Metals We Use

Workshop Technology – I
Moaqir Ahmad
Introduction

◼ Play important role in our everyday life

◼ Generally strong, tough and can withstand heat
without melting, however:-
– Mercury is liquid at room temperature
– Gallium melts in palm of your hand
– Lithium can be scratched with fingernail
◼ Metals are classified as follows:-
– Ferrous
– Non ferrous
– Precious
– High temperature
– Rare metal

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Ferrous Metals

◼ Iron is the basic ingredient of these metals

◼ Cast Iron
– Hard and brittle
– Excellent wear resistant
– Contains 3 to 4% carbon
– White cast iron, malleable iron, gray iron
◼ Wrought Iron
– Most of the carbon is removed
– Tough and bends easily
– Rusts slowly
– Used in ornamental work
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Ferrous Metals (cont’d)

◼ Steel
– Is an alloy of iron and other chemical elements
– Alloying elements impart certain desirable characteristics
◼ Carbon Steels
– Classified by percentage of carbon
– Low carbon steel – contains less than 0.3% carbon, easy to
work, can be welded but not hardened
– Medium carbon steel – contains 0.3 t0 0.6% carbon,
hammer heads, clamps and other tools
– High carbon steel – contains 0.6 to 1.5% carbon, products
that are heat treated are made with this metal

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Ferrous Metals (cont’d)

◼ Alloy Steels – Chromium, magnesium, molybdenum,

nickel, tungsten and vanadium are used to make
steel harder, tougher and stronger
◼ Tool Steels
– Dense steels containing high percentage of carbon or high
alloy content or both
– Tough so that tools hold cutting edge
◼ High Speed Steels – Capable of making deeper cuts
at higher machine speeds
◼ Tungsten Carbide – used for good quality tools
– Hardest human made metal, as hard as diamond
– Shaped by molding tungsten, carbon and cobalt powders
under heat and pressure in a process called sintering
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Ferrous Metals (cont’d)

◼ Stainless Steel
– More than 100 types
– Contain chromium to make metal corrosion resistant

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Steel Terminology

◼ Rods, bars, plates, sheets and structural shapes are produced

by passing steel through series of forming rolls
◼ Rolling reduces INGOT (unfinished steel mass) into
– BLOOM – semi finished bar with cross sectional area of more than
36 in
– BILLET – longer and smaller in cross section than bloom
– SLAB – several times wider than bloom or billet
◼ Hot rolled steel is shaped when red hot
◼ Hot rolled steel shapes are Pickled – passed through acid to
remove oxidation coatings
◼ Cold finished steel is rolled cold into final shape and size
◼ Cold drawn steel - pulled or drawn through a series of smooth
holes, for better finish
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Non Ferrous Metals

◼ Metals that do not have iron as basic ingredient

◼ Aluminum
– Consists of a large family of aluminum alloys
– Soft and strong
– Strength can be increase by adding alloy elements, heat
treating or cold working
– Alloying elements also improve welding characteristics,
corrosion resistance and machinability
◼ Magnesium
– Lightest of structural metals
– High strength to weight and excellent machinability

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Non Ferrous Metals (cont’d)

◼ Titanium
– One of the space age metals
– As strong as steel but only half as heavy
– Most titanium alloys are capable of continuous operation at
temperatures of about 800o F
◼ Beryllium
– Originally developed for specialized tasks
– Nuclear applications and light weight aerospace parts
– High strength to weight ration, lighter than aluminum alloys
but is expensive

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Non Ferrous Metals (cont’d)

◼ Copper
– Base metal and is oldest metal known
– Rich reddish brown color
– Good conductor of electricity, second to silver
– Can be shaped easily
◼ Brass
– Alloy of copper and zinc
– Commercial brass contains 90% copper and 10% zinc
◼ Bronze
– Composed of copper and tin
– Harder than brass and more expensive
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Non Ferrous Metals (cont’d)

◼ Zinc
– Its alloys resist many forms of corrosion
– Available in wire, sheet, foil and rods
– Familiar as protective coating on steel and iron – galvanizing
◼ Tin
– Soft, shiny, silvery metal and is rarely used except as
alloying agent
– Non toxic so used in food cans

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Precious Metals

◼ Silver
– When combined with 7.6% of copper is called sterling silver
– Readily shaped, cast and formed
– Excellent conductor of electricity
◼ Gold
– Can be easily shaped by hammering or rolling (malleable)
– Resists attack by acids
◼ Platinum
– Resistant to most chemicals
– Used in manufacture of electronics devices used in space,
chemical and lab equipment

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High Temperature Metals

◼ Ability of maintaining high strength operated for extended

periods at elevated temperatures
◼ Columbium – used in aerospace industry
◼ Nickel Base Alloys – used in jet engines, rocket engines, and
eclectic heat furnaces
◼ Tantalum – new metal and used for filament in bulbs
◼ Tungsten
– Melts at 6200o F
– Not resistant to oxidation at high temperatures so requires coating
– Spark plug electrodes in welding, resistant to electric spark erosion
– Production is expensive due to high melting temperatures

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Rare Metals

◼ Available in small quantities for experimental purpose

only
– Yttrium
– Cerium
– Europium

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Questions