Are you curious about custom-clad metal and all the possibilities it offers? It's an interesting subject that many people have questions about. Here are some of the most common questions about custom-clad metal and their answers.
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What Is Custom-Clad Metal?
Custom-clad metal is a composite material made from different types of metal bonded together through pressure and heat. The result is a strong, lightweight material that offers superior corrosion resistance compared to either of its individual components.
The most common combinations are aluminum cladding on steel or stainless-steel cladding on copper. These combinations are often used in the aerospace, automotive, and electronics industries.
How Is Custom-Clad Metal Made?
Custom-clad metal processing begins with a sheet of each type of metal — usually one that is more noble (less prone to corrosion) than the other. These sheets are then cut into strips and stacked in alternating layers before being pressed together under high pressure and heat to bond them together into one piece.
After cooling, the resulting material can be rolled into sheets or cut into various shapes and sizes depending on the application requirements. This process ensures that the metals are firmly bonded and won't come apart during use.
However, to ensure the highest quality results, each step of the process must be properly managed and monitored. This is done to ensure that the metals are bonded correctly and that no impurities or flaws have entered the composite material.
What Are Some Benefits of Using Custom-Clad Metal?
One of the biggest benefits of using custom-clad metal is its superior strength-to-weight ratio. It's much lighter than other materials, such as solid stainless steel, while still providing excellent strength and durability. This makes it ideal for applications where weight reduction is important, such as aerospace or automotive components.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website clad metals.
Additionally, custom-clad metal offers superior corrosion resistance due to its composite structure. It also has improved electrical conductivity compared to solid metals, making it an ideal choice for electronic components or power distribution products.
Finally, since it's made from different types of metals, custom-clad metal can save costs over traditional methods such as welding or bolting separate pieces together.
Since our metalized yarn is comprised of multiple individual filaments and does not retain a perfect circle we approximate as closely as possible by using the ideal close-packed diameter of the yarn’s filaments grouped together.
At a minimum, the yarn will have at least a 0.5 twist per inch (TPI) otherwise the fibers will unravel easily. However, the amount of twist generally depends on the customer’s application. The more twist, the tighter the close-pack diameter becomes.
That depends upon your application. How much weight savings you want, environment temperature, strength requirements, and other parameters will determine the fiber best for your needs. We recommend contacting us for help.
For our X-Steel Conductive Fiber (stainless-steel plated product) we can vary the filament count from 6 to 24 filaments. We have designed our own stainless-steel bundler to have that capability. For all our other polymer plated products, we do not create the base polymer. We can only buy what the polymer fiber manufacturers produce and offer commercially. While we cannot honor requests for specific fiber counts, we may be able to come close by selecting a different polymer base fiber that may be available. Again, we suggest contacting us regarding your requirements.
Most of our products are plated with Copper, Nickel, or Silver. We can consider plating other metals, but it depends upon the customer’s application and business case. Please consult the factory.
Amberstrand is sold exclusively through our distribution partner, Glenair. For all other products, you may purchase directly from Syscom, from Microwave Components LLC or through Amazon. Syscom minimum order is 3,000 ft usually provided on a Wardwell reel. We accept Purchase Orders, Check, or PayPal for payment. Samples are also available if needed.
We can provide our metalized fibers on spools, bobbins, cones, and cardboard cores. If your machinery requires a specific type of packaging, we may ask for a sample of your packaging to work with.
Want more information on is colored stainless steel safe? Feel free to contact us.