Fabrication techniques with raw materials involve lathing, welding, grinding milling, broaching, and honing. “Before starting a metal fabrication process, it is very helpful to know what kind of materials are available and appropriate for the task at hand” (Hyde). Casting is a fabrication process that has been used for over 6,000 years. Casting involves forcing liquid metal into molds and letting it cool and harden into the desired shape the blueprints instruct. Melting metal into a liquid is an ideal choice for structures that require complex geometries. The raw materials used are typically molten metal, but concrete, epoxies, and clay are also used. Other common metals used in the casting process are aluminum, iron, steel, stainless steel, gold, silver, copper, and …show more content…
They are commonly used in construction industries and engineering. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) defines the physical and chemical make up of each type of metals. An I- beam is a long steel piece cross-section beam that resembles the shape of the letter I. Wide flange and H- beams are considered subsections of this category as well. Z- shape sectional metals resemble the letter Z, with a flange sticking out from opposite directions. Hollow structural sections are hollow piping and are made in different standardized shapes: square, circular, rectangular, and elliptical. They can also be angled, channeled, T-shaped or asymmetrical. Bar types of sectional shapes consist of a flat, long piece of rectangular cross-sectioned metal. Rods are long pieces of metal that are circular or square, rebar is an example of the rod sectional