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You can machine it, but can you weld it?
Free-machining steels shouldn’t be welded. If a fabricator has a job requiring a free-machining steel, engineers and fabricators should get together to determine the best action. Can welding be avoided by using fasteners? If not, which weldable...
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Use and weldability of high-chromium molybdenum steels
At least a dozen chromium molybdenum (CrMo) steel combinations exist. One of the more recent alloys consists of chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, niobium (columbium), and nitrogen. Beginning sometime in the 1970s, this material became popular for...
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Chromium molybdenum—its uses and fabrication requirements
Chromium molybdenum alloys have characteristics that make them good choices for many products used in construction and manufacturing. This article discusses some applications for these materials and the processes and equipment necessary to...
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Metallurgy for welders
The goal when welding any material is to change its microstructure as little as possible and to preserve its mechanical and chemical properties. To achieve this you must be able to determine its weldability, control the heat input, and prevent...
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Enhancing the surface to combat equipment wear
Equipment wears as it’s used, particularly in heavy applications such as extracting natural resources from the earth. Surface welding used to repair and strengthen equipment helps prevent costly downtime.
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The many faces of stainless steel
Stainless steel comes in various forms—austenitic, martensitic, and ferritic. Which type you use depends on your application requirements.
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Better bonding: A thermal spray primer
From electric arc wire spray to HVOF technology, various thermal spray process options provide durability and protection against wear and corrosion in myriad applications.
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Building bridges
Some fabricators and educators are fascinated by bridges. Bridges come in many different types, and diverse materials are used to build them.
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Don’t junk it, make it better
By using today’s new alloys, you can cut costs, extend equipment use, and actually improve products. Here are some examples of how this can be done by welding with aluminum bronze (CuAl).
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Full steam (chest) ahead
Welding and fabricating using exotic metals requires a special touch, one that Schwabel Fabricating Co., Tonowanda, N.Y., has built its business on for the last 53 years.
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What is abrasion-resistant material?
Creating welding procedures for abrasive-resistant (AR) materials can be difficult because many of them do not conform to ASTM,ASME, or SAE standards for chemical or mechanical properties. However, these materials can be welded successfully.
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Antimicrobial copper displaces stainless steel, germs for medical applications
Stainless steel is favored for many uses because it doesn’t rust and it’s easy to clean. However, for medical environments, copper is making inroads. Copper has been shown to kill six varieties of bacteria, and the EPA has registered more than...
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Basic metallurgy for welders
Welders do not have to be metallurgy experts, but they do need to be knowledgeable about the chemical, mechanical, and physical properties of different materials.
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Update: Hot-stamping boron-alloyed steels for automotive parts
CPF has conducted experiments using finite element simulation of the hot stamping process. The process can help manufacturers predict such final part properties as thickness, temperature, and hardness distribution.
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Understanding steelmaking for better forming ...
Challenges faced by stampers in the quest to
produce a robust part are magnified when they
form high strength steels. As materials
increase in strength, the inherent tensile
property variability increases. Using
products from the family of...
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Just plain carbon steel — What is it?
Is there any such material as plain carbon steel? Is so, what is it, what's its chemical composition, and which applications are best-suited for its use?
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Continuing the look at die materials and wear in stamping AHSS
Stampers use tests to evaluate tool materials and coatings for wear issues. The main tests are scratching tests, twist compression test, strip-reduction tests, and forming tests.
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Die materials and wear in stamping AHSS
Stampers use tests to evaluate tool materials and coatings for wear issues. The main tests are scratching tests, twist compression test, strip-reduction tests, and forming tests.
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Using laser shock peening to increase pilger die life
During pilgering, the dies endure extreme amounts of stress. Shot peening is a conventional, economic process for hardening the tooling, but its benefits are limited. Supplementing shot peening with laser shock peening where the stress is highest...
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Is cast iron just cast iron?
Cast iron comes in many different types with different properties. Not all can be welded, cut, or machined in the same way, and some types are better suited for specific applications than others. This article discusses the most common types and...
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6 Questions about stamping aluminum
Aluminum's unique metallurgical properties make it suitable for multiple applications. Aluminum has very high corrosion resistance, Aluminum's specific weight is 2.7 kilogram/dm3 compared to 7.8 kg/dm3 for steel and 8.8 kg/dm3 for copper, and is...
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Improve HSS part quality before die tryout
The use of high-strength steels (HSS) and aluminum in automotive and other stamping manufacturing is creating forming challenges for tool and die engineers. Forming simulation software, formerly used to predict conventional failure causes, now...
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The nanofiber factor
Nanofibers--fibers 1,000-times smaller than the diameter of a human hair--can help to improve filtration efficiency, filter cleanability, filter life, and energy consumption when the cartridge filters are used properly.
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Stamping 101: Material guidelines
Each metals has its own blend of physical, chemical, and surface properties and characteristics. Knowing about the major work metals (not tool steels), their properties, grades, and characteristics helps to achieve the best results in stamping and...
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Protecting magnesium alloys from corrosion
Finding cost-effective solutions for protecting magnesium alloys from corrosion has become paramount in automotive design. Corrosion protection through cold spray might be the answer.
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Ask for help
Simply stated, ask. According to a recent Purchasing Magazine survey, buyers say they expect their distributor suppliers to provide them with the lowest prices and highest service levels. Separately, distributors say buyers do press them to...
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New forms for modern autobody stamping
With the introduction of stronger safety legislation and increased fuel prices, auto manufacturers must respond with higher car body stiffness for safety and lower body weight for fuel efficiency. The fields of materials development, engineering,...
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Warm forming of stainless steels - Part II
The ERC/NSM conducted experiments using round cup tooling to determine the influence of temperature on the limiting draw ratio -- the largest draw ratio of the blank-to-cup diameter that can be drawn successfully.
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Warm forming of stainless steels
To prevent martensitic transformation in stainless steel during drawing operations, warm forming has been explored. In experiments, warm forming eliminated intermediate annealing operations and substantially increased limiting draw ratio values.
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Warm forming of stainless steels - Part I
To prevent martensitic transformation in stainless steel during drawing operations, warm forming has been explored. In experiments, warm forming eliminated intermediate annealing operations and substantially increased limiting draw ratio values.
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Structured sheet metal - Part II
Vault-structured sheet metal undergoes very little strain hardening during structuring, so it can be deformed further into shapes such as cans, containers, washing machine drums, thin-walled detector tubes, heat exchangers, and light reflectors.
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Warm forming titanium parts
Senior Editor Eric Lundin visited a fabricator that specializes in aircraft components, M-DOT Aerospace, to learn how the company uses warm-forming of titanium to manufacture a cradle for an auxiliary power unit, or APU. Understanding titanium's...
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Measuring the plastic strain ratio of sheet metals
Determining how much a metal can deform before thinning or fracture occurs is necessary for designing a reproducible forming operation. Testing the incoming sheet material is also essential because material properties may vary from coil to coil...
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Structured sheet metal
Increasing sheet metal component rigidity while reducing weight can be achieved by substituting steel with aluminum, magnesium, or titanium alloys; advanced high-strength steel (AHSS); or 3-D structured sheet metal.
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Defining material specifications
The root cause of splitting problems in deep-drawn parts often is that the process is not designed and engineered to accept the full range of mechanical properties within the ASTM specifications.
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Structured sheet metal - Part I
Increasing sheet metal component rigidity while reducing weight can be achieved by substituting steel with aluminum, magnesium, or titanium alloys; advanced high-strength steel (AHSS); or 3-D structured sheet metal.
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Guidelines for forming high-strength material
High-strength materials are becoming more common in stamping, especially for the aircraft and space industries. Although they all have their own specific features, they have some common characteristics and typical reactions to stretching and drawing.
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The benefits of materials engineering
U.S. stampers are missing an opportunity to gain a competitive edge by offering materials engineering support, which often is lacking within OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. Many stampers take the position that they "just build to a print"—but so...
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Introduction to advanced high-strength steels
Advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) offer enhanced formability. This article discusses the properties and performance of various grades.
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Introduction to advanced high-strength steels - Part II
Understanding and compensating for the challenges associated with processing advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) can help you minimize springback, edge cracking, trimming, wrinkling, and die wear.
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Introduction to advanced high-strength steels - Part I
Advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) offer enhanced formability. This article discusses the properties and performance of various grades.
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The science of steel
The spray form process is a new manufacturing technique that offers high alloyed tool steel with uniform carbide size and uniform carbide distribution. With less processing steps than P/M and properties better than ingot cast tool steel, SF is an...
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Is this Round 2?
Forty years ago Ford and Ferrari were engaged in a fight-to-the-finish struggle to take top racing honors. Ford used its GT40 to snap Ferrari's six-time winning streak at the 24 Hours of LeMans, one of racing's most prestigious events. In 2003 the...
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Challenges and considerations in joining exotic materials
Every day Voss Aerospace faces challenges that vary as much as the materials its welders join and fabrication processes they use.
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Metallurgical aspects of tube production
Small-diameter tubing plays a crucial role in many markets, including aerospace, nuclear, medical, and industrial. From coronary stents to hydraulic aircraft controls, each application has unique requirements. To meet the requirements of customers...
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10 burning questions you asked about the steel price meltdown
December came, and the Section 201 tariffs went out under the tide of global and World Trade Organization (WTO) pressure. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, material price increases hit the metals industry like a tidal wave...
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Welding's effect on strengthening steel
Welding can severely influence strengthened or hardened metals, depending on the hardening technique used. Because of this, post-weld heat treatment is often very helpful in maintaining weld joint strength because it softens or tempers any...
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Making steels stronger
When it comes to modifying a steel's strength and hardness, it's important to not confuse hardness with hardenability and remember that hardenability characteristics are important because they help identify how much a specific steel will harden...
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Combating plate corrosion
According to a recent study sponsored by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)1, with support from NACE International—The Corrosion Society, corrosion-related direct costs such as prevention methods and infrastructure repair and...
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Carbon content, steel classifications, and alloy steels
Steel classification is important in understanding what types are used in certain applications and which are used for others. For example, most commercial steels are classified into one of three groups: plain carbon, low-alloy, and high-alloy....
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