Choosing the Right Material for Your Project
Metal happens to be one of the most common materials used in a wide variety of applications. The range of industries that metal is sued includes the construction, aeronautic, manufacturing and automotive industries. Considering that some of the applications where metal is used are very sensitive in nature, there is always the underlying need to choose the right metal for a specific industrial application. It is very easy to choose the wrong metal for a certain application but the downside of such a move is that the results can be catastrophic. Some of the applications require high financial allocations meaning that choosing the wrong metal can have far reaching effects on the users. Even industrial experts sometimes go wrong when choosing a metal for a certain project. The reason for this is that the differences between different metals go way above the physical attributes. There are chemical characteristics that have an effect on the metal and that cannot be noticed at first glan
The Right Metals and Alloys for the Job
Metals are among the most important construction materials the human race has ever used; in fact, a number of prehistoric eras are named after the most commonly used metals of the time, such as the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The Industrial Revolution allowed for the mass production of steel for the first time, and this completely transformed construction for buildings, vehicles, and weapons of war. Today, steel mills around the world can make thin sheet metal products of all sorts, and many grades of steel exist, from 304 stainless steel to high-yield steel for making I-beams. Some thin sheet metal pieces may be made of aluminum instead, another valuable metal, or perhaps they are made of copper and brass or related alloys. When might steel be used, and in what situations should thin sheet metal be made of alloys instead?