metal enhancement

Work hardening

A process that improves the tensile strength and hardness of a metal in a localized area through cold working, which distorts the metal crystals.

Annealing

A heat treatment process that involves heating work-hardened metal and slowly cooling it, making it less brittle and more ductile.

Case hardening

A process used to harden the surface of steels with less than 0.4 percent carbon content, providing wear resistance.

Carburizing

A process that changes the chemical composition of low carbon steel to increase surface hardness.

Quenching

The rapid cooling of a heat-treated metal, which helps seal the hard surface case.

Hardening and tempering

A process that involves heating medium or high carbon steels to a specific temperature, followed by rapid cooling through quenching, and then reheating to remove excess hardness.

Tempering color

The color seen on metal that indicates the temperature at which brittleness is removed during the tempering process.

Critical point

The temperature at which the atoms of carbon and steel mix freely before bonding together to become a solid.

Polymers

Materials that can be enhanced by using additives to improve processing, aesthetics, and product function.

Bio-batch additives

Additives added to polymers to reduce degradation time from hundreds of years to a few years or even months.

Preservatives

Substances that give wood enhanced protection against insect attack, rot, and fire.

Heat treatments

Processes used for metal to improve properties such as increasing hardness, improving toughness, and reducing brittleness.

Engineered wood

Wood products made from glue-lam, such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and structural composite lumber (SCL), offering greater load-bearing properties.

Manufactured boards

Long, wide sheet materials made from wood parts using resins like urea formaldehyde.

Chipboard

A stable wood product made from compressing wood chips with a resin, unaffected by temperature and humidity like solid wood.

Veneers

Thin layers of wood laminated onto the surface of manufactured boards for enhanced aesthetics.

Structural composite lumber (SCL)

Engineered wood made by layering veneers with resins, offering advantages such as greater load-bearing properties.

Laminated veneer lumber (LVL)

Engineered wood made by layering strands of wood with resins, offering advantages such as greater load-bearing properties.

Grain size

A factor that influences metal properties, dependent on elements, temperature, and cooling rate during processing.