When it comes to developing a new application or product for a specific end-use, even if you have no experience, following tips at major decision points in your project can be surprisingly helpful.
4 Major aspects need to be considered:
- Metal alloy properties
- Surface finish
- Cost for production
- Service & Fabrication
So when you start a new project or have a completely new concept to launch a new product, you may get lost in the alloy selection. Everybody knows that every metal alloy owns its unique properties and should be weighed against each other when deciding on an alloy for your product. Is it possible to make an informed decision rapidly and efficiently? Well, it’s very likely.
Before you start getting crazy because of too many choices, let me help you get out of confusion. Read the article below; you’ll find the right balance across all factors and apply it to the alloy which fits your application needs, manufacturability, and purchasing requirement.
Properties of metal alloys
When properties come into mind about metal alloy, if you are not an expert in this industry, perhaps physical and chemical properties would be the prior answers. Today we’re going to help you dive a little deeper into the ins and outs of each property- our engineer departments can always help with this too.
- Mechanical properties are the ability of a metal alloy to resist deformation and fracture when applied with an external force. This external force could be static or dynamic. Strength, (tensile and yield), ductility, hardness, and toughness are primary factors that need special attention among the mechanical properties. Based on the different applications, some applications are suitable for soft alloys, while some, are suitable for hard alloys.
- Physical properties, you have to pay attention to those factors, density, thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties. Application scenario decides which kind of alloy you choose, as different scenarios request different physical properties. To better understand, take aircraft as an example, aluminum, magnesium, and titanium alloy those lower density materials will be a good option. While, electrical components, electrical conductivity is often taken into account.
- Chemical properties refer to the ability to resist the erosion of various media, like acid resistance, oxidation resistance, and alkalinity resistance. For those applications that work in corrosive media or high-temperature environments machine parts, so need to pay special attention to the chemical properties at the beginning of the design stage.
- Processing properties, as you may expect, it refers to the adaptability shown in the various processing methods, mainly display in four aspects, cutting performance, malleability, castability, and weldability. It’s always determined by a combination of factors (like physical, chemical, and, mechanical).
Surface finish
A huge question we often get asked is “which kind of surface finish we should choose”, this vastly depends on what the end uses for your part. We have so many aspects that need to take into consideration, such as appearance, abrasion, coating, or finish. In general, traditional surface treatment methods include galvanizing, electrocoating, anodizing, and vacuum plating. passivation, spraying, powder coating, etc. YUGE has been diving into this field for more than two decades, our expertise includes working with a variety of industries, allowing us to create proven metal fabrication processes to meet all your parts needs.
Cost for production
How to make the right alloy selection within the cost is important work, so many factors are involved to sway your final decision. As you may know different alloys with different content, so that’s why every alloy with a numbering system to distinguish them. Meanwhile, those differences determined the follow-up process must be different. Let’s take an example to explain it, companies chasing profit, as long as the feasibility is not affected, cheaper material might be a good choice. While in case the lifespan of this choice is much short compared with an alternative option, what would you do? You have to consider all aspects from money, time, and reliability to choose which one is better in long run for your project. Leave this question to us, you can trust us 100%, YUGE can do this job well, and you will get the most suitable and qualified option for your parts.
Service & Fabrication
Choosing the appropriate alloy is essential for a successful end product, whereas fabrication selection and service are important too. YUGE possess a team of an experienced engineer, we work with many of our customers to offer various types of customized, application, and process-specific finishes. We are always happy to participate in the early design stage and aim to help our clients to eliminate conflicts between design and production.
