Materials

A metal that everyone in this day and age is familiar with, aluminum is frequently utilized in metal fabrication because it is an excellent conductor of electricity, its corrosion resistance, and its lightweight nature. Subject to the specific class, aluminum has the ability to be highly malleable while also being exceptionally strong. Perhaps the best quality of aluminum is its inexpensive nature. However, when compared to other metals like brass, it is markedly pricier. This metal is typically used to fabricate food processing equipment due to its high corrosion resistance, automotive and aircraft structures due to being lightweight, cooking utensils and heat exchangers due to its conductive properties, and water-based fabrications due to its strength and high corrosion resistance. 

Commonly seen on doorknobs throughout the U.S., brass is extremely malleable and can be flattened into thin sheets without fracturing. Because of this property, brass metal plates are typically utilized in surface covering and machine casing fabrications. Brass also possesses a very high tensile strength – allowing it to be used in a wide variety of structural reinforcement capacities. For example, brass and brass alloys are the perfect material for threaded parts, nuts, and bolts. One thing that brass is also widely known for is its high machinability. This metal can easily be cut and reshaped without compromise to its strength and density while also maintaining a modest price; making this metal perfect for all of your project's parts that involve detailed extrusions.

One of the first metals to be extracted from the Earth by mankind, copper has played a critical role in our history and is just as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. Copper is extremely malleable, resistant to corrosion, and is one of the most efficient electricity and heat conductors in the world. Copper is an essential and integral part of appliances, telecommunications, heating and cooling systems, and links used in both private residences and businesses alike. This metal is also an essential component in the wiring, connectors, motors, radiators, bearings, and brakes used in cars and trucks around the world. Due to its essential nature in nearly every aspect of today's world, the price of copper products is very high.

Used in a wide variety of construction projects, mild steel is a variation of carbon steel, but with a low carbon content, typically ranging between 0.05% and 0.25% by weight. In actuality, mild steel is not a steel alloy, and hence does not contain many other elements besides iron - making it distinctly different from its stainless steel counterpart. Mild steel is much more machinable, ductile, and weldable than high carbon steel and many other steels; it is even magnetic! Mild steel is not without its drawbacks though, this type of steel possesses markedly less tensile strength than stainless steel and due to the high amounts of ferrite and iron that it naturally possesses, it is subject to oxidation if not properly coated. This steel is much less expensive compared to stainless steel. 

The best alternative to carbon steel, stainless steel is able to weather the harshest environments and can do it without rusting even a bit. This metal is ideal for high-temperature and corrosion environments such as the ocean, or even hygienic environments like your local doctor's office. Stainless steel is able to tolerate such punishing environments because it lacks the protective coating required of some other metals which can easily rub off at the slightest abrasion; instead relying on a self-formed oxidized layer. If this oxidized layer is damaged in any way, it will simply generate a new layer - taking away the hassle of replacing parts. However, this super-metal has a price which matches its strengths. 

In the 21st century, titanium has become one of the most universal metals in just about every industry in existence. This magnificent metal can be used to make aerospace and automobile parts, surgical implants in the medical industry, safe-handling containment units for chemical storage, marine engineering and ship parts, eyeglass frames, and even golf clubs! Titanium is able to be used in this massive capacity of applications due to its high mechanical strength, small density, its ease of processing, stellar corrosion resistance, plasticity, and superconductivity. Amazingly enough, titanium is less expensive in the current market than stainless steel.