Metal Forging: Bronze, Copper & Brass Forgings to Your Specifications
Aviva Metals supplies bronze, copper, and brass forgings produced to your engineering drawings and material specifications. Whether your application calls for a single prototype or a high-volume production run, we work with forging partners across the United States to produce near-net shape parts that reduce your machining time, material waste, and overall project cost.
With over 40 years in the copper alloy industry and certifications including AS9120B and AS9100D based on ISO 9001:2015, Aviva Metals brings the material expertise, quality infrastructure, and supply chain depth that forging projects require. We handle alloy sourcing, forging coordination, and quality documentation under one roof, simplifying your procurement process.
What Is Forged Metal?
For engineers and procurement teams evaluating forging metals against casting or machining from bar stock, it helps to understand what makes the forging process distinct.
Metal forging is a manufacturing process in which heated metal is shaped using compressive force applied through precision dies. In a typical closed-die forging operation, a billet is heated to a temperature where the alloy becomes highly plastic, then placed into a die cavity. A forging press or hammer drives the material into the die, forming the part in one or two strokes. The finished component has a dense, uniform grain structure that follows the contour of the part geometry.
This grain flow is one of the key reasons engineers turn to forged metal over cast alternatives. Because the metal is physically deformed rather than poured into a mold, forgings are free of the porosity, shrinkage cavities, and inclusions that can compromise cast parts. Forged components exhibit improved tensile strength, fatigue resistance, and impact toughness compared to equivalent castings.
Why Copper, Brass, & Bronze Alloys Forge Well
Copper, brass, and bronze alloys are particularly compatible with forging. Their ductility at elevated temperatures allows complex geometries to be formed in a single press stroke, often without the reheating or re-striking that harder metals require. This translates to lower die costs, faster cycle times, and reduced per-part expense at production volumes.
Bronze Forgings
Bronze alloys are commonly specified for forgings that require corrosion resistance, wear resistance, or both. Aviva Metals supplies bronze forgings in alloys including aluminum bronze, silicon bronze, phosphor bronze, and manganese bronze.
- Aluminum bronze (C63000, C63200, C95400, C95500): marine hardware, valve components, pump impellers, and heavy-duty bearing applications where saltwater exposure or high mechanical loads are present
- Silicon bronze (C65100, C65500): hardware, fasteners, and structural fittings where weldability and resistance to stress corrosion cracking are priorities
- Phosphor bronze and manganese bronze: spring components, gear blanks, and load-bearing wear parts
Bronze forge operations produce parts with excellent surface finish and dimensional consistency, reducing secondary machining before assembly.
Copper Forgings
Copper forgings are used where electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, or both are the primary performance requirements. Forged copper retains up to 95 to 100 percent of its conductivity while gaining the mechanical advantages of a wrought grain structure.
- Oxygen-free copper (C10200) and ETP copper (C11000): electrical connectors, busbars, heat sinks, switchgear components, and welding equipment
- Oxygen-free silver-bearing copper (C10400): applications requiring a balance of conductivity and hydrogen embrittlement resistance
- Beryllium copper (C17200): components that need both high strength and good electrical performance, such as springs and contacts
The copper forge process produces fully dense parts with no porosity, which is critical in applications where leak integrity or consistent conductivity across the part cross-section is required.
Brass Forgings
Brass is one of the most forgeable metals in commercial use. Forging brass (C37700) is rated at 100% forgeability and serves as the benchmark against which other copper alloys are measured. Brasses with 35 to 40 percent zinc content are rated at approximately 90%, making the brass forge process efficient and cost-effective at high volumes.
- Forging brass (C37700): valve bodies, plumbing fittings, and general-purpose components produced at high volume
- Free-cutting brass (C36000): parts that require extensive post-forging machining
- Naval brass (C46400) and leaded naval brass (C48500): marine fittings and hardware requiring corrosion resistance in saltwater
Brass forgings accept polishing and plating with minimal surface preparation, which is a significant advantage for decorative and consumer-facing applications.
Advantages of Forged Bronze, Copper & Brass Components
Choosing between forging, casting, and machining from bar stock comes down to what your application requires and what your budget allows. For many bronze, brass, and copper alloy components, forging offers a combination of structural performance, cost control, and production efficiency that the alternatives struggle to match.
Near-Net Shape Production
Forgings are formed close to the finished part geometry, which reduces the amount of material removed in secondary machining. This lowers cycle time and scrap rates compared to machining from a solid bar or plate.
Structural Integrity
Forged metal has a continuous grain flow that follows the shape of the part, eliminating the porosity and voids found in castings. Parts exhibit higher tensile and fatigue strength as a result.
Leak Resistance
The fully dense structure of forgings makes them excellent options for pressure-containing applications such as valve bodies, fittings, and hydraulic components.
Dimensional Consistency
Die-forged parts hold close tolerances with minimal variation from piece to piece, which supports automated handling and assembly in downstream operations.
Cost Efficiency at Volume
While die tooling requires upfront investment, the per-piece cost of forged parts drops significantly at production quantities. Copper, brass, and bronze alloys can often be forged in a single press stroke with single-cavity dies, keeping tooling costs lower than with harder metals that require progressive dies.
Surface Quality
Bronze, brass, and copper forgings produce a surface finish that requires less grinding and sanding before polishing or coating, which reduces finishing labor.
Our Forging Process
Aviva Metals manages the forging process from material sourcing through finished part shipment.
- Specification review: Our team reviews your drawings, alloy requirements, tolerances, and quality documentation needs. We advise on alloy selection if you're evaluating multiple options for your application.
- Alloy sourcing: We source forging billet from our own inventory or through our mill network, ensuring the starting material meets the chemistry and grain structure requirements for your forging.
- Forging coordination: We work with forging foundry partners across the USA who specialize in copper alloy forging. Die design, forging method (open die or closed die), and production scheduling are coordinated to meet your timeline.
- Quality and documentation: Mill certifications, material test reports, dimensional inspection data, and any additional compliance documentation are provided with every shipment. Our certified quality management system ensures traceability from raw material through finished forging.
- Secondary operations: If your project requires machining, heat treatment, or finishing after forging, we can coordinate these operations so that parts arrive ready for assembly.
Request a Quote for Bronze, Copper & Brass Forgings
Whether you need a single prototype or a blanket production order, Aviva Metals can source, coordinate, and document your copper alloy forging project from start to finish. Provide your alloy, part drawing, quantity, and any special requirements, and our team will respond with a detailed quote.
Frequently Asked Questions About Metal Forging
What is the typical lead time for a forging order?
Lead times vary depending on alloy availability, die requirements, and order quantity. Standard alloy forgings using existing dies can ship in weeks. New die programs or non-standard alloys may require longer planning windows. Contact us with your specifications, and we'll provide a detailed timeline.
Is there a minimum order quantity?
We support both prototype quantities and production volumes. Short runs can be cost-effective when your application has specific design requirements such as leak integrity, close tolerances, or non-standard geometry that would be difficult or wasteful to machine from bar stock.
Can you provide forgings with machining already completed?
Yes. We can coordinate post-forging machining so that parts are shipped as finished or semi-finished components, ready for your assembly process.