Non-Ferrous Metals List | Properties of Non Ferrous Metals

Non-Ferrous Metals

What is Non Ferrous Metals?

Non-ferrous metals  can be defined as metals that  do not have iron content in them. Non-ferrous metals  examples include aluminum, Bronze, copper, Brass, lead, zinc and tin, silver and gold. The primary advantage of non ferrous metals over ferrous materials is their malleability.

There are many different metals, and we choose the metal with the properties that best suit the job’s needs. A wind mill tower is made of steel for strength and coated with zinc for protection from corrosion. The blades are aluminum because it is light and also corrosion-resistant.

Electric cables a copper because it is a good conductor.

Jewelry must stay shiny and not cause skin reactions, so it’s made of gold or platinum.

Silver

Silver is similar to gold and is also used for decoration in jewelry and silverware. However, it is easily tarnished by hydrogen sulfide in the air and needs to be polished quite often.

Silver is cheap nowadays because it is not needed as much in making films. And in jewelry has been mostly replaced by stainless steel.

Silver soldering is used to join copper parts. It is made of silver, Copper, Copper, and zinc and has a higher melting point than regular solder.

Copper

Copper is similar to gold and silver. It is soft and an excellent electrical conductor. It’s the third most used metal after iron. Copper is the mrtal of choice for wiring most electrical machinery, appliances, and power supplies.

It is also used for household water supply as it doesn’t corrode in water.

It can be easily bent to change direction, and it’s easy to join by soldering.

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper, copper, and zinc, usually around 70% copper, 30% zinc. It has a distinctive color and is malleable so that it can be worked into complex shapes, but it’s harder than copper, so it wears better. This is important where products have moving parts.

Brass is highly corrosion resistant; this is a plus for a product subjected continuously to the saliva’s moisture and salt.

A lower copper content producers’ brass that’s harder. This kind of brass is used for tap handles, window, and door fittings. They’re usually made by casting.

It is easy to cast and can be left outside without rusting.

Bronze

Bronze is strong and was used to make tools and weapons such as spears and swords. This metal brought about the Bronze Age.

Bells are made of bronze because of the sustained notes it produces, and its corrosion resistance. Bell metal has high tin content, up to one part in four.

It is used where the heat of welding would ruin the steel’s temper or ruin thin sections.

Used in making cannons and bronze cannon has a much lower thin content, probably around 10%. Because this type of bronze is highly resistant to corrosion and very hardwearing, it’s used for gears and bearings in machinery.

If a little letter and phosphorus are added, it becomes even harder phosphor bronze.

Gold

The first metal to be discovered was gold. It doesn’t rust, so it’s found as a pure metal. It’s expensive because it’s rare, and it’s rare because it’s heavy. Most of the gold will have sunk down into the center of the earth.

The crust is made mainly of light elements. Gold is quite malleable and can be beaten into a very thin foil and used to coat statues or jewelry.

Even after thousands of years, it’s still shiny as ever. It is used in jewelry.

Gold is usually mixed with silver or copper to strengthen it and make it cheaper. Gold is an excellent conductor of electricity, so it is used to coat computer plugs. The connections work every time because there is no oxide coating to stop the electricity.

Zinc

Zinc is a soft metal, relatively cheap, and not readily corroded. It has a low melting point, allowing the steel to be dipped in molten zinc in a hot-dip galvanizing process.

It is used mainly to coach steel to prevent it from rusting. Then it forms a hard layer of zinc oxide on the surface.

Usually, the steel is coated with an alloy made of zinc, and the steel sheet is passing through a bar of molten zinc Alum.

Tin

Tin is another metal mined in ancient times; it is used as a corrosion-resistant coating that gives us a silver finish. Tin is primarily used as a protective coating on steel, like on tin cans. Nowadays, cans are often coated with a clear varnish.

Solder is an alloy of tin and lead and is useful because it has such a low melting point.

Aluminum

Aluminum alloys are used in aircraft construction where weight is essential. The leading edge of the aircraft’s wing flaps is made of aluminum alloys with about 3% copper.

It’s easy to machine; this is important for repairs as well as construction.

Because aluminum is corrosion resistant, it can be used without painting, plating. The natural oxide coating could be thickened by a process called anodizing to give a smoother, hardwearing surface. Dyers could be added to produce color finishes.

One of the significant uses of aluminum is drink canning. Aluminum is highly ductile. This means the sides and base could be made in one piece, drawn down, and pressed out of a flat sheet.

It’s light, so it’s cheap to transport. Because it’s malleable, we get a shape that holds its new shape.

Aluminum has a very low melting point, and once it is molten, oxide coating can no longer be protected, so it then oxidizes very quickly.

It is expensive because it needs a lot of energy to process it from aluminum oxide ore. This is why it’s so eagerly recycled.

Nickel

Nickel is harder than iron, but it’s too brittle to use on its own. Nickel is commonly alloyed with softer metals like Copper, Copper, and coins made of nickels that look silver, but they’re actually copper-nickel alloys.

In the U. S. A., Nickel is a five-cent coin.

Nickel is allied with chromium, iron, and carbon to produce stainless steel.

Titanium

Titanium is an excellent metal and has a density of aluminum and strength  of steel. And it doesn’t corrode. It is used in military aircraft and climbing equipment, where weight and strength are critical, and the price is not.

It is also used inside the body to strengthen bones. Sometimes stainless steel is used here.

Titanium is difficult to cut. It is being cut by a water jet with abrasive in it.

Magnesium

Magnesium is the lightest of the common metals. It is usually used as an ally with aluminum. Magnesium is often used in car wheels to make them lightweight.

It catches fire quickly and is used in fireworks as a powder, producing a bright white light and so it should not be used near flames.