You’ll know from our previous
articles that metals are our thing. As specialists in wire
forming, welding, fabrication, machining, presswork, thread rolling and screw
cutting, there’s not much we can’t do or don’t know about metal.
Day in, day out we work with a wide range of metals, but on the whole,
we mainly tend to work with stainless steels, mild steels, brass and aluminium.
And while none of these materials
present any particular problems for us when we process them, it’s always best
practice to take note of their properties, which we’ve summed up below:
Stainless steels
We work with up to 15mm
diameter stainless steel and carry out presswork with this particular metal,
using presses that weigh up to 40 tonnes.
Stainless steels are becoming
increasingly popular due to their attractive appearance, corrosion resistance,
low maintenance and strength. But for all of their benefits, they are more
expensive than mild steels. However, when considered from a longer-term
perspective, they can be more economically-viable once service life and
lifecycle costs have been factored in.
All stainless steels contain
various amounts of chromium, which gives them their attractive, bright finish. The
chromium in the alloy forms a self-healing protective clear oxide layer that
makes stainless steels corrosion-resistant.
The self-healing nature of
the oxide layer means the corrosion resistance remains intact, regardless of
fabrication methods. Even if the material surface is cut or damaged, it will self-heal
and corrosion resistance will be maintained for many years.
Although the corrosion
resistance of stainless steels comes from the presence of chromium, other
elements are also added to enhance other properties, such as nickel, copper,
titanium and molybdenum, for instance. These additions can make the steel
suited to high temperature applications and increase corrosion resistance. As a
result, stainless steels have a huge variety of uses, ranging from surgical
equipment, domestic equipment, automotive parts and heat exchangers, to many
architectural applications.
Mild steels
Mild steels are made up of
iron and carbon and are one of the most commonly-used construction materials.
Known as mild steels because
of their relatively low carbon content, this metal is very strong and can be
made from readily-available natural materials. There are a variety of mild
steels, depending on the content, and alloying elements besides carbon that
give them certain desirable mechanical properties.
We often work with up to 16mm
diameter mild steel wire and carry out presswork using presses weighing up to
40 tonnes. Of all the metals we work with, mild steels are one of the easiest
materials to weld.
Mild steels are easier to
work with because they’re quite malleable and are cheaper than stainless steels.
And they’re very versatile, strong, cost effective and easy to manufacture,
thanks to their low carbon content. As such, they’re extensively used in the
construction industry and for machined parts, pipelines and many other
applications.
Brass
This is a material we tend to
work with every now and again. Brass is
an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions that can be varied to achieve different
mechanical and electrical properties.
It's an ideal alloy for transporting
water through pipes and fittings and also lends itself well to marine engines
and pump parts. It therefore shouldn’t come as any surprise that one
of the first commercial uses of brass was on naval ships.
For more information or to discuss your metal forming
requirements with us, contact us on sales@rochfordengineering.co.uk or 0121 773 0465.
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