beryllium copper compression spring needed

[ken king, King DesignParticipant @kenkingkingdesign]

Hello JohnF, I realise I haven't answered your question. The answer is – for superior corrosion resistance in a wet steam atmosphere and a most innaccessible part in a locomotive boiler. BeCu was suggested by the designer, and his choice is supported by my client, for whom I'm making the regulator valve assembly. Does anyone have an opinion on material choice ? 316 stainless for example ?

Ken

[SamsarandaParticipant @samsaranda]

I remember back in the 60’s we used portable X-Ray tubes that I believe had a beryllium copper window on the tube where the X-Ray beam exited the tube, never aware of any safety requirements regarding the beryllium copper, the X-Rays were dangerous enough. It’s amazing just how much beryllium was floating around in various equipments.

Dave W

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Are we getting a little confused between beryllium copper and beryllium. The first can be disposed of in landfill in the normal way beryllium however is hazardous and requires safe disposal and special handling if it's machined.

regards Martin

[clogsParticipant @clogs]

There's a nice 1man band making springs near Colchester….he makes all my springs for the antique car's-motorcycles I repair/rebuild……it's all he's ever done……unless it's a special all mine are 316st/steel….happy to post , make's what you want………clogs

[FMESParticipant @fmes]

Posted by Martin Kyte on 19/01/2018 15:19:44:

Are we getting a little confused between beryllium copper and beryllium. The first can be disposed of in landfill in the normal way beryllium however is hazardous and requires safe disposal and special handling if it's machined.

regards Martin

Speaking of landfill, just after the war (and long before I was active on the planet) a large quantity of unserviceable aircraft instrument faces containg Tritium was buried alledgedly ten feet deep on the boundary of a large repair factory.

Many years later (1990s) a nearby Naval base that on occasion received  visits from vessels powered by nuclear reactors, was carrying out its regular detection tests and started to pick up tritium trace in the harbour.

The source was traced back up the reach some three miles to the buried dial faces.

A rather thorough clean up ensued.

 

Edited By *.* on 19/01/2018 17:24:43

[Harry WilkesParticipant @harrywilkes58467]

Posted by Sandgrounder on 19/01/2018 14:04:13:

Posted by Harry Wilkes on 19/01/2018 13:08:15:

John

Your reference to 'safe disposal ' brought a smile to my face in the 70's I worked with induction heating equipment the older models were 'valve sets' one the valves within the machine was the size of a goldfish bowl and contained beryllium copper. When the valve failed I simply purchased a new one the failed one was taken back in part exchange however this practice stopped and I was stuck with a valve I phoned the local council who told me I couldn't dispose of it I would need a specialised company to deal with it's safe disposal and to do that the best quote I had was £1200.00 !!!

H

I won't ask you what you did with it, you never know who's reading these forms, LOL

John

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by ken king, King Design on 19/01/2018 14:22:08:

Thanks for the various links chaps; Redditch seems to be a hotspot as far as exotic springs are concerned, and isn't it interesting to view the number of responses suggesting suppliers, compared to those related to Health and Safety concerns. Having been involved in H & S professionally years ago I know it's important to maintain a sense of proportion alongside sensible concerns. Reading Material Safety Data Sheets is a bit like dipping into a medical textbook; ne can quickly go from feeling fit as a fiddle, to being convinced there are all sorts of things about to go wrong.

Redditch is the global hotspot for needles and springs. At one point 90% of the world's needle production was made there.

The Council house has a statue outside of a large box of springs.

(No prizes for guessing where I spent my afternoon).

[Martin DowingParticipant @martindowing58466]

I have hammer from beryllium copper (actually a speck of aloy was sent to ASA analysis to confirm that).

This hammer is rarely used (or actually not used because it seems precious). Anyway usual steel hammer works as good. Such tools are of use on oil platforms and they are unknown to cause disease.

One can buy few pieces of beryllium, for example here: http://luciteria.com/elements-for-sale/buy-beryllium

There are bike frames made of beryllium, $30000 a piece. Advantage – light weight.

I would take care with this metal. Heating can produce fine particles of oxide (BeO) and these are really bad idea for one's lungs. This material is one of very few, which I consider "dangerous chemical". Would prefer to work with cadmium, thallium, arsenic or uranium rather than with that.

Beryllium copper is fine but I would hesitate to braze it and if I have to then job would be *certainly* done on open air and I would use professional dust filtering mask.

Edited By Martin Dowing on 23/02/2018 20:12:22

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Many years ago I was sent to a company in South Wales who made beryllium spacers for the electrical and electronic industry, when I arrived I had to strip naked and wear a one piece suit, not paper, with a hood, breathing apparatus/ face mask and sealed gloves.

I was taken through an airlock into a big room full of machine tools, each machine was in a sealed glass box and the operator had to open a window to load the parts into the machines and when the window opened there was a large draw of air into the cabinet. I had to repair a surface grinder, which meant I had to go into the cell with their tools and the spare parts.

When I had finished all my clothing including the shoes they supplied were removed to be destroyed and I asked the manager what happened to the machine when they wore out, he took me ouside and said we did big holes and bury them because they couldnt gaurantee they could be cleaned completely. I never went back and any other breakdowns were fixed over the phone.

Martin P

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Posted by ken king, King Design on 19/01/2018 14:29:48:

Hello JohnF, I realise I haven't answered your question. The answer is – for superior corrosion resistance in a wet steam atmosphere and a most innaccessible part in a locomotive boiler. BeCu was suggested by the designer, and his choice is supported by my client, for whom I'm making the regulator valve assembly. Does anyone have an opinion on material choice ? 316 stainless for example ?

Ken

You really need a proper metallurgist for this one, but I'll stick my neck out. Austenitic stainless under stress and (very) hot water are not a good mix. You get chloride stress corrosion which can cause quite early failure. You're probably above the water line, but water will slosh about in a boiler. There are other types of stainless which don't suffer to the same extent, but I'm already far enough out of my depth. Would bronze wire do? I've seen regulator designs which use a bronze leaf spring to hold the valve on the seat, made out of old fashioned draught seal. There is good info at **LINK**

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