Custom Bronze Parts Manufacturing
Bronze alloys combine exceptional strength and durability with superior wear resistance and low friction properties. These copper-based metals, primarily alloyed with tin and other elements, have been trusted for centuries in demanding industrial applications where reliability is paramount.
The addition of tin and other elements to copper creates bronze's distinctive characteristics: outstanding wear resistance, high compressive strength, and excellent performance under load. Bronze maintains its mechanical properties across extreme temperatures and pressures, while its self-lubricating properties make it ideal for bearings, bushings, and other critical wear components. The material's natural corrosion resistance, particularly in marine and industrial environments, ensures long service life in challenging conditions.
One of bronze's most significant advantages is its versatility in precision machining applications. The metal machines predictably and consistently, allowing for tight tolerances and complex geometries. This characteristic, combined with bronze's inherent strength and wear resistance, makes it an optimal choice for critical industrial components where failure is not an option. The material also responds well to various surface finishing techniques, enabling both enhanced performance and aesthetic appeal when required.
Phosphor Bronze 510 is a high-performance alloy that combines exceptional wear resistance with excellent spring properties. The addition of phosphorus enhances its strength and elastic properties, making it ideal for bearings, bushings, and precision components that require consistent performance under load and repeated stress.
Material Cost: 7
Machining Cost: 6
Durability: 8
Corrosion Resistance: 7
Temperature Resistance: 7
Strength-To-Weight Ratio: 6
Typical Tolerances: ±0.001" to ±0.005"
Silicon Bronze C655 offers outstanding corrosion resistance and high strength, making it an excellent choice for demanding industrial environments. Its silicon content provides improved mechanical properties and wear resistance while maintaining good machinability, perfect for fluid control components and pressure-bearing applications.
Material Properties (Scale 1-10)
Material Cost: 6
Machining Cost: 5
Durability: 7
Corrosion Resistance: 9
Temperature Resistance: 8
Strength-To-Weight Ratio: 7
Typical Tolerances: ±0.001" to ±0.005"
Manganese Bronze C862 delivers superior strength and hardness combined with excellent wear resistance. This high-strength alloy's unique composition makes it particularly well-suited for heavy-duty industrial applications, including gear components, wear plates, and high-load bearings where maximum durability is essential.
Material Properties (Scale 1-10)
Material Cost: 5
Machining Cost: 6
Durability: 9
Corrosion Resistance: 7
Temperature Resistance: 8
Strength-To-Weight Ratio: 8
Typical Tolerances: ±0.002" to ±0.005"
Tin Bronze C905 is a traditional bronze alloy known for its exceptional bearing properties and consistent performance. Its high tin content provides superior wear resistance and low friction characteristics, making it the go-to choice for critical bearing applications, bushings, and wear components in industrial machinery.
Material Cost: 8
Machining Cost: 7
Durability: 9
Corrosion Resistance: 8
Temperature Resistance: 7
Strength-To-Weight Ratio: 6
Typical Tolerances: ±0.001" to ±0.005"
C932 is an industry-standard bearing bronze that offers an optimal balance of load capacity, wear resistance, and machinability. This high-leaded tin bronze alloy is renowned for its excellent bearing properties and consistent performance in demanding applications. Its superior machining characteristics and self-lubricating properties make it particularly well-suited for bushings, bearings, and other wear components in industrial machinery and pump applications.
Material Properties (Scale 1-10)
Material Cost: 6
Machining Cost: 5
Durability: 8
Corrosion Resistance: 7
Temperature Resistance: 7
Strength-To-Weight Ratio: 6
Typical Tolerances: ±0.001" to ±0.005"
Aluminum Bronze C954 combines remarkable strength with outstanding corrosion resistance. The addition of aluminum creates an alloy that maintains its properties at elevated temperatures and offers excellent resistance to cavitation and erosion, making it ideal for pump components, valve bodies, and marine applications.
Material Properties (Scale 1-10)
Material Cost: 7
Machining Cost: 8
Durability: 9
Corrosion Resistance: 9
Temperature Resistance: 9
Strength-To-Weight Ratio: 8
Typical Tolerances: ±0.002" to ±0.005"
In fluid handling applications, bronze alloys excel through their combination of corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and dimensional stability. The material's outstanding resistance to erosion and cavitation makes it ideal for demanding flow control applications, while its natural corrosion resistance ensures long-term reliability in aggressive environments. Bronze's excellent machining characteristics allow for precise internal passages and complex geometries, making it particularly valuable for critical fluid control components.
Common applications:
• Control valve bodies
• Flow meter housings
• Pressure regulator components
• Check valve assemblies
• Threaded pipe fittings
• Hydraulic manifold blocks
• Flow distribution nozzles
In hydraulic systems, bronze components provide exceptional performance through their superior wear resistance and ability to maintain tight tolerances under pressure. The material's excellent bearing properties and dimensional stability make it ideal for precision hydraulic components, while its corrosion resistance ensures reliable long-term operation. Bronze's natural lubricity and wear characteristics are particularly valuable in applications where smooth, consistent operation is critical.
Common applications:
• Cylinder heads
• Packing glands
• Hydraulic pistons
• Cushion bearings
• Piston shoes
• Star bushings
• Split wear rings
• Guide bushings
• Seal rings
In industrial machinery, bronze components excel in harsh operating conditions where reliability is paramount. The material's combination of strength, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance makes it perfect for components exposed to demanding environments. Bronze's excellent machining characteristics allow for precise bearing surfaces and complex geometries that maintain their performance under heavy loads and continuous operation.
Common applications:
• Bearing housings
• Custom bushings
• Valve components
• Guide blocks
• Thrust bearings
• Precision sleeves
• Precision fittings
With over 75 years of precision machining excellence, we deliver custom bronze components that meet the most demanding specifications. From prototype development to multi-million piece orders, our ISO:9001 certified facility specializes in handling complex, high-difficulty work across all bronze grades.
Our commitment to quality, combined with extensive machining capabilities, ensures your bronze parts and components are manufactured to the highest standards with competitive lead times.
Our advanced vertical and horizontal milling centers with up to 6-axis capabilities excel in precision bronze machining. We specialize in complex wear components, custom bearing housings, and high-strength industrial parts where superior dimensional stability and wear resistance are essential. Whether you need custom bronze components for heavy equipment or precision-machined parts for high-load applications, our milling expertise covers all major bronze alloys including phosphor bronze, aluminum bronze, and manganese bronze grades.
Specialized in efficient bronze production, processing bars up to 1-5/8" and chucking to 6". This service is ideal for manufacturing precision wear components used in industrial machinery, pump systems, and power transmission equipment. We help manufacturers maintain reliability in their operations through consistent production of complex bronze parts, optimizing our processes for bronze's unique machining characteristics while maintaining the tight tolerances these critical components demand.
Offering complete bronze turning services for bars up to 4" and chucking to 20" diameter. We excel in manufacturing precision bronze components for industrial bearings, bushings, and wear plates. Our turning capabilities serve diverse applications from high-load industrial equipment to critical wear components, delivering the exact tolerances and surface finishes that bronze applications require. Our expertise in bronze machining ensures optimal performance in demanding industrial environments.
Precision Swiss turning for bronze bars up to 7/8" diameter and lengths to 4". This specialized service is perfect for small, intricate bronze components used in precision industrial equipment, instrumentation, and specialized machinery. Our Swiss machining capabilities excel in producing high-precision, small-diameter bronze parts that require superior wear resistance and dimensional stability, maintaining exact tolerances while optimizing bronze's inherent properties for long-term reliability.
Delivering high-quality, consistent b components is a top priority at Spex. Our quality system is built on our ISO 9001:2015 certification, guiding how we work every step of the way. We carefully check parts during production to ensure dimensional accuracy and address the specific needs of machining b effectively.
We apply these same quality standards whether we're making a single prototype or thousands of parts. You can be confident in the results, as each project comes with full documentation, including material certifications, detailed measurement reports, and First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs). This paperwork clearly shows how your parts meet your exact specifications.
We'd love to hear from you!
Scalable production
Short lead times
Fair prices
ISO-9001 certified
Secondary processes
Range of materials
On-time delivery
75+ years in business
Advanced CNC machining
Rapid prototyping
Bronze typically combines copper with tin or other elements like aluminum, providing excellent wear resistance, low friction, and strong corrosion resistance, making it ideal for bearings and marine use. Copper alloys used in machining (like C110 or C101) are valued for their very high copper content and resulting excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, though they are relatively soft. Brass is an alloy primarily of copper and zinc, offering a good balance of machinability (especially leaded grades), strength, and corrosion resistance.
Designing bronze parts effectively requires specific considerations, particularly for wear applications. It's important to select the bronze alloy that best matches the needed wear resistance, strength, and machinability (e.g., C932 vs. C954). Designs should incorporate sufficient wall thickness for durability, especially in load-bearing areas. If the part serves as a bearing or bushing, specifying correct tolerances for fits and clearances is critical, and adding features like lubrication grooves might be necessary. Using radii instead of sharp internal corners is also recommended, especially for tougher bronze alloys.
Bronze alloys can typically be machined to achieve good, smooth surface finishes. The appearance varies depending on the alloy, ranging from reddish-gold to lighter gold or brown hues. While bronze develops a natural patina over time, specific finishes or protective coatings can be applied if a consistent appearance or enhanced corrosion protection is required.
Delivering high-quality, consistent bronze components is a top priority at Spex. Our experienced team understands how to handle the varying machinability across different bronze alloys. Our quality system, built on our ISO 9001:2015 certification, ensures careful checks during production for dimensional accuracy and adherence to specifications, maintaining high standards from prototype to production volumes.
To provide the most accurate quote, please share detailed part drawings or CAD models, specify the exact bronze alloy required (e.g., C932, C954, C630), required tolerances, desired quantity, any critical features (like bearing surface requirements), and details on necessary finishing operations. The more detail provided, the better we can tailor a precise and competitive quote.
