tin antimony and lead alloy is a combination of lead, tin, copper, zinc, silver, arsenic and traces of nickel. Typically it contains 1 to 6 percent antimony and the balance is lead. The most common and important tin/lead alloy is called solder, though there are many others including pewter, type metal and others. These are primarily used for electrical and mechanical applications.
Adding antimony to lead increases the hardness of the alloy while reducing its ductility. This allows it to be used for more demanding applications than pure lead. It is also much less toxic than oxidized lead. It is less soluble in water and is not absorbed through the skin as a poison. Nevertheless, it still poses a hazard when working with and handling this metal.
High antimony content lead alloys are used mainly for battery grids for starting, lighting and ignition batteries. These alloys are 3-10% less conductive than calcium or tin, which reduces battery performance. Low antimony alloys are used for castings, ballasts and wheel weights. These alloys are brittle and require special care when casting. These alloys are also prone to cracking and holes during machining. Selenium nucleant is often used to prevent these problems.
American Elements manufactures a wide variety of tin/lead alloys and other metals for numerous applications. They are available in a wide range of machined shapes including bar, ingot, ribbon, wire, shot and sheet. They are also available in ultra high purity forms such as metallic powder, submicron and nanoscale, and targets for chemical vapor deposition and physical vapor deposition.