C17500 and C17510 Copper Alloy Material

Created at : May 1, 2023

Copper Alloys C17500 and C17510 Material

Copper alloys C17500 and C17510, also known as Beryllium Copper Alloys, both have very good mechanical strength and moderate conductivity that are used in a variety of applications, including welding electrodes, bearings, and electrical connectors.  The primary difference between the two alloys is the type of alloying element that is used to strengthen them. C17500 is alloyed with cobalt, while C17510 is alloyed with nickel, the performance is the same.

C17510 was developed from C17500 to replace cobalt with a better alloying agent, nickel, with  cost advantages. Cobalt is more expensive than nickel. C17510 is more popular with the US distributors to meet the market demands.

Both copper alloys C17500 and C17510 are precipitation-hardenable beryllium copper alloys, but they have different chemical compositions and properties.

• C17500 is a nickel-free beryllium copper alloy with a nominal composition of 0.5% Beryllium, 2.5% Cobalt, balance Copper.
• C17510 is a nickel-beryllium copper alloy with a nominal composition of 0.5% Beryllium, 2.5% Nickel, balance Copper.

Ultimately, both alloys are comparable and meet the requirements for Class 3 electrode material for resistance welding.

Reference: Table D.2 Material Cross Reference     AWS J1.3/J1/3M:2020

For a beryllium free copper alloy try RWMA Class 3 C18000.