Melting

• The copper and zinc used within the manufacturing process are transported to a furnace to be melted down. Initially, the copper is put into the furnace and heated to temperatures up to 1920 degrees Fahrenheit. Once in a molten form, the zinc is then added to the furnace. Often, the amount of zinc added into the furnace will need to be topped up due to evaporation.
  
  

Rolling

• The molten material is then poured into molds and left to cool. The shape of the mold is dependent on the requirements of the finished product. The brass mixture is then reheated and entered into a rolling device which will roll out the mold, gradually forming a sheet. The sheet continues to pass through the rollers until the desired thickness of the sheet is reached. The sheet will then pass through a machine called a scraper, which removes any oxides on the surface layers of the sheet.
  
  

Annealing

• To enable the brass to be rolled into an even thinner sheet, annealing of the sheet needs to take place. This involves the reheating of the sheet to allow the material to regain its malleable qualities that it gradually loses due to cooling during the initial rolling process. The sheets are then put through another set of rollers which roll the sheet to a lower thickness. This process may be repeated a number of times in order to create thinner sheeting. Each time this is done, the brass becomes weaker and less and less malleable.
  
  

Finish

• The sheets are finished by passing through another roller to ensure a smooth surface finish. They are then cut to the required shapes and sizes, enabling the metal to be transported to another location where individual objects are formed out of the brass.