Despite its lower electrical conductivity, the good spring properties, high corrosion resistance and the good workability make copper-nickel-zinc alloys a frequently used spring contact carrier in switches and relays. As illustrated in the phase diagram, the most commonly used materials are in the &alpha; -range which means that they are single-phase alloys (<xr id="fig:Copper rich region of the ternary copper-nickel-zinc phase diagram with indication of the more commonly available german silver materials"/><!--(Fig. 5.14)-->). The formability and strength properties of german silver are comparable to those of the copper-tin alloys. The work hardening and softening behavior is illustrated on the example of CuNi12Zn24 in <xr id="fig:Strain hardening of CuNi12Zn24 by cold working"/><!--Figures 5.15--> and <xr id="fig:Softening of CuNi12Zn24 after 3 hrs annealing after 50% cold working"/><!--5.16-->.