This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles

for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

Designation: B140/B140M − 12 (Reapproved 2017)

Standard Specification for

Copper-Zinc-Lead (Red Brass or Hardware Bronze) Rod,
Bar, and Shapes1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation B140/B140M; 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 (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense.

1. Scope* Copper Alloys (Photometric Methods) (Withdrawn 2010)3

1.1 This specification establishes the requirements for E478 Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Copper Alloys
copper-zinc-lead (leaded red brass or hardware bronze) rod, 3. General Requirements
bar, and shapes of UNS Copper Alloy Nos. C31400, C31600,
and C32000 available for general and screw machine applica- 3.1 The following sections of Specification B249/B249M
tions. constitute a part of this specification:
3.1.1 Terminology (B846),
1.2 Units—Values stated in either inch-pound units or SI 3.1.2 Materials and Manufacture,
units are to be regarded separately as standard. Within the text, 3.1.3 Workmanship, Finish, and Appearance,
SI units are shown in brackets. The values in each system may 3.1.4 Sampling,
not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used 3.1.5 Number of Tests and Retests,
independently of the other. Combining values from the two 3.1.6 Specimen Preparation,
systems may result in nonconformance with the specification. 3.1.7 Test Methods,
1.3 This international standard was developed in accor- 3.1.8 Significance of Numerical Limits,
dance with internationally recognized principles on standard- 3.1.9 Inspection,
ization established in the Decision on Principles for the 3.1.10 Rejection and Rehearing,
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recom- 3.1.11 Certification,
mendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical 3.1.12 Test Report,
Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee. 3.1.13 Product Marking,
3.1.14 Packaging and Package Marking, and
2. Referenced Documents 3.1.15 Supplementary Requirements.
2.1 ASTM Standards:2 3.2 In addition, when a section with a title identical to one
B249/B249M Specification for General Requirements for of those referenced in 3.1 appears in this specification, it
Wrought Copper and Copper-Alloy Rod, Bar, Shapes and contains additional requirements which supplement those ap-
Forgings pearing in Specification B249/B249M.
B601 Classification for Temper Designations for Copper and
Copper Alloys—Wrought and Cast 4. Ordering Information
B846 Terminology for Copper and Copper Alloys 4.1 Include the following specified choices when placing
E8/E8M Test Methods for Tension Testing of Metallic Ma- orders for products under this specification, as applicable:
terials 4.1.1 ASTM designation and year of issue,
E62 Test Methods for Chemical Analysis of Copper and 4.1.2 Copper Alloy UNS No. designation (Scope),
4.1.3 Temper designation (Temper Section),
4.1.4 Dimensions—diameter, distance between parallel
1
This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee B05 on Copper surfaces,
and Copper Alloys and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee B05.02 on Rod, 4.1.5 How furnished; length, specific or stock, with or
Bar, Wire, Shapes and Forgings. without ends,
Current edition approved April 1, 2017. Published April 2017. Originally
approved in 1941. Last previous edition approved in 2012 as B140/B140M –12. 4.1.6 Quantity; total weight or length, or number of pieces
DOI: 10.1520/B0140_B0140M-12R17. of each temper, form, and alloy, and
2
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
3
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on The last approved version of this historical standard is referenced on
the ASTM website. www.astm.org.

*A Summary of Changes section appears at the end of this standard

Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States

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 B140/B140M − 12 (2017)
4.1.7 Intended application, general use or automatic screw 7. Temper
machine use (Straightness Tolerance). 7.1 The standard tempers, as defined in Classification B601,
4.2 The following options are available but may not be for products described in this specification are O60 (soft
included unless specified at the time of placing of the order anneal), H02 (half-hard), and H04 (hard).
when required:
8. Mechanical Property Requirements
4.2.1 Certification (Specification B249/B249M),
4.2.2 Mill Test Reports (Specification B249/B249M), and 8.1 Tensile Strength Requirements:
4.2.3 If product is purchased for agencies of the U.S. 8.1.1 Product furnished under this specification shall con-
Government (Specification B249/B249M). form to the tensile requirements prescribed in Table 2 (inch-
pound units) or Table 3 (SI units) when tested in accordance
5. Material and Manufacture with Test Methods E8/E8M.
5.1 Material: 9. Dimensions, Mass and Permissible Variations
5.1.1 The material of manufacture shall be a form (cast 9.1 The dimensions and tolerances for product described by
billets, logs, or rods) of Copper Alloy UNS Nos. C31400, this specification shall be as specified in Specification B249/
C31600, or C32000 of such purity and soundness as to be B249M with particular reference to the following tables and
suitable for processing into the products prescribed herein. related paragraphs:
5.2 Manufacture: 9.2 Diameter or Distance Between Parallel Surfaces:
5.2.1 The product shall be manufactured by such hot 9.2.1 Rod—Refer to Table 1 for round, hexagonal and oc-
working, cold working, straightening, and annealing processes tagonal rod.
as to produce a uniform wrought structure in the finished 9.2.2 Bar—Refer to Table 8 for thickness and Table 10 for
product. width.
6. Chemical Composition 9.3 Length—Refer to Tables 13 and 14.
9.4 Straightness—Refer to Table 16. General use or auto-
6.1 The material shall conform to the chemical composition
matic screw machine use as chosen in the purchase order.
requirements in Table 1 for the Copper Alloy UNS No.
designation specified in the ordering information. 9.5 Shapes—The dimensional tolerances for shapes shall be
6.1.1 These composition limits do not preclude the presence agreed upon between the manufacturer or supplier and the
of other elements. By agreement between the manufacturer and purchaser and shall be specified in the order or purchase
the purchaser, limits may be established and analysis required contract.
for unnamed elements. 10. Test Methods
6.2 For alloys in which zinc is listed as the “remainder,” 10.1 Chemical Analysis:
either copper or zinc may be taken as the difference between 10.1.1 In cases of disagreement, test methods for chemical
the sum of results of all other elements determined and 100 %. analysis shall be subject to agreement between the manufac-
When copper is so determined, that difference value shall turer or supplier and the purchaser.
conform to the requirements given in Table 1. 10.1.2 The following table is a list of published test
6.3 When all elements in Table 1 are determined, the sum of methods, some of which are considered by ASTM as no longer
the results shall be 99.6 % minimum. viable. These and others not listed may be used subject to
agreement.
Element ASTM Test Method

TABLE 1 Chemical Requirements Copper E478

Composition, % Lead E478, atomic absorption
Iron E478
Element Copper Alloy UNS No. Nickel E478, photometric
C31400 C31600 C32000 Phosphorus E62
Copper 87.5 to 90.5 87.5 to 90.5 83.5 to 86.5 Zinc E478, Titrimetric
Lead 1.3 to 2.5 1.3 to 2.5 1.5 to 2.2
Iron, max 0.10 0.10 0.10
11. Keywords
Nickel 0.7 max 0.7 to 1.2 0.25 max 11.1 C31400; C31600; C32000; hardware bronze; hardware
Zinc remainder remainder remainder
Phosphorus ... 0.04 to 0.10 ... bronze rod; hardware bronze shapes; leaded brass shapes;
leaded red brass bar; leaded red brass rod

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 B140/B140M − 12 (2017)
TABLE 2 Tensile Requirements (Inch-Pound Units)
Yield Strength Elongation in
Temper Designation Tensile at 0.5 % 4 × Diameter
Copper Alloy Diameter or Distance Between
Width, in. Strength, Extension or Thickness of
UNS No. Parallel Surfaces, in.
Code Name min, ksi Under Load, Specimen
min, ksi min, %A
C31400, C31600, O60 soft anneal all forms all sizes ... 35 10 25
C32000

C31400, C31600, HO2 half hard rod: ⁄ and under

12 ... 50 30 7
C32000
over 1⁄2 to 1 ... 45 27 10
over 1 ... 40 25 12
bar: 1 and under 2 and under 40 25 12
over 1 over 2 40B 25B 12B

C31400 H04 hard rod 2 and under ... 53 40 6

C31600, C32000 H04 hard rod 2 and under ... 60 50 6

bar 1 and under 2 and under 60 50 6
A
In any case, a minimum gage length of 1 in. shall be used.
B
In the case of bars either over 1 in. in thickness or over 2 in. in width, or both, these values shall apply.

TABLE 3 Tensile Requirements (SI Units)

Yield Strength
Temper Designation Tensile at 0.5 %
Copper Alloy Diameter or Distance Between ElongationA
Width, mm Strength, Extension min, %
UNS No. Parallel Surfaces, mm
Code Name min MPa Under Load,
min, MPa
C31400, C31600, O60 Soft anneal all forms all sizes ... 240 70 25
C32000

C31400, C31600, HO2 half hard rod: 12 and under ... 345 205 7
C32000
over 12 to 25 ... 310 185 10
over 25 ... 275 170 12
bar: 25 and under 50 and under 275 170 12
over 25 over 50 275B 170B 12B

C31400 H04 hard rod 50 and under ... 365 275 6

C31600, C32000 H04 hard rod 50 and under ... 415 345 6
bar 25 and under 50 and under 415 345 6
A
Elongation values are based on a gage length of 5.65 times the square root of the area for dimensions greater than 2.5 mm.
B
In the case of bars either over 25 mm in thickness or over 50 mm in width, or both, these values shall apply.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES

Committee B05 has identified the principal changes to this specification that have been incorporated since the
2007 issue as follows:

(1) Changes made to conform to the ASTM Form and Style and
B950 guidelines.

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 B140/B140M − 12 (2017)
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