Why Materion's Brush 60 alloy quietly matters in electric motors

Reviewed: ad hoc news Accessory & Components desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-18, 00:38. Details in the imprint.

With Brush 60 copper beryllium alloy, Materion Corp offers a material that most consumers never see, but many rely on every day when a motor starts cleanly or a connector never loosens. The strip and wire feel unassuming, yet they are built for brutal duty cycles.

What Brush 60 is built for

Brush 60 is a high-strength copper beryllium alloy that Materion supplies mainly as strip and wire for demanding electrical and mechanical parts. According to the official product datasheet, it is designed for springs, connectors and other components that see constant flexing under load.

The alloy aims to combine high strength with very good electrical and thermal conductivity. Engineers reach for it when plain copper would deform too quickly, but a full steel solution would be too heavy or conduct too poorly, especially in tight motor or relay housings.

Strength, fatigue life, conductivity

Compared with standard copper alloys, Materion specifies that Brush 60 can reach tensile strengths in the range of certain low-alloy steels while still keeping significantly higher conductivity. That mix lets designers shrink parts without sacrificing current-carrying capacity.

The manufacturer also emphasizes the alloy's resistance to stress relaxation, the slow loss of spring force that can loosen a contact over time. In hot engine compartments or sealed power electronics, that property can be the difference between a connector that stays tight and one that causes intermittent faults.

Typical use cases in the field

Brush 60 lives in places consumers rarely notice: flat springs on circuit breakers, precision terminals in automotive connectors, motor brush components and switch elements in industrial gear. The material stays under constant tension, clicks, and vibrations for thousands of cycles.

Because of its strength, designers can make slimmer contact beams that still grip firmly. That frees space in connector housings, which matters when an EV platform has to route dozens of high-current lines without growing bulky wiring looms.

Processing and safety considerations

Materion supplies Brush 60 in various tempers and thicknesses so manufacturers can stamp, form and heat-treat parts to their exact spring characteristics. The alloy responds predictably in carefully controlled production, which is crucial for high-volume automotive and industrial programs.

As with other beryllium-containing alloys, processing requires strict dust control and industrial hygiene. In finished, solid form the parts are stable; the critical phase is machining or grinding, where fine particles must be captured and handled under regulated safety standards.

Where it fits in Materion's portfolio

Brush 60 sits alongside other copper beryllium and high-performance alloys in Materion's Performance Alloys and Composites segment. That business serves sectors from automotive and energy to aerospace, where reliability is priceless and failures are unacceptable.

The company positions these alloys as enablers of miniaturization and higher power density in electrified platforms. While the end user only feels that a device simply works, the material choice in the background quietly shapes weight, size and service life.

Context for investors and the stock

For Materion, alloys like Brush 60 are part of a broader strategy to supply critical materials into growth markets such as electric vehicles, advanced semiconductors and industrial automation. The company highlights engineered alloys as one of its core long-term growth drivers.

Shares of Materion Corp (US5766901012) trade on the New York Stock Exchange in US dollars.

This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.