Adhesive Manufacturers

Adhesives are substances that, when applied to one or both surfaces, binds two objects to each other and resists letting them separate. They can be used to bind objects either permanently or temporarily. Adhesives are used in just about every industry imaginable in some fashion or another, whether it be in arts and crafts or surgery. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that there are many different types of adhesives. Generally, adhesives are divided into type categories based on reactiveness, or lack thereof. Reactiveness of an adhesive is judged by whether or not it chemically reacts in order to harden.

Reactive adhesives are further divided into groups of multi-part and one-part adhesives. The former are adhesives that are made up of two or more components, while the latter only have one component. To work, multi-part adhesives harden via reaction with components with which they are mixed, while one-part adhesives harden when they chemically react with an external source like moisture or heat.

Non-reactive adhesives are divided into the following types: pressure-sensitive, drying, hot and contact. For the best results, select your adhesives based on: impact strength, shear strength, peel strength, cleavage strength, tensile strength, wet strength and fatigue strength. 

An adhesive is a substance that is used to bind two separate items together and resist separation. However, depending on the chemical makeup, adhesive products may be used to fill seams or holes, waterproof, laminate, contain liquids or level surfaces. Adhesives are made up of an epoxy and a hardening substance with each compound specially designed with a specific task in mind. One may find a wide variety of adhesives at nearly any store because for each adhesive, the composition is carefully considered to ensure the proper adhesive and cohesive qualities.

Adhesives are used in a wide variety of engineering and manufacturing purposes in large quantities, and for a wide range of uses. Some of the ingredients used in creating adhesives are casein, starch, natural rubber, butyl rubber, amino resins, polyurethane, polyvinyl acetate, acrylates, silicones and more. Adhesive suppliers work with a multitude of chemical solutions to ensure their custom adhesive will perform the tasks efficiently. Learn more about adhesives.

Aluminum Manufacturers

Aluminum and its versatile alloys can be transformed into an array of forms to meet the diverse demands of numerous industries. These forms encompass bars, coils, plates, tubing, sheets, strips, wires, rods, and pipes. Such products find essential applications across a broad spectrum of sectors, including architecture, chemical processing, defense, automotive, aerospace, transportation, marine, and food and beverage industries, among others.

In the realm of architecture, aluminum proves indispensable, serving in the construction of siding, roofs, windows, and doors, while also providing an insulating layer to buildings. In the intricate world of chemistry, aluminum emerges as a key component in antacids. Its versatility extends to the aviation and defense industries, where it is a fundamental material for aircraft wings and military vehicles. Aluminum‘s presence is equally vital in the production of irrigation pipes, automobiles, transport cables, and overhead power lines.

On the industrial front, aluminum is the backbone of beverage packaging, found in beer and soft drink cans. Within the domestic sphere, its utility is evident in everyday items such as food storage foil, pots and pans, cooking utensils, and various household appliances.

Learn more about aluminums.

Aluminum Extrusions

Aluminum extrusions, celebrated for their impressive strength-to-weight ratio and cost-effective production process, are indispensable in a wide range of structural applications. These linear aluminum products, formed through either hot or cold extrusion, are shaped via dies into various profiles, including angles, beams, channels, and tubing.

The unique combination of strength and lightness makes extruded aluminum products ideal for numerous structural purposes. They find applications in light poles, building and window frames, lighting fixtures, car bumpers, hardware joints, trim, and many other construction, industrial, and automotive uses. Extruded shapes and channels can be crafted with precision tolerances, allowing them to interlock with other aluminum structures or function as heat sinks for cooling electronics, refrigerators, and heat engines.

Aluminum‘s inherent properties-strength, resistance to rust and temperature fluctuations, ease of fabrication, and complete recyclability-make it the preferred choice for building and structural materials. The versatility and reliability of aluminum and its alloys ensure that aluminum extrusions remain a top selection for engineers and builders alike.

Learn more about aluminum extrusions.

Copper Brass Bronze

Copper, a versatile metal, plays a pivotal role in manufacturing a myriad of products. Its extensive use stems from its remarkable properties, such as exceptional heat and electrical conductivity. Additionally, copper‘s ductility allows it to be easily molded and drawn into wires, making it indispensable in electronic devices and wiring. Beyond electronics, copper finds application in various forms, such as tubes, sheets, and strips, in air conditioners, refrigerators, automotive parts, cookware, and lighting components.

Copper‘s versatility extends to its ability to form valuable alloys, with brass and bronze being the most notable. Brass, renowned for its muted, buttery yellow hue akin to gold, is typically composed of 67% copper and 33% zinc. The proportion of zinc influences the brass‘s color, with higher zinc content yielding a lighter shade.

Bronze, another prominent copper alloy, competes closely with brass in popularity. The copper content in bronze varies significantly, ranging from 60% to nearly 90% in some commercial grades. Tin is the second most prevalent element in bronze, constituting between 12% and 40% of the alloy, further enhancing its properties and applications.

Learn more about coppers.

Die Cutting Companies

Die cutting is the manufacturing process of stamping or cutting two dimensional parts out of flat sheets of materials like rubber, fiber, paper, or metals. This process, often used in conjunction with laminating services, is a crucial finishing service for a wide range of parts and products.

Sometimes the term die cutting stems confusion, as it is quite ambiguous and its meaning differs in different fields. Other than cutting a material, a die can perform other functions as well, such as, forming, which involves compression and other stressing method for producing desired shapes. Learn more about die cutting.

Fiberglass Fabricators

In the realm of fiberglass-reinforced plastic manufacturing, fiberglass molding stands as the cornerstone process. Fiberglass is created when molten glass is meticulously drawn through minuscule apertures in specialized tools, resulting in fine, threadlike structures. These threads undergo further refinement through heat treatment or pressing and are then amalgamated with plastic resin to form the desired material.

Fiberglass molding finds its application in a diverse array of products, ranging from machinery support components and electric circuit boards to the sleek shells of racing cars and durable panels. Its widespread use is attributed to the remarkable properties of fiberglass: it remains stable across temperature fluctuations, resists water absorption, withstands chemical exposure, boasts a high strength-to-weight ratio, is non-flammable, and is an excellent electrical insulator. These characteristics make fiberglass molding an indispensable technique in modern manufacturing.

Learn more about fiberglass fabrication.

Foam Fabricating

For many centuries, the same materials have remained as the base structural support for any structure. These materials include concrete, wood, and steel. However, new research has created the potential for new structural support systems manufactured from fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRP).

A FRP structure uses a combination of high-performance polymer resins, carbon and glass reinforcement fibers, and a foam core to create a highly stable, yet still flexible structural support system that is inexpensive and highly useful. The structures have been used successfully in the marine, renewable energy, and aerospace markets. FRP has been used in these markets for 40 years with favorable results.

Now, the FRP structures are available for use in architectural and civil structures. There are many benefits to using FRP, including the ability to form unique shapes, the freedom to use structural elements to create design freedom, and a simpler way to create curved forms. FRP is also resistant to structural damage, corrosion, fire, and environmental damage. The cost of FRP is also less than some materials, like steel, and the strength of the material is just as high.

Because of these benefits, the structure requires less maintenance, which cuts down on maintenance time and expenses. Buildings that use the foam structural cores will find that the chances of the structural support catching on fire is much less, and the structure is impervious to flooding. FRP is not invincible, as it can still be damaged by earthquakes and other shifts in the ground. The benefits of the material far outweigh any downsides, however. Learn more about foam fabricating.

Friction Materials

Friction materials are products used to slow or inhibit movement, and they are used in many different types of machinery to control or stop processes. The two main criteria for good friction materials are a high coefficient of friction and good energy absorption.

The coefficient of friction describes the roughness of a material, so a material with a high coefficient of friction is very rough and requires more energy to move along its surface. Frictional forces generate excessive heat, so it is also important that frictional materials be able to absorb this extra heat energy to prevent damage to the system. Friction materials are used extensively in braking and clutch systems which are essential in automotive equipment and industrial machinery. Learn more about friction materials.

Glass Fabricators

The term "glass" is somewhat broad, but usually, those glass products used in consumer, industrial and scientific applications alike are typically made of at least the three following ingredients: lime from limestone, sand and alkali-based sodium bicarbonate, which is also known as soda ash.

Each component offers something different. Lime, for example, has a high level of chemical stability and prevents glass from becoming water soluble. This can also be accomplished by aluminum oxide, which is even more chemically stable than lime. This addition is especially important when glass manufacturers include soda ash because soda ash, which is used to lower the initial melting point of the glass, also may make it water soluble. Other substances, like iron oxide (which creates a green tint) can also be used in order to create different colors and levels of shine or brilliance.

To create glass, manufacturers fuse these materials and others in a furnace reaching at least 2500?. Once it reaches this point of high heat, glass is cooled by several hundred degrees and shaped. Most often, shaping is done via drawing, pressing or blowing. The applications of glass are endless and diverse, from drinking glasses, to vacuum tubes, to fiber optics. 

Glass cutting manufacturers, or glass fabricators, produce a range of glass types which are used across many industries in applications as diverse as transparent barriers, insulators, containers, optical and laboratory instruments. The properties of transparency, heat resistance and relative strength make glass a valuable manufacturing material for applications requiring these features.

Glass is an inorganic, amorphous solid, meaning that it retains its rigid, brittle structure without crystallizing. Prehistoric people used blades of volcanic glass, or obsidian. Iron age man traded glass beads made from the slag of their primitive forging processes. Today, manufactured glass is found in architecture, transportation, technology, and a wide range of everyday products. It is heat resistant, chemical resistant, corrosion resistant, pressure resistant, and strong. It can be reflective or refractive. Glass takes on a surprising variety of forms. It may provide transparent, translucent, or opaque barriers. It may be fabricated into vessels of any shape, size, or color. It is ground into fine optical lenses, formed into laboratory instruments, or used to create delicate "objects d‘arte". It may be spun into fibers, pressed or poured into molds, blown, blocked, and laminated. Glass fabrication is almost as diverse, depending largely on the desired end product. Learn more about glass cutting.

Nickel Suppliers

Nickel, with its atomic number 28 and symbol Ni, is a naturally occurring chemical element often found in combination with iron (Fe) within the Earth‘s crust. This silvery-white transition metal, first isolated in 1751, has historical significance, being used in tools as far back as 3500 BC.

Nickel‘s enduring popularity stems from its remarkable properties: it is malleable, ductile, highly heat resistant, durable, ferromagnetic, and exceptionally resistant to rust and corrosion. These attributes make nickel indispensable across various industries, including military and defense, electronics, coinage, and industrial manufacturing.

In the military and defense sector, nickel and its alloys are crucial for fabricating rocket motor casings and missile components, among other applications. This versatility underscores nickel‘s critical role in modern technology and industry.

Learn more about nickels.

Plastic Fabricators

Plastic fabrication is the process by which manufacturers develop plastic products. Plastic fabrication processes include thermoforming methods like extrusion and molding, as well as mechanical forming processes like plastic machining and stamping. It even includes joining processes like welding. Note: the terms "plastic fabrication," "plastic machining" and "plastic manufacturing" can be used interchangeably. Learn more about plastic fabrication.

Stainless Steel Manufacturers

Stainless steel, a remarkable category of steel, stands out for its exceptional resistance to corrosion, rust, and staining. Its unique properties stem from a significant chromium content, with a minimum of 10%, which imparts its renowned durability and resilience. By adjusting the levels of chromium, nickel, and molybdenum, various types of stainless steel can be created to suit specific needs.

Renowned for its longevity, minimal maintenance requirements, and full recyclability, stainless steel is an exemplary material for a vast array of applications. From the smallest components to large-scale structures, its versatility is unmatched.

Steel service centers offer an extensive range of stainless steel products, including foil, wire, strip, bars, plate, coil, sheets, and rods. These materials are crafted through hot rolling and forming processes, ensuring they meet diverse industrial and commercial needs.

Stainless steel is indispensable in manufacturing a wide variety of products, from kitchenware and tableware to electronic appliances and laundry equipment. It also plays a crucial role in sinks, kegs, vats, silos, and large kitchen installations. Its application extends across numerous industries, notably engineering and construction, where it is used in everything from elevator doors and gutters to the towering skyscrapers that define city skylines.

Learn more about stainless steel.

Stainless Steel Tubing

Stainless steel tubing, often abbreviated as SS tubing, stands as a versatile and essential component across numerous industries. With its hollow, cylindrical design, SS tubing and pipes are indispensable for transporting gases and fluids, as well as serving as integral parts of complex machinery and systems.

Renowned for its corrosion resistance, strength, and impeccably smooth, crack-free surface, stainless steel tubing has spurred the development of various specialized forms. These include corrugated stainless steel tubing, which is flexible and features a protective PVC outer layer; stainless steel pipe fittings, essential for connecting pipes; seamless stainless steel pipe, known for its flawless construction; and stainless steel square tubing, a robust alternative to the conventional round shape, offering enhanced pressure resistance.

The ingenuity and reliability of stainless steel tubing continue to drive innovation, meeting diverse needs with unparalleled efficiency and durability.

Learn more about stainless steel tubing.

Steel Service Centers

Steel service centers are specialized facilities that meticulously process and treat various alloys of raw steel, transforming them into high-quality materials for manufacturers. These centers cater to a diverse array of industries, including aerospace, automotive manufacturing, construction, electronics, and shipbuilding, among others.

In their operations, steel service centers produce a wide range of preformed shapes, such as steel beams, strips, tubing, and I-beams, alongside a multitude of pre-production treatment processes. Remarkably, around 70% of all steel acquired by these centers undergoes some form of pre-production processing. Services offered include steel galvanization, aluminization, hot rolling, and cold rolling, ensuring that the steel is ready for use in the creation of various steel goods.

Learn more about steel service centers.

Titanium Suppliers

Titanium, derived from its eponymous element found abundantly in nature albeit not in pure form, possesses a remarkable array of inherent qualities. Renowned for its ductility, efficient heat conductivity, low density, exceptional strength, and robust resistance to corrosion, titanium finds diverse applications across several industries. It is indispensable in aerospace and marine sectors, automotive manufacturing, surgical and dental procedures, competitive racing, fine jewelry craftsmanship, and aquarium construction. To optimize its inherent properties, titanium is often alloyed with metals such as steel, iron, or aluminum, resulting in composite materials that combine the best of both worlds.

Learn more about titanium.

Tungsten Suppliers

Tungsten, originating from the Swedish ""tung"" and ""sten,"" meaning ""heavy stone,"" occupies the 74th position on the periodic table. Renowned as the heaviest practical element, tungsten is one of the most thermally resilient metal currently recognized. Furthermore, in its pure form, tungsten exhibits the lowest vapor pressure among all non-alloyed metals, underscoring its exceptional stability and utility across various industrial applications.

Moreover, tungsten and its alloys are prized for their elevated density, formidable tensile strength, superior corrosion resistance, and outstanding electrical and thermal conductivity. These exceptional properties render tungsten highly sought-after across a spectrum of industries, encompassing consumer goods, construction, electronics, electrical applications, lighting, engineering, industrial manufacturing, jewelry, mining, and medical equipment. Tungsten has an indispensable role in diverse technological and industrial sectors worldwide.

Learn more about tungsten.

Contract Manufacturers

Contract manufacturing refers to the provision of manufacturing services by specialized firms under contractual agreements with other businesses, known as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). These OEMs engage contract manufacturers to produce goods on their behalf. Contract manufacturing is also recognized as private label manufacturing or outsourced manufacturing.

While outsourcing typically denotes manufacturing outside of North America, in this context, it broadly refers to any manufacturing conducted external to the OEM‘s direct operational framework. Learn more about contract manufacturers.

Plastic Materials

Plastics compose an extremely common category of synthetic material that resembles natural resins. The word "plastic" comes from the Greek and Latin adjectives designating an object that can be shaped or molded. Plastics are highly valued for their efficiency across many categories (e.g. economical, material, etc.) and are thus abundant across virtually every commercial industry.

Plastics represent a prevalent category of synthetic materials that bear resemblance to natural resins. The term "plastic" originates from Greek and Latin adjectives that denote the quality of being moldable or shapeable. Valued for their versatility and efficiency-ranging from cost-effectiveness to material performance-plastics are ubiquitously utilized across virtually every commercial sector.

Learn more about plastic materials.

Plastic Molding Manufacturers

Plastic processes differ greatly in both the way they form plastic products and in the shape and structural integrity of the products they manufacture. Blow molding, for example, is nearly the sole method by which plastic bottles for beverages, household cleaners and cosmetic products are made, as well as a range of low-cost toys and parts with low to medium performance.

Learn more about plastic molding manufacturers.

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