Categories Starting with 'A'

An adhesive is a compound that adheres or bonds two items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. Some modern adhesives are extremely strong, and are becoming increasingly important in modern construction and industry.

Aluminum shapes are extrusions produced in a wide variety of standard shapes. Standard shapes include rod, bar, angles, channel, beams, tees, hex, z-bar, pipe, tube, and so on.

An aluminum casting is a metal product produced using a mold to shape and form molten aluminum or aluminum alloys into the desired shape. Some different metal casting processes that are used to produce aluminum castings include sand casting, die-casting, and permanent mold casting; with die-casting and permanent mold casting being most commonly used. Aluminum is rarely cast in pure form, mainly because of its vulnerability to hot cracking and high shrinkage. Hence, the most common aluminum castings comprise of aluminum alloyed with silicon and copper. By altering the amount of copper and silicon present in the alloy, the properties of the alloy can be changed, making it ideal for use in a number of industries. This makes aluminum the most widely used non-ferrous metal. Aluminum castings are used in various applications, ranging from engine blocks in the automobile industry to cookware and utensils used at home.

An aluminum bar is aluminum that has been recast from an ingot for easier handling in the rolling and forging process.

An abrasive is a substance or object that is used to polish, smooth or roughen another object by rubbing. Examples: carborundum, diamond dust, emery, grinding wheel, powdered glass, pumice dust, sand and sandpaper.

Aluminum extrusions are made by squeezing heated aluminum compound through a die with a profile of the desired shape. Extrusions are typically long lengths of the fixed profile. The construction and automobile industries are two of the biggest consumers of extruded aluminum, requiring door and window frames, structural framing systems, roofing, exterior cladding, and so on. The extrusion process is considered to be the most effective way to fabricate parts that need to have a uniform cross-sectional area. Extruders can provide both custom and stock shapes based on the customers' requirements.

Alloys are substances having metallic properties and composed of two or more chemical elements of which at least one is metal. They usually possess qualities different from those of the components.

Aluminum fabricators are companies and machine job shops specialized in aluminum fabrication from billets, ingots, bars, rods, sheets, etc., into a proposed design based on a customer's specifications.

Actuated valves are valves that are automatically moved to the desired position by a device that is mounted on the valve and is powered by an outside pneumatic, electrical, or hydraulic source.

Aluminum machining is the process of using machining techniques such as turning, milling, boring, tapping, and sawing to produce various components from either aluminum or aluminum alloys. Due to their complex metallurgical structure, the machining characteristics of aluminum alloys are superior to those of pure aluminum. Some factors taken into consideration prior to machining aluminum or its alloys are density, modulus of elasticity, and coefficient of linear expansion. Machining speed may typically exceed 3,000 m/min when high-speed machines are used for cutting aluminum. Unlike steel, aluminum machining does not require high cutting force and the chip removal rate is higher with aluminum alloys than with low-carbon steel.

Aluminum is a soft, lightweight metal, is nontoxic (as the metal) non-magnetic and non-sparking. Pure aluminum has a tensile strength of about 49 megapascals (MPa) and 700 MPa if it is formed into an alloy. Aluminum is about one-third as dense as steel or copper; is malleable, ductile, and easily machined and cast with excellent corrosion resistance and durability.

Aluminum strip is a flat cold rolled product which has been cold reduced to desired decimal thickness and temper on single stand, single stand reversing, or tandem cold mills in coil form.

Anaerobic adhesives are designed to cure in the absence of oxygen when activated by a metal component or primer. A durable plastic seal is formed which has many useful characteristics.

Aluminum coil is a flat sheet or strip of aluminum, usually in one continuous piece or length.

Air valves are valves that are used to control the flow rate of air.