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Ferrous metals

Ferrous metals

 

 

Ferrous metals

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY
MATERIALS - METAL
FERROUS METALS

 

Ferrous metals are metals that contain IRON. Iron on its own is of little use as it is very soft. It is usually ALLOYED with CARBON or other metals. When alloyed with Carbon we get a range of CARBON STEELS. In the main, the more carbon we add the harder the Steel becomes and the more brittle it becomes. Mild Steel has a very small amount of carbon added (0.15-0.35%) and this results in a very workable steel that can be used for many applications. Mild Steel is the most commonly found steel in use today.
If we require a harder steel, for cutting and drilling, then we add more carbon (0.8 - 1.5%) to get High Carbon Steel.
If we add chromium, nickel & magnesium in small quantities then we get Stainless Steel.
This is a very useful steel as it does not require any surface treatment as it does not rust. It is however more expensive to produce than ordinary steels and it is very hard to work.

CAST IRON
MELTING POINT - 1200 C
COMPOSITION - Iron + 3.5% carbon
PROPERTIES - Hard and brittle
USES - Heavy machinery, vices, car engines

 




HIGH CARBON STEEL
MELTING POINT - 1800 C
COMPOSITION - Iron + 0.8 - 1.5% carbon
PROPERTIES - Very hard and brittle Tools
USES - hammers, chisels
 


MILD STEEL
MELTING POINT - 1600 C
COMPOSITION - Iron + 0.15-0.35% carbon
PROPERTIES - Tough and malleable, easily joined, general purpose metal USES - Nails, screws, girders, car bodies, fridges

 


HIGH SPEED STEEL
MELTING POINT - 1800 C plus
COMPOSITION - Steel + tungsten, chromium, vanadium
PROPERTIES - Extremely hard, cannot be cut by normal means
USES - Machine tools

 


STAINLESS STEEL
MELTING POINT - 1800 C plus
COMPOSITION - Iron + chromium, nickel & magnesium
PROPERTIES - Does not rust, difficult to work
USES - Sinks, cutlery
 

Source: http://wsdt.wellingboroughschool.org/resources/dtoncd1/school/materials/metals/ferrousmetals.doc

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Ferrous metals

 

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Ferrous metals

 

 

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Ferrous metals