How advanced silver-alloy contact technology helps you reduce material costs while maintaining reliability

If you manufacture relays, contactors, switches, or circuit breakers, you’ve felt the squeeze. Silver prices remain volatile, and silver-based electrical contacts can account for a significant portion of your component costs. Yet you can’t compromise on performance—contact failure means field failures, warranty claims, and damaged customer relationships.

There is a better way.

The Better Way – Silver Allocation, Not Silver Reduction

At our company, we don’t believe in “cheapening” contacts. We believe in precision silver engineering.

We produce silver-alloy electrical contacts (AgNi, AgSnO₂, AgWC, AgC, and custom grades) that are formulated to match or exceed the performance of higher-purity silver in your specific switching duty – whether it’s resistive, inductive, or motor load.

1. Clad/inlay technology– We apply the silver alloy only where the arc strikes the working surface. The base body uses copper or copper alloys. This structural approach alone cuts silver consumption by 30–60%, depending on part geometry.

This is a commonly used method in the industry. It involves replacing the solid rivet with a triple or double composite rivet. Depending on the market being served, some require a very thick silver layer, while others only need a very thin one. Many companies can handle standard proportions, but ultra-thick and ultra-thin silver layers require advanced technology and specialized machinery. At SHZHJ, we can research and modify machinery, as well as experienced technicians with over ten years of experience, to meet your diverse needs.

2. Alloy optimization– It is possible to adjust the metal matrix and additive ratio to maintain arc erosion resistance and low contact resistance, while lowering the overall silver content.

However, in this direction, there is usually a difficulty, which is the issue of minimum order quantity. If the demand is high and your company can afford the upfront development costs, this is a way that can help your company maintain its unique advantage.

3. Technical support–Silver can also be saved through technology. While the silver layer boundary lines are typically drawn as straight lines on blueprints, in actual production, the silver layer is curved. Therefore, to achieve the required silver layer thickness, a higher weight of silver is used than theoretically. If the upsetting technique is good, the silver layer can be spread as evenly as possible, reducing waste. SHZHJ’s self-developed machine can optimize the silver layer structure, saving silver weight and reducing your costs. However, our machine is not for sale. You can send an inquiry to our email address: info@shzhj.com.