Material for a stamped spring contact should be chosen from what the part actually has to do, and the requirements usually pull in different directions.

Where the contact will be deflected repeatedly at high frequency and under significant load, the answer is a spring material: spring steel, high-carbon steel, or a high-hardness stainless. These are formed and then heat treated and quenched, which raises hardness and gives the part the fatigue life to survive a large number of press cycles without taking a permanent set.

Where the requirement is electrical instead — good conductivity, easy soldering, resistance to acids and alkalis — the answer is a copper alloy. Phosphor bronze and beryllium copper are the usual choices, and both can be plated with gold, silver, nickel or tin to tune contact resistance and corrosion behaviour at the mating surface.

Beryllium copper deserves a specific note: it offers the best combination of spring properties and conductivity available, but it is expensive and requires controlled handling during machining. We specify it where the application genuinely needs both properties, and phosphor bronze where it does not.