Get to know our companies, and learn about the metalcasting/machining industry, by reading the Eagle Group Blog.
The latest resource from the Eagle Group is an updated and expanded edition of our Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing Raw and Machined Cast Products, one of our most popular free downloads. Buying cast parts involves a long list of decisions before any metal is poured. Which alloy will hold up in the field? Which casting […]
The latest resource from the Eagle Group provides a comprehensive introduction to heat treatment in metalcasting and CNC machining. This 40-page guide is available as a free download and is designed for manufacturing professionals, purchasers and engineers looking to deepen their understanding of heat treatment. It explores the role of heat treatment in enhancing the […]
Past civilizations had very practical reasons for caring about metal properties. They had to ask questions like “Can I break my enemy’s sword before he breaks mine?” or “How thick does my armor need to be to provide any protection at all?” They might not have known it, but these soldiers and gladiators were primarily […]
Metal fatigue is the cracking and eventual failure of a metal workpiece under the stress of perpetual loading, a type of continual loading known in the industry as cyclic loading. Fatigue resistance in metal parts is the other side of the coin: it represents a part’s ability to avoid cracking and failure under cyclic loading. […]
The word ‘tempering’ generally means acting as a counterbalancing force, moving an object (or a situation) away from the extremes, toward a more balanced state. The same principle applies to heat treatment: when we temper a metal part, we are adjusting the proportion of one mechanical property against another. Specifically, we are increasing ductility while […]
Toughness is a mechanical property that measures the amount of energy a material can withstand, or absorb, before fracturing. In the context of other mechanical properties, toughness for steel products represents a balance of strength and ductility. As a material term, toughness can sometimes cause confusion: two very different materials can both be considered tough. […]
The heat treatment known as annealing encompasses a group of processing heat treatments. Unlike thermal processes that are used to improve the strength and wear resistance of a part (such as hardening heat treatments), processing heat treatments are used to prepare a workpiece for further manufacturing processes. Chiefly, this means improving a material’s responsiveness to […]
Imagine a medieval blacksmith hammering a sword fresh out of the fire. With the weapon still red-hot, he dunks it in water. The water hisses and boils around the submerged steel as it turns color from glowing orange to grey. This iconic scene of rapidly cooling a workpiece is called quenching, or quench hardening, and […]
Internal stresses form naturally during many manufacturing processes. Machining, stamping and welding, for example, are common manufacturing methods that augment the amount of stress in a material’s fabric. And although stress build-up is a natural byproduct of these processes, too much of it leads very commonly to part distortion. Most of these stresses must therefore […]
The latest resource from the Eagle Group is an updated and expanded edition of our Buyer’s Guide to Purchasing Raw and Machined Cast Products, one
