Features of brass
Brass is a copper and zinc alloy and usually consists of over 20% zinc. Brass has been used for a long time as a strong, ductile and workable alloy and has been used as a substitute for gold since it has a similar golden color shine. In Japan it has been widely used for Buddhist equipment and many brass instruments are made from it. The 5-yen coin is also made from brass. It has the following names depending on the proportion of zinc present.
Red brass: From 5% but less than 20% zinc
70-30 brass: 30% zinc
60-40 brass: 40% zinc
There are many other varieties of brass including free-cutting brass, with an addition of lead to increase its machinability, and naval brass, with additional tin to increase its resistance to damage from seawater.
Varieties of brass sheets and strips

Varieties of Brass
Name	JIS	Main components	Usage
Brass	C2600	Cu-Zn(30)	Automobile radiators, cartridges, springs
	C2680	Cu-Zn(35)	Automobile radiators, snap fasteners, buttons, cameras, mounting brackets, switch terminals
	C2720	Cu-Zn(37)	Metal goods, thin ties/clamps
	C2801	Cu-Zn(40)	Mounting bracket parts, name plates, measuring devices, switch terminals, general sheet metal

Copper alloy features
Copper is made into many alloys through combination with zinc, lead, tin, aluminum, nickel, beryllium, phosphorous, silicon and additional elements. There are also many products are made including sheets, strips, tubes, poles, and lines many methods including rolling, molding, extraction and forging (hot and cold). Copper and copper alloys are very ductile and are good at being worked on, including rolling, drawing, aperture and bending, this is the origin of copper and copper-alloy based products. Copper and copper-alloys are good for being worked on when hot, and particularly good at drawing and hot forging. They also create complicated shapes. Further, copper and copper-alloy based products are non-magnetic and so are often used in electric meters.
Varieties of copper alloys

Main varieties of copper and copper alloys
Variety	Alloy type	Alloy name
Pure copper	Cu	Oxygen-free, Tough-pitch, Deoxidized-copper
High copper alloy	Cu-Be-Co alloys	Beryllium copper
	Cu-Cr alloys	Chrome copper
Brass	Cu-Zn alloys	Red brass, 7/3 brass, 6/4 brass, 65/35 brass
	Cu-Zn-Pｂ alloys	Free-cutting brass
	Cu-Zn-Sn alloys	Naval brass, Admiralty brass
	Cu-Zn-Al alloys	Aluminum brass
	Cu-Zn-Mn-Al－Fe alloys	High tension brass
Bronze	Cu-Sn alloys	Tin bronze
	Cu-Sn-P alloys	Phosphor bronze, free-cutting phosphor bronze
Special Bronze	Cu-Al-Fe-Mn-Ni alloys	Aluminum bronze
	Cu-Si alloys	Silicon bronze
Copper-Nickel Compounds	Cu-Ni alloys	Nickel, Cupronickel
	Cu-Ni-Zn alloys	Nickel silver, free-cutting nickel silver