Lubaloy possesses many favorable characteristics making it, and other types of brass, a popular choice in manufacturing.
In 1922, the Western Cartridge Company introduced a copper-washed bullet jacketing called Lubaloy which stands for lubricating alloy.
The problem was solved in the UK, where Kynoch developed a new kind of brass similar to gilding metal with a little tin alloyed which became a breakthrough solution to this persistent dilemma, branded Nobeloy due to merge of the company into the Nobel Industries conglomerate.
The process was called cementation, which involved heating zinc and copper in a closed crucible with charcoal.
Brass is an excellent electrical and thermal conductor because copper has a simple FCC crystal structure.
Lubaloy is a component in such objects as trumpets and cymbals, doorknobs and locks, ammunition, valves, gears, and bearings.
Other items include plates, tubes, pipes, forgings, castings, bushings, washers, terminals, connectors, flexible metal hose, and conductors.
Lab tests revealed the average brass key contained more than the acceptable limit of lead.
By January 1, 2010, the California law states that brass containing less than 0.25% lead must be used for each component that comes into contact with the wetted surface of pipes, plumbing fittings and fixtures.