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MICROSCRAPPINGE-waste field guide

☣ Beryllium copper

caution

Where you meet it: Connector springs, battery contacts, RF finger stock, EMI gaskets, spring probes, relay blades

What you need to know

BeCu is safe to handle, cut and shear cold. This one is manageable — you just have to know the boundary.
The danger is grinding, sanding, abrasive cutting, welding, torching or melting, all of which generate respirable beryllium.
It's visually near-identical to phosphor bronze. If a gold-pin lot might contain RF or socket springs, do not incinerate it — which rules out the standard hobbyist incinerate-then-leach workflow.

The rule: NEVER put BeCu in a grinder, a sandblaster, or a melt.

Components this applies to

Pogo Pins & Spring-Loaded Test Probes Contacts & relays · $200–500/lb Au 1.4–3.0 g/lbCu ~330 g/lbBase steel springs S Thick-Film Hybrid Microcircuits ICs & chips · $15–90/lb Au 1.5–4 g/lb packaged; 5–10 g/lb stripped substratesAg 0–15 g/lb on Ag/Pd conductor variantsPd present in Ag/Pd pastes S Aerospace Connectors & Backshells Contacts & relays · $25–70/lb Au 0.3–0.8 g/lb complete; ~3.6 g/lb de-populated contactsCu ~80 g/lbBase Backshells: ~0 g Au/lb A Gold-plated connectors Connectors & pins · $113–136/lb Au 0.3–1.0 g/lb wholeBase brass A Gold-plated pins Connectors & pins · $180–280/lb Au 0.7–1.5 g/lb mixedBase brass A IC Test, Burn-In & ZIF Sockets Contacts & relays · $15–60/lb Au 0.5–2 g/lb complete; 3–8 g/lb de-populated contactsCu ~60 g/lbPd Pd-Ni with gold flash on high-cycle sockets A Mil Circular Connectors (D38999/MS) Contacts & relays · $25–60/lb Au 0.20–0.50 g/lb whole; 2.5–4.0 g/lb de-pinned contactsCu ~80 g/lbBase 70–85% Al 6061-T6 shell A Card sockets — PCMCIA, CF, SD, SIM Contacts & relays · $60–250/lb Au 0.8–2.5 g/lbCu ~150 g/lb B IBM Multi-Chip / Thermal Conduction Modules Processors · $36–115/lb Au 1–5 g per module ≈ 0.3–0.7 g/lbCu ~48 g/lbBase Mo internal wiring B Machined-pin DIP sockets (gold barrel) Contacts & relays · $120–300/lb Au 1.0–2.4 g/lbCu ~250 g/lb B RF Coaxial Connectors (SMA/N/BNC/TNC) Connectors & pins · $15–35/lb Au 0.10–0.40 g/lb (SMA); 0.01–0.05 g/lb (N/BNC)Cu ~190 g/lbAg trace B Beryllium copper contacts ☣ Contacts & relays · $6–15/lb Au 0.5–1.5 g/lb when platedCu ~98% C ECU / engine control module Automotive · $3–8/lb Au 0.11 g/lb of bare boardAg 0.45 g/lbPd 0.05 g/lbCu ~20% of board mass C Tactile switches and metal dome contacts Contacts & relays · $20–70/lb Au 0.05–0.4 g/lbAg 1–3 g/lbCu ~60 g/lb D Trimmer Potentiometers (Cermet) Contacts & relays · $5–15/lb Au <0.15 g/lbBase Ru ~0.05–0.20 mg per unitPd <0.5 mg per unit D USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, RJ45 & audio jacks Contacts & relays · $15–60/lb Au 0.1–0.5 g/lbCu ~80 g/lb D

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