Metal Glossary

Designed to be a quick reference guide for customers, the Cashmores glossary provides definitions of the latest metal industry terms.

Metal Glossary

Designed to be a quick reference guide for customers, the Cashmores glossary provides definitions of the latest metal industry terms.

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NES

The prefix for the, now obsolete, Naval Engineering Standards. It replaced DGS and in turn was replaced by Defence Standards.
Related Terms:
Nickel Silver

Copper, Nickel and Zinc alloys. Their Copper content is similar to that of Brasses but up to 20% of the Zinc is replaced by Nickel. Silvery white in colour they have good corrosion resistance and remain “springy” at moderate temperatures.
Noble

A term used to indicate the corrosion resistance, or the lack of it, of a material. If metals are listed in order of their general corrosion resistance, most resistant at the top and going down to the least at the bottom, the higher a metal is in the list the more “noble” it is said to be. When two different metals are connected in a corrosive environment then the least “noble” will be attacked preferentially. This effect can be used to protect structures from corrosion buy using a “sacrificial anode” of a less noble metal.
Ore

A mineral that contains a metal, in combination with other elements, which is mined as a source of that metal.
Related Terms: Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite
Patina

The greenish layer that naturally develops on Copper exposed to the atmosphere. Chemically it is a complex mixture of Chlorides, Carbonates and Sulphides. Pre-patinated sheet is used for roofing applications.
Phosphor Bronze
Leaded Phosphor Bronze

Hard and strong cast and wrought Copper/Tin alloys with small, deliberate, Phosphorus additions. Wrought alloys such as PB102 contain 4% to 8% Tin, whilst cast alloys contain 9% to 12% Tin. Leaded Phosphor Bronzes, with Lead contents up to 20% ,are usually available only as castings – Examples are PB1 and SAE660.
Refining

The further purification of Blister Copper by removal of its Oxygen content and recovery of any rare or precious metals that were present in the ore by either: a) fire refining in a furnace b) electrolytic refining, in which the blister Copper is cast into anodes, suspended in an acid solution and deposited on to plates at the cathode by electrolysis.
Riveting Brass

CW606N / CZ131 Brass formulated to be most suitable for riveting.
SAE600, SAE

The US Society of Automobile Engineers -the body that develops standards and specifications for the U.S. motor industry. The value and applicability of SAE standards is widely appreciated and they are now used in other industries and countries. For example, Cast Leaded Gunmetal to specification SAE660 is popular in the UK.
Season Cracking

So called because it was first observed, in the rainy season in India, on deep drawn 70/30 brass cartridge cases that had been stored in horse stables where the atmosphere contained Ammonia.
Related Terms: Stress Corrosion
Smelting

A stage in the extraction of Copper from its ores. The ore concentrate is melted, with a flux, in a reverberatory furnace to produce Copper Matte, a mixture of Copper and Iron Sulphides that contains 30% to 40% Copper.
Related Terms: Copper Matte, Matte
Solid Solution

If alloying elements are retained in the lattice of the parent metal instead of forming a different phase they are said to be in solid solution. Alloys which that are multi-phase at room temperature can usually be made single phase by heating to a suitable temperature below the melting point, by holding at this temperature, then quenching in water, oil or cold air. The alloying element(s) have been taken into solid solution by the heating and retained there by the rapid cooling. They can be precipitated out by heating again, to a lower temperature, a process called ageing. The two stages are a useful heat treatment cycle for many alloys including Beryllium Copper.

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Metal Glossary

Metal Glossary

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