WHAT IS ZINC ALLOY?
Among the materials used in the manufacture of accessories for bathroom doors, we have nickel-plated bronze, which we already talked about in the previous post. In addition to this material, the economic line of accessories is made of zinc alloy.
In this post, we are going to talk about this alloy material, its characteristics, most common uses and more. To start, let’s first learn about zinc.
WHAT IS ZINC?
Zinc is a relatively abundant metallic element in the earth’s crust. It is susceptible to moisture and when affected by moisture, in pure conditions, it forms a protective surface oxide layer that helps protect itself from corrosion.
This metal has been used by humanity indirectly since 1000 BC. although it was not until around 1100 that it began to be studied as a separate element and not as a variant of tin or another metal known at the time.
After the widespread and well-known use of this metal, alloys made their appearance on a commercial level. The discovery and development of zinc alloy made it possible to use this new material for more widespread applications. Now, what is an alloy?
WHAT IS AN ALLOY?
An alloy is the mixture of a metal with another element. This mixture is homogeneous and generally results in a material with different or superior properties to those of the elements used separately.
There is a wide variety of pure metals that in their natural state have deficiencies in certain properties, whether mechanical, thermal, among others. The fundamental objective of mixing them in an alloy is to improve these properties and obtain a “new” material that is more usable than the pure metal.
Within the variety of available alloys we have the zinc alloy.
MOST COMMON USES OF ZINC ALLOY
The most common uses of zinc alloy are:
– Manufacture of economic accessories for bathroom doors and other products in contact with spaces where humidity is high.
– Uses in the manufacture of sheets and coils for the construction of products related to heavy industry.
– Manufacture of molding dies for parts of mechanical equipment.
– Thanks to its cheap manufacturing cost, it is a material that is increasingly used in the generation of complementary pieces of jewelry. It is also a material widely used in garments and leather pieces that require accessories or buckles.
– In the automotive sector it is used in the generation of simple and economical parts used in simple mechanisms in doors and other parts.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ZINC ALLOY
Among the main characteristics of the zinc alloy we have:
– It has good mechanical resistance, especially against cold plastic deformation.
– It features a bluish-white coloration with a standard gloss finish.
– Depending on the element used in the mixture with zinc, the properties may vary. The most common elements are copper and titanium.
– The most commercially used zinc alloys are brass and zamak.
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