250M.
4. Ordering Information
4.1 Include the following information when placing orders
for product under this specification, as applicable:
4.1.1 ASTM specification designation and year of issue
(B 16/B 16M – XX).
4.1.2 Copper Alloy UNS No. designation (C36000, see Section 6 and Table 1).
ABLE 2 Tensile Requirements, inch-pound
NOTE—See Table 3 for SI values.
Temper Designation
Standard Name
Diameter or Distance Between
Parallel Surfaces, in.
Tensile Strength,
min, ksi
Yield Strength
at 0.5 %
Extension
under Load,
min, ksi
Elongation,A
min, %
Rod and Wire
O60 soft
anneal
1 and under 48 20 15
over 1 to 2, incl. 44 18 20
over 2 40 15 25
H02 half-hard 1⁄2 and under 57 25 7B
over 1⁄2 to 1, incl. 55C 25 10
over 1 to 2, incl. 50 20 15
over 2 to 4, incl., and 45 15 20
over 4 40 15 20
H04 hard 1⁄16 to 3⁄16, incl. 80 45
over 3⁄16 to 1⁄2, incl. 70 35 4
over 1⁄2 to 3⁄4, incl. 65 30 6
Bar
Standard Name Thickness, in. Width, in.
O60 soft anneal 1 and under 6 and under 44 18 20
over 1 6 and under 40 15 25
H02 half-hard 1⁄2 and under 1 and under 50 25 10
1⁄2 and under over 1 to 6, incl. 45 17 15
over 1⁄2 to 2, incl. 2 and under 45 17 15
over 1⁄2 to 2, incl. over 2 to 6, incl. 40 15 20
over 2 over 2 to 4, incl. 40 15 20
A In any case, a minimum gage length of 1 in. shall be used.
B For product furnished in coils the elongation shall be 4 % min.
C If product is specified for thread rolling applications, the minimum tensile strength shall be 52 ksi.
4.1.3 Temper (see Section 7 and Tables 2-5).
4.1.4 Product cross section form (for example, round, hex-agonal, square, etc.).
4.1.5 Dimensions (see Section 9).
4.1.6 How furnished: straight lengths or coils (see 5.2).
4.1.7 Edge contours (see Section 9).
4.1.8 Quantity; total weight, footage, or number of piecesfor each size.
4.1.9 When product is purchased for applications requiringthread rolling (see 1.1, Tables 2-5).
4.1.10 When product is purchased for agencies of the U.S.Government (see Section 11).
4.2 The following options are available and shall be speci-fied at the time of placing the order when required:
4.2.1 Tensile test for product 1⁄2 in. [12 mm] and over (see
8.2.1).
4.2.2 Certification (refer to Specifications B 249/B 249M or
B 250/B 250M).
4.2.3 Mill Test Report (refer to Specifications B 249/
B 249M or B 250/B 250M).
5. Materials and Manufacture
5.1 Material—The material of manufacture shall be a castbillet of Copper Alloy UNS No. C36000 of such purity andsoundness as to be suitable for hot extrusion into rod, bar, wire,and shaped products.
5.1.1 In the event that heat identification or traceability isrequired, the purchaser shall specify the details desired.
NOTE 1—Due to the discontinuous nature of the processing of castingsinto wrought products, it is not always practical to identify a specificcasting analysis with a specific quantity of finished material.
5.2 Manufacture—Product produced under this specifica-tion shall be in straight lengths; however, it shall be furnishedin coils when so specified in the contract or purchase order (see4.1.6).
6. Chemical Composition
6.1 The product shall conform to the chemical composi-tional requirements specified in Table 1 for Copper Alloy UNSNo. C36000.
6.2 The UNS designated composition limits do not precludethe possible presence of other unnamed elements; however,analysis shall be made regularly only for the minor elementslisted in Table 1, plus either copper or zinc, or plus all majorelements except one. The major element that is not analyzedshall be determined by difference between the sum of thoseelements analyzed and 100 %. By agreement between produceror supplier and purchaser, analysis may be required and limitsestablished for the elements not cited. Percentage content ofelements shown as “remainder” (rem.) is calculated by differ-ence.
Half Hard Temper ASTM B16 Brass Rods