Grade 8 Electrical Technology

Occupational Health and Safety Legislation and Workshop Compliance

Occupational health and safety represents a planned, systematic approach to work designed to prevent occupational disease, illness, and physical injury by actively identifying workplace hazards and mitigating operational risks. In an electrical technology workshop, strict safety compliance is universally mandatory for all occupants.

All safety rules and procedures are legally regulated by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Act No. 85 of 1993. Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act establishes the general duties of employers to their employees. Under Section 8(1), every employer is legally required to provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of employees. Section 8(2) specifies that this general duty includes several core obligations:

Providing and maintaining systems of work, plant, and machinery that are safe and without risks to health, as far as is reasonably practicable.

Taking such steps as may be reasonably practicable to eliminate or mitigate any hazard or potential hazard to the safety or health of employees before resorting to the provision of personal protective equipment.

Making operational arrangements to ensure safety and the complete absence of health risks in connection with the production, processing, use, handling, storage, or transport of articles or chemical substances.

Establishing what hazards to the health or safety of persons are attached to any work performed, article or substance produced, processed, used, handled, stored, or transported, and any plant or machinery utilized; furthermore, establishing what precautionary measures must be taken to protect personal health and safety, and providing the necessary means to apply such measures.

Providing comprehensive information, instructions, training, and structured supervision necessary to ensure health and safety at work.

Prohibiting any employee from performing work, operating plant or machinery, or handling substances unless all prescribed precautionary measures have been implemented.

Enforcing all required health and safety measures on premises under employer control, and ensuring all statutory requirements of the Act are satisfied.

Ensuring that all work is conducted and machinery is operated under the direct supervision of a trained person who understands the associated hazards and possesses the administrative authority to ensure that all precautionary measures are fully executed.

Workshop safety rules also enforce the statutory code of good practice regarding Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in employment. Employers must ensure that no worker is placed at risk of occupational infection. To maintain universal infection control precautions against blood-borne transmission during an accident, rubber gloves and surgical masks must be stocked in every workshop first-aid station.

To meet statutory compliance, technical workshops must satisfy specific environmental conditions: the facilities must be well lit, adequately ventilated to extract fumes, maintained to a high standard of housekeeping, fully equipped with operational fire-fighting apparatus, and marked with designated pedestrian routes. Workstations must be strictly restricted to authorized technical and maintenance personnel, while inspection pits must remain covered or secured with perimeter guard rails when not in active use.

Workshop Layout Architecture and Emergency Facilities

Workshop layout is the engineering discipline of planning and positioning machine tools, equipment, workbenches, assembly bays, storage areas, supervisory offices, shipping departments, and personnel amenities to achieve optimal efficiency in the utilization of labor, machinery, and spatial footprint while eliminating mechanical hazards.

Demarcated floor zones are foundational to accident prevention. Workshop floor surfaces must remain level and free from water, oil, grease, swarf, or loose debris. Structural openings in floors and hazardous machine zones must be protected by secure physical barriers. High-visibility floor striping demarcates safe pedestrian walkways from hazardous working zones. Unauthorised personnel are prohibited from entering demarcated machine envelopes where active mechanical tooling and dangerous voltages operate.

Every power-driven machine must have an emergency stop mechanism installed within immediate reach of the operator. Furthermore, the central electrical distribution board of the workshop must feature a master emergency power shut-off switch. Emergency stops exist to interrupt electrical supply and halt all operational machinery immediately during catastrophic events or mechanical entanglement.

Emergency exits provide a specialized path of egress during fire outbreaks, structural threats, or electrical faults. Combining standard access doors with designated emergency exits accelerates evacuation rates and guarantees alternate escape routes should a primary corridor become compromised. Emergency exit routes must be marked with illuminated or photo-luminescent escape route directional signage, kept clear of all obstructions, and fitted with outward-opening doors.

General Workshop Safety Regulations and Accident Causation

Routine workshop safety requires absolute adherence to standard operational codes:

Personnel must never enter or leave the electrical technology workshop without explicit instructor authorization.

Running, playing, or engaging in practical jokes and horseplay is strictly prohibited.

Every occupant must know the physical location and operational procedure of all emergency stop buttons and main isolators.

Approved personal protective equipment must be worn continuously inside operational areas.

No individual may operate a machine without prior training, verified competence, and explicit permission.

All machinery must be operated with approved safety guards secured in position.

Hands must be kept clear of rotating, reciprocating, or live machine elements.

Hand tools must be utilized strictly as designed, maintaining both hands behind any exposed cutting edge.

Damaged equipment, frayed cabling, or broken structural components must be reported immediately.

Eating and drinking inside the workshop is strictly forbidden.

Long hair must be tied back securely, and loose jewelry or dangling clothing must be removed.

All machines must be de-energized, isolated, and brought to a complete standstill before cleaning, adjusting, or lubricating.

Sharp tools, screwdrivers, or pointed scribers must never be carried in clothing pockets.

Tools must be cleaned and returned to their designated storage shadow boards or cabinets immediately after use.

Possession of, or being under the influence of, intoxicating substances or unprescribed medications is completely forbidden, and smoking is strictly banned.

An accident is defined as an unplanned, uncontrolled incident caused by unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, or a combination thereof, resulting in personal physical injury, occupational illness, or damage to machinery and property.

Unsafe acts represent human failures to comply with established safety codes and procedural guidelines. Examples include: operating equipment without authorization, bypassing or removing interlocks and safety devices, operating tools at unsafe speeds, failing to secure workpieces or machine parts, using damaged or incorrect tools for a given task, failing to use or incorrectly wearing personal protective equipment, assuming unsafe physical postures, wearing loose clothing near revolving spindles, adjusting machinery while it remains in motion, and indulging in horseplay or distracting coworkers.

Unsafe conditions represent physical, mechanical, or environmental hazards existing within the workspace. Examples include: spatial overcrowding of personnel and machinery, inadequate or poorly maintained ventilation systems, improper illumination (such as low light levels, severe glare, or stroboscopic lighting caused by flickering fluorescent tubes that make rotating machinery appear stationary), missing mechanical guards, damaged hand tools, structural defects in the workshop building, slippery or cluttered floor surfaces, and inadequate workspace layout disrupting the orderly flow of materials.

Housekeeping is summarized by the foundational principle: a place for everything and everything in its place all the time. Good housekeeping eliminates clutter, prevents slips, trips, and falls, mitigates fire and explosion hazards from accumulated combustible waste, reduces airborne dusts and toxic vapors, saves production time by keeping tools accessible, and lowers overall operational costs. The Occupational Health and Safety Act stipulates that every working surface must be cleared of solid and liquid waste and all debris at the end of every shift or job.

Poor housekeeping manifests directly as physical injury: slipping on uncleaned oil or grease films, tripping over extension cords or loose scrap left on walkways, being struck by unstable material stacks, and suffering chemical exposure due to missing labels or leaking containment vessels.

Personal Protective Equipment and Workshop Safety Signage

Personal protective equipment comprises specialized garments and barriers worn by workers to minimize exposure to physical, electrical, thermal, chemical, biological, and airborne particulate hazards.

Safety gloves protect the hands from mechanical cuts, abrasions, lacerations, burns, and direct electrical shocks during physical work.

Earmuffs and earplugs provide acoustic attenuation. Earmuffs cover the external pinna to dampen ambient industrial noise and sound impulses, whereas earplugs are inserted directly into the ear canal to shield the tympanic membrane from continuous high decibel ratings, dust ingress, and water, thereby preventing noise-induced hearing loss.

Dust masks cover the nose and mouth to trap suspended airborne particulates, protecting the respiratory tract from non-toxic nuisance dusts.

Safety goggles and safety glasses provide optical defense. Goggles form a complete protective seal enclosing the orbital area to prevent high-velocity particles, chemical splashes, or sparks from striking the eye. Safety glasses feature impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses that protect against forward impacts while allowing lateral ventilation.

Welding helmets, or welding hoods, incorporate specialized optical filters to shield the eyes and facial skin from weld spatter, high thermal radiation, and vision-damaging ultraviolet and infrared radiation emitted by electric arcs.

Hard hat helmets protect the cranium from direct mechanical trauma caused by falling objects or structural impacts.

Safety boots feature reinforced steel toecaps to prevent crushing injuries from dropped equipment and puncture-resistant soles to protect against sharp objects penetrating from beneath.

Overalls and aprons defend the torso and limbs. Heavy cotton work overalls protect everyday clothing and skin from mechanical abrasion, sparks, and chemical contamination. Heavy leather aprons provide an impenetrable barrier against welding spatter, hot slag, and corrosive fluid splashes.

Safety signs provide visual non-verbal communication, delivering unambiguous safety directives irrespective of linguistic background or literacy levels. Safety signage is categorized by standardised colour codes, geometries, and functions:

Mandatory or compulsory signs feature a solid blue circular background with white pictograms. They prescribe obligatory safety actions and specific personal protective equipment that must be used within the zone, such as safety goggles, safety footwear, protective overalls, ear protection, or respiratory masks.

Prohibition signs feature a white circular background, an external red circular border, and a diagonal red slash crossing over a black central pictogram. They indicate actions that are unsafe and strictly forbidden, such as smoking, unauthorized access, or operating switches.

Informative signs utilize a green rectangular or square field with white pictograms or text. They denote safe conditions, assembly areas, and emergency provisions, such as emergency escape routes, emergency exits, and first aid stations.

Danger and warning signs utilize a yellow triangular field with a black border and black pictogram. They warn against potential immediate hazards, such as high voltage, electrical shock risks, combustible materials, suspended overhead loads, or tripping hazards.

Fire prevention signs feature a red square or rectangular background with white pictograms or text, indicating the location and type of fire-fighting equipment, such as fire extinguishers, fire hose reels, and emergency fire call points.

Emergency Evacuation Protocols and Clinical First Aid

Emergency evacuation is defined as the urgent, immediate escape of people away from an area containing an imminent or ongoing hazard to life or property. Evacuation drills must be executed at least once a month to ensure personnel maintain emergency readiness. When an alarm sounds, occupants must execute a four-step building evacuation procedure:

Step 1: Safely stop all active work. De-energize equipment that could present a hazard if left running unattended. Gather essential personal belongings like spectacles, emergency medication, and keys if they are within immediate reach.

Step 2: Leave the building via the nearest designated door bearing an illuminated EXIT sign. Elevators must never be used. Proceed via the nearest stairway. Assist individuals with physical disabilities or small children. Before opening any closed door along the evacuation route, check the door surface with the back of the hand; if the door is hot, do not open it, and redirect along an alternate secondary exit route. Close, but do not lock, all doors behind you to slow the spread of fire and smoke.

Step 3: Report directly to the designated outdoor emergency assembly point. Remain in this assembly area for an immediate headcount. Report any missing individuals and their last known locations to emergency response commanders. Notify responders of any running equipment, hazardous chemical stocks, or volatile conditions left inside.

Step 4: Wait for formal instructions from educators or civil emergency responders. Occupants must remain outside at the assembly point and must never re-enter the facility until the police, fire service, or designated safety officer issues an official "all clear" authorization.

Incident management following an operational mishap involves seven sequential steps: take immediate action to stabilize the area and casualties; report the incident to the person in charge; formally notify regulatory authorities; investigate the event thoroughly to develop corrective actions; calculate the total financial and material costs; conduct an exhaustive root cause analysis; and meticulously record all findings and statements.

First aid is the immediate assistance given to a sick or injured person to preserve life, prevent the medical condition from deteriorating, and promote functional recovery. Notices specifying the names, locations, and emergency telephone extensions of certified first-aiders, along with the location of the nearest first-aid cabinet, must be permanently posted within the electrical technology workshop.

First aid intervention proceeds through three formal clinical stages: examination of the casualty and surrounding environment to detect immediate threats; diagnosis of the primary injury, shock state, or respiratory condition; and treatment using appropriate clinical first-aid materials.

A fully equipped first aid kit must contain specific medical items with designated clinical functions:

Adhesive bandages for covering open wounds and arresting minor capillary bleeding.

Adhesive tape for securing wound dressings, gauze rolls, and splinting.

Antibiotic ointment to prevent microbial infection in minor abrasions, cuts, and burns while cleansing the peri-wound area.

Antiseptic solutions to eliminate bacterial growth and cleanse margins prior to dressing application.

Burn treatment dressings and hydrogels to soothe burn pain, reduce thermal retention, and seal tissue.

Instant cold packs to reduce soft tissue swelling, limit deep bruising, and cool superficial thermal burns.

Eye pads and sterile eye coverings to protect traumatized ocular structures from light, pressure, and particulate infection.

Hand sanitizer for disinfecting the hands of the first aider before and after managing a casualty.

Medical examination gloves, which provide body substance isolation, shielding the responder from direct contact with blood-borne pathogens.

Medical bandage shears and scissors for sizing dressings, cutting medical tapes, and rapidly shearing away casualty clothing.

Triangular bandages for fashioning arm slings, securing flail limbs, or applying pressure over large wound packings.

Technical Graphics Communication and Engineering Standards

Graphics communication is the universal technical language used to describe the precise geometric shape, spatial relationships, dimensions, and operational features of physical components. It combines spatial visualization with manual drafting precision. Strict safety precautions must be maintained when handling pointed drafting tools such as compasses and dividers, as puncture wounds create a transmission vector for blood-borne viruses such as HIV.

Standard drawing instruments require careful operational use and routine cleaning. The drafting board provides a stable drafting plane and must be cleaned using mild degreasers or low-odor mineral spirits. The T-square, which establishes true horizontal lines and supports set squares for vertical and angular drafting, must be wiped down with a soft duster. Set squares ($45^\circ$ and $30^\circ/60^\circ$) construct perpendiculars, parallels, and standard angles. The metric scale rule measures linear dimensions without serving as a straightedge for pencil lines. The protractor measures non-standard angular divisions. Compasses construct circles and arcs; their graphite leads must be kept sharpened to a chisel point. Pencils are graded from hard ($\text{H}$ series for faint construction lines) to soft ($\text{B}$ series for lettering and dark outlines), with $\text{HB}$ and $\text{F}$ grades used for general line work. Dividers transfer linear distances between drawing sheets or scale maps. Erasers remove mistakes and must be cleaned on cotton or soapy water and fully dried before applying to drafting paper.

Technical line work conforms strictly to South African National Standards (SANS 0111):

Type A (Continuous line – dark/thick): Visible outlines, external edges, and finished profiles.

Type B (Continuous line – light/thin): Dimension lines, projection/extension lines, cross-hatching lines, and leader lines.

Type C (Continuous line – very light/feint): Initial construction lines, projection vectors, and horizontal lettering guidelines.

Type D (Dashed line – light/thin): Hidden details and obscured edges.

Type E (Chain line – light/thin, alternating long and short dashes): Center lines, pitch circles, and axes of symmetry.

Type F (Chain line with dark, thickened ends): Cutting planes for section views.

Type G (Short break line – thin, irregular freehand): Boundaries of partial or broken-out views.

Type H (Long break line – thin, ruled with zigzags): Limits of views and sections when the boundary is not an axis.

Lettering and figuring must be executed freehand using uniform capital letters between faint guidelines. Capital letters ensure legibility and prevent visual crowding. The standard height for major lettering and numeral printing is $5\,\text{mm}$, while smaller notes and auxiliary dimensions use $3\,\text{mm}$ guidelines.

Dimensioning requires precise placement of thin extension lines originating $1\,\text{mm}$ clear of the workpiece outline, spanned by a thin dimension line terminated with sharp, filled arrowheads. The numerical value is placed above horizontal dimension lines or to the left of vertical dimension lines. Diameters are denoted by the symbol $\varnothing$ (e.g., $\varnothing 38$) and circular arcs by the letter $\text{R}$ followed by the radius dimension (e.g., $\text{R}20$).

Orthographic projection is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object using mutually perpendicular projection planes. In first-angle orthographic projection, the principal view that describes the object most comprehensively is selected as the front view, which displays true width and height. The top view is projected directly below the front view and displays width and depth. The left view is projected to the right of the front view and displays depth and height. These principal views depict the true size and true shape of the model.

Isometric drawing is a three-dimensional pictorial representation where the three principal axes are drawn such that the vertical axis remains vertical while the two receding horizontal axes are tilted upward at an angle of $30^\circ$ to the horizontal baseline. All lines parallel to these three axes are drawn true to scale, but circular contours and non-isometric planes appear distorted into ellipses and angular facets.

Hand Tools, Cutting, Stripping, and Marking Equipment

Hand tools represent the foundational instruments utilized in mechanical and electrical fabrication. Using tools correctly extends their operational life and eliminates severe mechanical hazards.

A flat screwdriver features a wedge-shaped blade designed to engage slotted screw heads. Screwdrivers must never be used as pry bars, scrapers, or cold chisels. Handles must be insulated with high-dielectric plastics to protect against inadvertent electrical contact, and tips must be ground square and kept free from grease. The screwdriver tip must precisely fit the screw head slot without excessive play.

A star or Phillips screwdriver has a cross-shaped point that seats into matching cross-recessed screw heads, providing self-centering torque without slipping out.

Combination pliers are versatile tools that combine serrated gripping jaws, pipe grips, and side-cutting edges. They grip flat and round stock, twist conductors, and shear solid wires. Pliers must never be substituted for wrenches to tighten hexagonal nuts or bolts, as doing so rounds off the fastener heads.

Long nose pliers have elongated, tapered jaws designed to hold, loop, and bend small-gauge wires and manipulate miniature components in confined spaces.

Flat nose pliers have wide, flat, rectangular jaws designed to grip sheet components and bend sharp angles in flat metal.

Round nose pliers have conical jaws used specifically to bend uniform circular terminal loops at conductor ends to fit under screw terminals.

Side cutters, or diagonal cutting pliers, feature offset cutting jaws designed to shear insulated and bare conductors cleanly. Cuts must always be made at true right angles to the conductor. The tool must never be twisted or rocked laterally, as this will chip the hardened cutting edges.

A hacksaw cuts rigid metals, structural channel, PVC, and heavy cables. The blade must be tensioned correctly in the frame with teeth pointing forward away from the handle, cutting exclusively on the forward stroke. Excessive downforce or rapid sawing must be avoided to prevent buckling or snapping the blade.

Files shape, deburr, and smooth cut metal, timber, and plastic. Files are manufactured in various cross-sectional profiles: flat, hand, round, half-round, square, and triangular. The file consists of the point, face, edge, heel, and pointed tang. Files must always be fitted with a tightly seated wooden or plastic handle before use. Accumulated metal filings in the teeth must be cleared using a stiff file card.

Cold chisels cut heavy sheet metal, shear corroded rivets, and chip chasing channels into masonry. The chisel consists of a hardened cutting edge, forging angle, hexagonal steel body, and a striking head. If the striking head becomes mushroomed from repeated hammer blows, it must be ground flat on a bench grinder to prevent steel shards from fracturing off.

A wire stripper removes polymer insulation from solid or stranded electrical cables without nicking the underlying metal conductor. Strippers feature adjustable stops or sized cutting notches. Conductors must be stripped only when de-energized.

A utility knife, such as a retractable Stanley knife, features a razor-sharp utility blade used to split outer cable sheaths and trim plastic trunking.

A steel rule provides precise linear measurements in millimeters and centimeters, functioning down to half-millimeter divisions. It must be kept clean, dried after use, and stored flat to protect its reference edges.

A measuring tape utilizes a flexible, spring-loaded steel blade enclosed in a casing to measure extended structural runs, conduit routes, and architectural features.

An engineering try square consists of a thick steel stock and a thin steel blade joined at a fixed $90^\circ$ angle. It checks surface squareness and lays out perpendicular lines on metal stock.

A scriber is a tool of hardened tool steel with finely ground conical points used to scratch fine, accurate layout lines onto the surface of metal workpieces.

A centre punch features a hardened conical point ground to an angle of $90^\circ$. Struck with a ball-peen hammer, it creates a small conical indentation in metal to seat a drill bit and prevent it from wandering off-center.

Entrepreneurship, Commercialization, and Market Structures

Entrepreneurship is the economic process of designing, launching, organizing, scaling, and managing a business venture to solve real-world problems while earning an economic profit. An entrepreneur is an innovative individual who assumes financial and operational risks to launch a business venture.

Entrepreneurs drive modern economic systems by generating new employment, building commercial solutions, and expanding the national tax base. Entrepreneurship acts as the primary incubator of technological innovation. By commercializing new scientific discoveries, entrepreneurial activity introduces market disequilibria that disrupt stagnant operational systems, elevating a country's Gross Domestic Product and living standards. Furthermore, many entrepreneurs direct philanthropic capital into non-profit foundations, charities, and community development projects.

Individuals enter entrepreneurship for various structural reasons: to effect social and environmental change; to gain professional autonomy by removing corporate constraints; to secure flexible working hours; to take calculated risks; to create personal employment when facing difficult job markets; or to pursue technical innovation.

Entrepreneurship is divided into four main operational models:

Small business entrepreneurship represents localized enterprises that employ a majority of the non-governmental workforce, including domestic electricians, plumbers, local grocers, and carpenters. These businesses aim for local sustainability rather than rapid geographic expansion.

Scalable startup entrepreneurship focuses from inception on developing repeatable, scalable business models. In these ventures, operational revenues accelerate at an exponential rate while incremental overhead costs grow slowly. Investors fund portfolios of these high-risk ventures expecting major commercial returns from successful scale-ups.

Large company entrepreneurship operates inside major conglomerates. Because consumer preferences and technologies evolve, legacy corporations must innovate continually to avoid market obsolescence.

Social entrepreneurship blends commercial business strategies with the mission of solving environmental, cultural, or social issues. These enterprises measure success by positive social return, including poverty alleviation and community development, rather than pure financial profit.

Product marketing is the process of positioning, promoting, and selling a product to a targeted demographic. Product branding establishes a distinct identity using symbolic logos, trade dress, and messaging to distinguish products in the market. Modern commercial promotion relies heavily on digital social media advertising platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

Material Science: Conductors and Insulators

Materials are categorized into conductors, insulators, and semiconductors based on their atomic structure and the mobility of their valence electrons.

Conductors are materials with high electron mobility containing abundant free electrons in their outer valence shells. When an electric potential is applied, these free electrons drift easily through the atomic lattice, producing an electric current.

Copper is widely used for electrical wiring because of its high conductivity, ductility, corrosion resistance, and ease of machining.

Aluminium has lower electrical conductivity than copper, but its low density makes it ideal for overhead high-voltage transmission lines where reducing structural weight is critical.

Steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, is a ferromagnetic material with lower conductivity than copper or aluminium. It is prone to oxidation (rusting) and is commonly used for structural strength in steel-reinforced aluminium conductors.

Sea water conducts electricity readily because dissolved salts dissociate into free-moving sodium and chloride ions. Its conductivity is approximately one million times greater than that of pure fresh water and increases proportionally with temperature.

Insulators are materials that lack free valence electrons; their electrons are tightly bound within the atomic structure, resulting in high electrical resistance.

Dielectric strength is the maximum electric field an insulating material can withstand without undergoing electrical breakdown and becoming conductive. Mechanical tensile strength is also required to support heavy mechanical loads without structural failure.

Rubber provides high electrical insulation, excellent mechanical flexibility, and long operational life, making it an ideal protective jacket for portable flexible cords.

Glass exhibits high dielectric strength, high volume resistivity, and a low coefficient of thermal expansion, making it well-suited for high-voltage transmission line suspension disc insulators.

Transformer mineral oil has a high flash point to prevent flammable vapor formation at elevated operating temperatures, a low pour point to ensure fluidity in cold environments, and low viscosity to circulate freely and cool transformer cores.

Timber and wood are natural insulators whose cellular structure contains dead air pockets. However, untreated timber is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere, which significantly degrades its electrical resistance.

Electrical paper is thin and flexible, but it is hygroscopic and must be impregnated with insulating oil or varnish to serve as an effective dielectric inside cables and transformers.

Porcelain is a non-hygroscopic, vitrified ceramic with exceptional dielectric strength and high compressive resistance, making it the industry standard for outdoor substation bushings and overhead pin insulators.

Diamond is an electrical insulator with tightly bound carbon covalent bonds, yet it is the hardest known natural mineral and acts as an exceptionally efficient thermal conductor.

Mica is a mineral with high dielectric strength and the ability to withstand high operating temperatures, although it has low mechanical shear strength.

Key material definitions include:

Ductile: The mechanical property of a metal enabling it to be drawn out into thin wire under tensile stress without fracturing.

Malleable: The mechanical property of a metal enabling it to be hammered, rolled, or pressed into thin sheets without cracking.

Non-hygroscopic: The chemical property of a material indicating