Changes

Since Pd was for the longest time rather stable in price , it was looked at seen as a substitute for the more expensive gold. This was followed by a steep increase in the Pd price , which caused a significant reduction in its use in electrical contacts. Today (2011) the Pd price again is lower than that of gold.

Alloys of Pt with Ru, Ir, Ni, and W were widely used in electromechanical components in the telecommunication industry and in heavy duty automotive breaker points (<xr id="tab:Physical Properties of platinum metals"/><!--(Tab. 2.7)-->).

Today these components have been replaced in many applications by solid state technology and the usage of these materials is greatly reduced. Pd alloys however have a more significant importance. PdCu15 is widely used , for example in automotive flasher relays. Because of their resistance to sulfide formation PdAg alloys are applied in various relay designs. The With the ability to thermally precipitation harden some multi component alloys based on PdAgAuPt , they find special usage in wear resistant sliding contact applications. Pd44Ag38Cu15PtAuZn is a standard alloy in this group (<xr id="tab:Mechanical_Properties_of_the_Platinum_Metals_and_their_Alloys"/><!--(Tab 2.8)--> und and <xr id="tab:Contact_and_Switching_Properties_of_the_Platinum_Metals_and_their_Alloys"/><!--(Tab. 2.9)-->).

Platinum and palladium alloys are mainly used similar to the gold based materials in the form of welded wire and profile segments but rarely as contact rivets. Because of Due to the high precious metal prices , joining technologies are used , that allow the most economic application of the contact alloy in the area where functionally needed. Because For reason of their resistance to material transfer they are used for DC applications and due to their higher arc erosion resistance , they are applied for medium electrical loads up to about 30W in relays and switches (<xr id="fig:Application_Examples_and_Form_of_Supply_for_Platinum_Metals_and_their_Alloys"/><!--(Table 2.10)-->). Multi-component alloys based on Pd with higher hardness and wear resistance are mainly used as spring arms in sliding contact systems and DC miniature motors.