LESSON 3

METALS AND METAL WORKING PROCESSES

Overview:
This lesson covers classifications of metal and their distinct properties,
casting, forming, heat treatment and fabrication processes.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, the students can:
1. Describe the distinct properties of the general classifications of metal
2. Name common metal alloys and discuss the effect of some alloying elements
3. Name common metal casting processes and explain these processes
4. List common metal heat treatment processes and enumerate the effects of the
processes to the properties of the metal.
5. Discuss metal fabrication processes

Materials Needed:
Hand-outs, Chalkboard/chalk, Eraser, Laptop, Projector and PPT
presentation

Duration: 15 hours

Learning Content:
3.1 CLASSIFICATIONS OF METAL AND THEIR DISTINCT PROPERTIES

Metals can be divided into two main groups: ferrous metals are those which
contain iron and non-ferrous metals that are those which contain no iron.
Ferrous Metals
Pure Iron is of little use as an engineering material because it is too soft and
ductile. By adding carbon to the iron however, we can produce a range of alloys
with quite different properties. We call these the carbon steels.

Carbon Steels: their properties and uses

Mild Steel: carbon content between 0,1% and 0,3%. Properties: less ductile but
harder and tougher than iron, grey color, corrodes easily. Uses: girders or
beams, screws, nut and bolts, nails, scaffolding, car bodies, storage units, oil
drums.
Medium carbon steel contains between 0,3% and 0,7% carbon. Properties:
harder and less ductile than mild steel, tough and have a high tensile
strength. Uses: it's used for the manufacture of products which have to be tough
and hard wearing like gears, tools, keys, etc
High carbon steel contains between 0,7% and 1,3% carbon. Properties: Very
hard and brittle material. Uses: It's used for cutting tools and products which have
to withstand wear such as guillotine, springs, etc.
Stainless steel are iron and chromium alloys. A wide range of steels are available
with chromium content between 13% and 27%. Properties: Chromium prevents
rusting with an oxide film. Ductility, hardness and tensile strength. It's also a
shiny attractive metal. Uses: Cutlery, sinks, pipes, car pieces, etc.

Grey Cast Iron is an alloy of iron (94%), carbon (3%) silicon (2%) and some
traces of magnesium, sulphur and phosphorous. Properties: brittle but extremely
hard and resistant, it corrodes by rusting. Uses: pistons, machinery parts, streets
lamps, drain covers, tools.

Other chemical elements can be added to steel, to improve or achieve certain

properties. Here are some examples:
▪ Silicon makes the alloy magnetic and improves elasticity.
▪ Manganese makes the alloy harder and heat-resistant. It's used to make
stainless steel.
▪ Nickel improves strenght and prevents corrosion.
▪ Tungsten makes the steel harder, more heat-resistant and prevents
corrosion.
▪ Chromium makes the alloy harder and tougher and more rustproof.
Non-ferrous Metals
They are metals that don't contain iron. They have a lot of uses but they are often
expensive because they are more difficult to extract.

Aluminum
It's the most abundant metal in the earth's crust and after steel, is the most
widely used of all the metals, today. Properties: Silvery white color, light, highly
resistant to corrosion, soft, malleable and ductile, low density, good conductor of
both electricity and heat. Uses: high voltage power lines, planes, cars, bicycles,
light metal work. roofing and windows and doors units, decoration, kitchen tools
and drink cans.
Copper
It's a pure metal that is the world's third most important metal, in terms of volume
of consumption. Properties: a reddish-brown metal, ductile and moderately
strong, very good conductor of electricity and heat. It corrodes very easily. Uses:
electrical wire, telephone lines, domestic hot water cylinder and pipes, car
radiator core, decoration, architecture.

Brass
This term "brass" covers a wide range of copper-zinc alloys. Properties: It's gold
in color. It has very good anticorrosive properties and it's resistant to wear. Uses:
Handicrafts, jewelry, plumbing, capacitors and turbine.

Magnesium
It's shiny and silvery white. Properties: It's very light, soft and malleable, but not
very ductile. It reacts very strongly with oxygen. Uses: Fireworks, aerospace
industry, car industry.

Tin
It's a shiny white metal. Properties: It doesn't oxidize at room temperatures, it's
very soft. Uses: Soft-soldering, tin foil and tin plate.

Lead
It's a silvery grey metal. Properties: Soft and malleable. It's toxic when its fumes
are inhaled. Uses: Batteries, it's use as an additive in glass for giving hardness
and weight.

Bronze
It's an alloy of copper and tin. Properties: High resistant to wear and
corrosion. Uses: Boat propellers, filters, church bells, sculpture, bearings and
cogs.

Zinc
It's a bluish grey shiny metal. Properties: Anticorrosive, not very hard, weak at

low temperatures. Uses: Roofing, plumbing because it stops corrosion.

durable against corrosion.

3.2 STEELS AND OTHER METAL ALLOYS

Alloy steels are made of iron, carbon and other elements such as vanadium,
silicon, nickel, manganese, copper and chromium. When other elements
comprising metals and non-metals are added to carbon steel, alloy steel is
formed
What are the Most Common Alloys?
Because the metalworking industry rarely uses pure metals, there is a myriad of
alloys that are commonly used. Indeed, working with alloys is the preferred
method for most metalworkers because they are so versatile and offer a longer
lifespan than pure metals. Here are a few of the most common alloys:

Mild Steel
This alloy is also known as “low carbon steel” and consists of around .05% to
.25% carbon added to pure iron. This is the lowest amount of carbon that can be
added to iron to produce steel. It is often used in signage, furniture, decorations,
fencing, and nails, among other applications.

Cast Iron
Like mild steel, cast iron is a metal alloy of carbon and iron. The carbon content
is generally upwards of 2%.

Stainless Steel
One of the most common alloys, stainless steel is an alloy made mostly from
iron, mixed with chromium, nickel, or molybdenum. The content of the added
metal is usually around 15-30%. Stainless steel alloy is often used in kitchen
appliances, medical instruments, hardware, and machinery.

Aluminum Alloy
As a softer metal, aluminum is usually alloyed with other metals to give it more
strength and hardness. Manganese or copper are often used as the alloy
material to create these desirable properties.
The Effects of Common Alloying Elements

An alloying element can alter the mechanical and chemical properties of steel.
Alloys are regularly used to adjust different attributes of the steel to make it more
viable. A mixture of carbon and iron, steel gains advantages such as corrosion
resistance and added strength when alloyed with other elements. Many elements
can be alloyed with steel;

Carbon, the main alloying element of steel; Increases mechanical properties

such as strength, hardness, and mechanical resistance. But besides this
increase, malleability, ductility, and toughness decrease. In addition, the tensile
strength can increase up to a point. The increase in the carbon content in the
steel composition reduces the ductility of the material, that is, it causes it to show
brittle properties. There is a risk of cracking in high carbon steels due to residual
austenite that will occur after the heat treatment is applied. It negatively affects
the forging and weldability properties of steel.

Chromium is the most commonly used alloying element in steel. The most
important feature of the steel is that it adds a stainless feature to the steel thanks
to the bright oxide layer it forms on the surface of the steel. There is
approximately 12% chromium in the composition of stainless steel. Chrome also
increases the hardness thanks to the carbides it creates in the steel. While it
increases the tensile strength and heat resistance like carbon, it also decreases
the ductility.

Nickel may be present in steel materials up to 5% by weight of the composition.

Nickel improves the hardness and strength properties of the material without
decreasing the ductility and toughness, unlike chromium and carbon. It is widely
used in stainless steel.

Manganese improves the mechanical properties of steels. It increases the

strength and decreases ductility. It increases the malleability by reacting with the
sulfur contained in the composition. When viewed from a thermal point of view, it
increases the quenching depth. Manganese’s ability to increase hardness and
strength also depends on the carbon composition of the material. It may also
cause an increase in the weldability of the material.

Sulfur is an undesirable alloying element other than free-cutting steel. Because it

makes the steel brittle. For this reason, the effect is minimized by reacting with
manganese. It is desired to be in composition as it facilitates machining in free-
cutting steels.

Silicon is used as an oxygen and degassing agent during production. It also

provides fluidity in casting. It improves the magnetic properties of steel and
increases its heat resistance. While it increases the hardenability and wears
resistance of the material, it adversely affects the surface quality.

Molybdenum: It is used to prevent temper brittleness in steels containing

molybdenum, low chromium, and nickel. It increases the heat resistance of steel.
Molybdenum has the effect of increasing the effects of other alloying elements.
For this reason, it is popular to be used not alone, but with other alloying
elements. Molybdenum combines with carbon to form carbide. Since carbides
increase the hardness, it is common to use tool steels.

Vanadium; increases the strength, hardness, and wear resistance of steels.

Small amounts of added vanadium can prevent grain coarsening. Tempering and
softening processes after heat treatment do not give any results. For this reason,
it is widely used in tool steels.

Tungsten; increases the wear resistance, hardness, and toughness of steels. It

provides hot working and cutting efficiency to the material at high temperatures.
For this reason, it is popular in tool steels and high-speed steels. It is preferred to
use in the structure of heat-resistant steels.

Cobalt slows the grain coarsening at high temperatures. Increases the heat
resistance of the material and strength at high temperatures. For this reason, it is
preferred in tool steels.
Aluminum is used as a deoxidizer. It has a grain refinement feature; therefore, it
prevents the growth of austenite grains. Increases aging resistance. For this
reason, deep-drawn sheets contain aluminum in their structure.

Phosphorus, like sulfur, turns steel into brittle. For this reason, phosphorus is
also undesirable. It increases the hardenability of the steel. But it causes a huge
drop in ductility. This decrease is observed more in high carbon steels.

Copper imparts corrosion resistance and hardness properties to steel. But at the
same time, it decreases ductility very much. For this reason, it is kept at a
maximum of 0.5% in the composition.

Nitrogen increases its strength and hardness properties. It increases the

hardness by forming nitride in the structure of the steel. It facilitates the
machining process. It increases fragility.

3.3 METAL CASTING AND FORMING PROCESSES

Metal casting is defined as the
process in which molten metal
is poured into a mold that
contains a hollow cavity of a
desired geometrical shape and
allowed to cool down to form a
solidified part. The term
‘casting’ is also used to
describe the part made by the
casting process which dates back 6000 years. Historically it is used to make
complex and/or large parts, which would have been difficult or expensive to
manufacture using other manufacturing processes.

Primarily, casting produces ingots and shapes. An ingot is a casting produced

into a simple shape and intended for further processing such as metal
extrusion, forging, etc. Shape casting is for near or net shape castings to
produce complex geometries which are closer to the final part.
Types of Metal Casting

Metal casting can be divided into two groups by the basic nature of the mold
design. i.e. expendable mold and permanent mold castings. It can be further
subdivided into groups depending on their pattern material.

• Expendable Mold
o Permanent pattern
▪ Sand casting
▪ Plaster molding
▪ Shell mold
▪ Ceramic mold
• Expendable pattern
▪ Lost foam
▪ Investment casting
• Permanent mold
• Gravity casting
• Low pressure/vacuum

• Die casting
The following factors need to be considered before choosing a suitable metal
casting for a given engineering product design.

• Part shape and size

• Required quantity

• Required tolerance

• Material

Expendable mold casting

Expendable mold casting, as the

name suggests uses a
temporary non-reusable mold to
produce the final casting as the
mold will be broken to get the
casting out. These molds are
typically made of materials such
as sand, ceramics & plaster.
These are generally bonded
using binders called bonding agents to improve their properties. Complex
intricate geometries can be cast using expendable mold casting.

Permanent mold casting

Sometimes called non-

expendable mold casting,
permanent mold casting uses
permanent molds that are reused
after each production cycle.
Although permanent mold casting
produces repeatable parts due to
re-use of the same mold, it can only produce simple castings as the mold needs
to be opened to remove the castings.

Composite mold casting

As the name suggests these uses both

expendable and re-useable casting molds

to produce castings. These normally include

materials such as sand, wood, graphite and

metal.

Metal casting steps

1. Patternmaking – A replica of the part to be cast is made using a

suitable material such as wood, metal plastic or plaster.

2. Mold making – Mold making is a multi-step process in which patterns

and cores are used to create a mold. The type and how the molds are
made would vary depending on the type of metal casting. For example,
sand casting uses sand inside a flask to create molds and die casting
uses hardened tool steel molds.

3. Metal melting & pouring – Liquid is then melted and poured into the
mold cavity either by gravity or by high pressure. Then the cast is
allowed to solidify before the cast parts are removed from the mold.
Again, the cast part removal will vary depending on the type of metal
casting.
 4. Post-processing – In this final step, the cast metal object is removed
from the mold and then fettled. During the fettling, the object is cleaned
of any molding material, and rough edges are removed.

METAL FORMING PROCESSES

Metal forming processes are an essential part of our society, and without them,
our society would come to a grinding halt.
Some of the most common types of metal forming techniques are:
▪ Roll forming
▪ Extrusion
▪ Press braking
▪ Stamping
▪ Forging
▪ Casting

ROLL FORMING
In short, roll forming involves continually feeding a long strip of metal through
drum rollers to attain a desired cross-section.
Common Applications
▪ Door Components
▪ Elevators
▪ Framing

EXTRUSION

Extrusion is a metal forming process that forces metal through the die of a
desired cross section.
Common Applications
▪ Aluminum Cans
 ▪ Bars
▪ Fittings

PRESS BRAKING

Press braking involves bending sheet metals (usually), forming the metals to a
predetermined angle by pinching it between a punch and a die.
Common Applications
▪ Decorative or Functional Trim
▪ Electronics Enclosures
▪ Housings
▪ Safety Features

STAMPING

Stamping is the process of placing a flat sheet (or coil) of metal into a stamping
press, where a tool and die apply pressure to form the metal into a new shape, or
cut out a piece of the metal.
Common Applications
▪ Ammunitions
▪ Gears
▪ Lock Hardware
▪ Power Tools
FORGING

Forging involves shaping metals using localized, compressive forces after

heating the metal to a point where it's malleable.
Common Applications
▪ Axle Beams
▪ Ball Joints
▪ Couplings
▪ Drill Bits
▪ Gears

CASTING

Casting is a process that involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, containing a
hollow cavity of the desired shape.
Common Applications
▪ Camera Bodies
▪ Casings, Covers
▪ Valves
▪ Wheels
3.4 METAL HEAT TREATMENT PROCESSES

Heat treatment is essentially a process of heating and cooling a material to

achieve a desired set of physical and mechanical properties.

TYPES OF HEAT TREATING

HARDENING
In heat treating to harden a metal, the metal is heated to a temperature where
the elements in the metal become a solution. Before doing this, defects in the
crystal lattice structure of metal are the primary source of ‘give’ or plasticity. Heat
treating addresses those deficiencies by bringing the metal into a reliable solution
with fine particles to strengthen the metal. Once the metal is thoroughly heated to
the right temperature to produce a solid solution, it is quickly quenched to trap
the particles in solution.
In precipitation hardening, impurity particles are added to the metal alloy to
increase strength further.

CASE HARDENING
In the process of case hardening, the external layer of metal is hardened while
the interior metal remains soft. For metals with a low carbon content such as iron
and steel, additional carbon has to be infused into the surface. Case hardening is
a process often used as a final step after the piece has already been machined.
High heat is used in combination with other elements and chemicals to produce a
hardened outer layer. Because hardening can make metals more brittle, case
hardening can be useful for applications that require a flexible metal with a
durable wear layer.
ANNEALING
Annealing is a heat treatment method where a metal such as aluminum, copper,
steel, silver, or brass is heated to a specific temperature, held at that temperature
for some time to allow transformation to occur, and then air cooled. This process
increases the metal’s ductility and decreases hardness to make the metal more
workable. Copper, silver, and brass can be cooled quickly or slowly, whereas
ferrous metals like steel must always be cooled gradually to allow annealing to
occur. Annealing may be used before a metal is machined to improve its stability,
making harder materials less likely to crack or fracture.

NORMALIZING
Normalizing is an annealing process for steel where it is heated 150-200°F
higher than in annealing and held at the critical temperature long enough for the
transformation to occur. Steel treated in this way must be air cooled. The heat
treating in normalization causes smaller austenitic grains, while air cooling
produces more refined ferritic grains. This process improves machinability,
ductility, and strength of the steel. Standardization is also useful to remove
columnar grains and dendritic segregation that can occur during the casting of a
part.

TEMPERING
Tempering is a method of heat treating used to increase the resilience of iron-
based alloys like steel. Iron-based metals are very hard, but they are often too
brittle to be useful for most purposes. Tempering can be used to change the
hardness, ductility, and strength of metal, which usually makes it easier to
machine. The metal will be heated to a temperature below the critical point as
lower temperatures reduce brittleness while maintaining hardness. For
increased plasticity with less hardness and strength, higher temperatures are
required.
3.5 METAL FABRICATION PROCESSES

CUTTING
Perhaps the most commonly used metal fabrication processes involve cutting,
where sheets of metal are split into halves, thirds or smaller sections. In a lot of
applications, the metal being cut is freshly made, and has yet to be shaped into
anything in particular. In other applications, pre-shaped metals like bars and
measured panels are submitted for cutting. Cuts are performed on a range of
machinery, from lasers and plasma torches to more elaborate, high-tech pieces
of machinery.

FOLDING
One of the more complicated processes of metal fabrication involves folding,
where a metal surface is manipulated to shape at a certain angle. With certain
folding applications, the intent is to make the metal surface fold at a 90-degree
angle, or something else that’s either more or less blunt. However, folding may
only be performed in facilities that are equipped with specific, high-tech
equipment due to the complexity of the whole process. In many cases where a
fold is needed, the joining of two metal panels at select angles would be the more
practical alternative.

WELDING
Along with cutting, welding is one of the most popular metal fabrication
processes among crafts enthusiasts. The process of welding involves the joining
of two separate metal parts. The parts used in a welding application could be
sheets, panels, bars or shapes — as long as the parts are made of metal, it really
doesn’t matter. Welding is achievable through numerous methods and tool types.
Often, a weld is achieved through the application of heat along the points where
the two pieces are meant to be joined. A lot of metalworkers first pursue the area
of metal fabrication with welding projects in mind.

MACHINING
When a machine is used to remove portions from a piece of metal, the process is
known as machining. Typically, the process is performed on a lathe, which will
rotate the metal against tools that trim corners and edges to cut the piece down
to a desired shape or measurement. In other machining applications, a hole or
set of holes will be formed directly through the metal surface. As such, the metal
drill could be classified as a machining tool.

PUNCHING
When holes are formed in a piece of metal, the process involved consists of
punching, where metal is placed under a die and submitted to a punch-through
by a drill. For the punch to be the correct size, the circumference of the drill must
slot correctly through the die. Punching falls into one of two sub categories based
on the intention of a given application. In most cases, the intent is to punch holes
into a panel of metal for the purpose of fastening latches or other foreign parts. In
other applications — alternately known as blanking — the area with the hole is
specifically extracted from the larger panel to form a smaller bit part.

SHEARING
For sheets of metal that require long cuts, the process is known as shearing. In
some cases, the sheet is fed horizontally through a metal-cutting machine. In
other applications, a cutting tool is applied vertically against the length of a flat
metal sheet. A third method involves placing the metal over the edge of an open
cutter and lowering the blade, much like the paper cutters found at copy facilities.
Shearing is often applied to trim down the edge of a metal sheet, but the process
may be done anywhere along the metal.

STAMPING
Punching is not the only metal fabrication process to utilize a die. In some
applications, however, the intention is not to form a hole, but to raise a certain
portion of a metal sheet, without penetrating. For applications like these, the
process of stamping is used to form certain shapes, letters or images within a
metal sheet or panel. In effect, metal stamping is similar to relief carving in wood
or marble. A primary example of metal stamping is seen on coins, where words,
currency amounts and the faces of presidents are stamped from each surface
side on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

CASTING
One of the oldest types of metal fabrication involves casting, where molten metal
is poured into a mold and is left to solidify into a specific form. As one of the most
flexible methods of metal fabrication, casting is ideal for a wide range of complex
shape-making. In some cases, casting provides a solution to fabrication
problems that would otherwise take several other methods to solve, such as with
assembly parts that would need folding, shearing, and stamping. The most
common metals employed in this application include steel, iron, gold, copper,
silver, and magnesium.

Additional metal fabrication processes include broaching, honing, grinding and

milling. Depending on the needs of a particular application, some metal facilities
even perform specially customized types of fabrication.

Learning Activity:
Discuss metal fabrication process

Learning Evaluation:
Discuss the effects of some alloying elements
Name two common metal casting processes and explain these processes

References:
Clark, D. S., Engineering Materials and Processes.3rd edition. International
Textbook Company.
Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standards (PAES)
CIGR handbook