Friday, August 9, 2013

Gallery of Atlas Bronze Selfie's

Pedro & Ruth (Pedro has been with Atlas for over 10 years, he is a Jack of All Trades and helps keep our Warehouse Operations running smoothly!  Chances are Pedro has cut your material at one point or another :)



Nancy, Jason & Ruth - Nancy & Jason work in the Trenton location and are the anchors in that ship.  Jason is our Warehouse Manager and Nancy is basically his right hand man!

Chris, Jason, Melissa & Ruth - Chris is our Vice President of Operations...I affectionately refer to her as MOM, as she is the wisest woman in Metals I know!  Melissa is in our Sales Department and has been with us for over 5 years.  She is one of the sweetest and caring co-workers!

Katie, Anthony, Eneldo & Ruth - Katie & Eneldo are Sr. Sales Rep's and are amazing at their job.  I sit in between them at the office, so I learn a lot to say the least.  And Anthony in the back is our IT/Project Manager who could basically work at the Apple Store :)

Fancy Nancy & Ruthie Toothie (our nicknames)

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Economic Activity Rebounds -- Article from Metal Center News


Hi All:

I have been following after the economy reports and although I'm hesitant to jump on any bandwagons, I was encouraged to read the following:

**Article taken from -- Metal Center News - click here to visit
  

Economic Activity Rebounds After Month of Contraction

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector bounced back in June after a month of contraction, according to the latest ISM Report on Business from the Institute for Supply Management in Tempe, Ariz. ISM’s June PMI registered 50.9 percent, up 1.9 percentage points from its May figure. A reading above 50 indicates growth.

Of the 18 manufacturing industries surveyed, 12 reported growth in June, including primary metals, fabricated metal products and machinery. The average PMI for January through June of 51.5 percent corresponds to a 2.9 percent annual increase in GDP, ISM claims.

The trend was not as positive for hiring, however. ISM's June Employment Index registered 48.7 percent, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points. Manufacturing employment contracted for the first time since September 2009, when the index registered 47.8 percent.

ISM's New Orders Index increased in June by 3.1 percentage points to 51.9 percent, while its Production Index increased by 4.8 percentage points to 53.4 percent. 


**Article taken from -- Metal Center News - click here to visit**

Thursday, July 25, 2013

THIEF

I am an avid Peanut M&M's fan!  It is the perfect combination of chocolate & peanuts and in my mind - a Health Food :)

So while I was in Trenton one day...my loving co-workers decided to raid "my" (it's really not mine) M&M bag. 

This is what they sent me....


Aren't they loving!

xoxoxo -  Ruth

Monday, March 25, 2013

Mad over Plate



It's that time of year again...March Plate Madness.  While one doesn't typically associate Bronze Plate with the same type of hysteria that Basketball evokes, for some of us, we get excited about Plate!  Of course, if Bronze was still comprised of Copper & Arsenic then we might find some customers truly experiencing madness. But luckily humans wised up and replaced that Arsenic with Tin! 
So why is Plate so neat?  Personally, I find that of all the Bronze Shapes (i.e. Cored Bar or Solid Bar) plate is the most versatile in both Method of Manufacture & Secondary Processes.  Now this is just my personal opinion so all the manufacturers of Bushings and Finished Machine products please don't eat me alive.

The plate that I usually come in contact with is made from one of the following methods of manufacture: Continuous Casting, Sand Casting, Hot Rolled, Cold Rolled and/or Forged.  And here is the kicker... the method of manufacture depends on the Alloy, Material Specification, size range needed, quantity and lead time.  Fun I know! And here are few of cool Secondary Processes that I have run across here at Atlas Bronze:

3 “D” Saw Cutting

Sure a lot of companies can saw cut and yes the cutting itself is neat to watch.  But it just so happens that Atlas Bronze is one of the only suppliers that can Saw Cut a Big Block of bronze plate on all (3) sides:  thickness, width and length.  Where in the past, a customer would have to Sand Cast a piece to a non-standard thickness or have several hundred (or even thousand) pounds run in a mill, depending on the alloy -- we eliminate that need by offering this specialty cutting. 

For example:  Take C93200 Plate -

What if you needed a 1.125" thick x 2" wide x 40" long BUT the mill only has standard sizes that they can offer.  They would offer you the next available size up -- 1.25" thick x 2" wide .......

Yes this can work but it's a lot extra material left over from milling that plate down.  A lot of extra material = more $ spent on the bar(s) + all that extra time invested in the milling process. 

This is where Atlas Bronze comes into play!
We take one of our Big Blocks-- in C93200 we have (2) different sizes to choose from:  6" thick x 18" wide (or) 10" thick  x 12" wide.  We take the block and then cut it on ALL (3) sides to get the thickness that the customer needs. 

So the customer winds up with the desired dimensions of:  1.125" thick x 2" wide x 40" long

I'm still working on getting some pictures for you folks so you can see exactly what I'm talking about but if you have any questions message us and we'd be happy to help!

Ground Plate = less time = less $ lost

This is where we take C932000 (Bearing Bronze Plate) or C954000 (Aluminum Bronze Plate) and grind it top & bottom to a +/-.002 on the thickness.  Why does this matter?  Because it reduces the amount of time one needs to mill or grind a piece down -- less time to machine = less money wasted.  Grinding Plate down is just a plain smart secondary process for the machine shop and end user alike.


Ground Plate


The Unique Diamonized Naval Brass Plate

As far as I know there is only (1) machine in the world that can produce the "Diamonized Finish" (see below).  Now let me say that out of ALL the plate that we carry, I find this material to be my favorite.  It is stunning to look at and it truly does look like you are staring into a mirror.  That aside, it's functionality is impressive as well.  It has excellent wear properties, corrosion resistance and softness.  It has a gauge tolerance of +0.000, -0.004 and much more!





Graphite Plugging

This secondary process, which is also considered Self Lubrication, is great when standard lubrication is impractical, including heavy load, high temperature applications. You do wind up spending a bit more money by having the plates plugged but now you have permanent lubrication built into the part.  Thus eliminating the need to stop the machine and re-apply lubrication.  Less Time = More Money!


Water jet Cutting

I love the idea that you can take a rectangle sheet and make the circles.  Okay this is hokey but it kind of reminds me of crazy Spirograph toy that I used to play with as a “e-hem, kid”.  So why is Water jet cutting a great secondary process, take a look:






Waterjet cutting has been around since the early seventies but was of little value to engineers as then it was only capable of cutting thin gasket and foam materials. Abrasive jets extended the concept about 10 years later.

Both technologies use the principle of pressurizing water to extremely high pressures, and allowing the water to escape through a very small opening (typically called the "orifice" or "jewel"). Water jets use the beam of water exiting the orifice (or jewel) to cut soft materials like confectionery and foam etc. but are not effective for cutting harder materials.  Abrasive jets use that same beam of water to accelerate abrasive particles to speeds fast enough to cut through much harder materials.

We frequently get requests for circles in Brass Plates calling for thicknesses that otherwise couldn’t be achieved in any other fashion, except to water jet. 

Decorative Purposes

This one is relatively newer to me.  Over the past few years we have supplied plate (all different alloys) that would wind up being included in some of the neatest places. An example of this would be we supplied plate that would be polished, water jet cut and then installed at the Main Entrance at Macy's Herald Square. (see below)

© 2013 Macys.com is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.

We have supplied brass sheets that would be the decorative sheets to escalators and elevators, window and building facades, (such as the Novartis Building in New York) and much more.



DISCLAIMER:  While Maranatha Now, Inc. dba Atlas Bronze strives to make the content on this blog as informational and educational as possible,  Maranatha Now, Inc. dba Atlas Bronze makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this blog, and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this site.








Thursday, February 14, 2013

SAE 841- Bar Stock vs Bearings





Day in and day out we have customers who contact us for SAE 841, Sintered Bronze material.  The call will start off by the customer giving an order for pieces of 841 Bar Stock or Solid Bar material.

Then somewhere in the conversation the customer will say that they need a Signed C of C per ASTM B438 and then the dreaded statement comes....."I will be making Bushings".  This is where we have to stop the customer and go into the usual spiel about the ASTM B438 specification.  Now before I continue, here is our disclaimer**:  We are not expertsOur sales team has just been burned enough times that it has forced us to learn and understand this crazy spec. 

 The sales person then proceeds to explain to the customer that the ASTM B438 specification is for Bronze-Base Materials used in Powdered Metal Bearings.  The key word being -- Bearings.  This covers Bearings / Bushings or Thrust Washers. 



841 Facts

Here is the deal.  Powder metallurgy is the process of blending fine powdered materials, pressing them into a desired shape (compacting), and then heating the compressed material in a controlled atmosphere to bond the material (sintering). The powder metallurgy process generally consists of five steps: 

(1) Blending - The part-specific powder is created by mixing the correct amounts of metals and lubricants to produce the physical and mechanical properties of the finished product.

(2) Molding - the powder is compacted into the desired shape using compressive forces. The part shape is created by compressing the correct blend of materials inside of the part-specific tools.

(3) Sintering - Through the application of heat, sintering permanently bonds the individual metal particles that have been compacted together through the molding stage.  This process is instrumental in providing the majority of the mechanical properties of the final product.

(4) Sizing - Sizing, sometimes referred to as "coining," is the final pressing of the fully sintered part.

(5) Oil Impregnation - Under vacuum, customer-specific oil products are impregnated into the remaining porosity of the completed part.


The Problem

Notice in Step #3 that the Sintering process is the instrumental phase in providing the majority of the mechanical properties of the final product.  The ASTM B438 (05, 08 & 13) specification covering Sintered products applies to Bearing/Bushings/Thrust Washers.  These shapes have specific radial crushing strengths (minimum and maximum's), Impregnation Efficiencies and Impregnation Density's that are unique to the shapes dimensions and sizing.  

So why does that matter to the guy buying Solid Bar Stock and machining it into a Bushing? Consider this, let's say that I buy a piece of 841 Bar Stock, 1" ID x 3" OD x 6-1/2" long.  This piece of bar stock has a specific radial crushing strength, impregnation efficiency & density.  Now when you take that piece of bar stock back to the shop and machine it down to say 1-1/4" OD x 2-1/8" OD, you have now changed the radial crushing strength, impregnation efficiency & density.  Once the customer makes that "structural" change we, Atlas Bronze, can no longer say that that material is certified to the ASTM B438 specification.  It is believed that when you "ream" or "bore out" the ID of a piece of 841 Bar Stock you close the pores and alter the impregnation of that piece of bar.  At that point, Atlas can no longer say that the Signed C of C that lists specific physical & mechanical properties apply.  


Suggestion

Buy what you need.  If you need a Bushing, order a Bushing.  If you need a Flanged Bushing, get a Flanged Bushing.  Yes, you might pay a little more if the parts are not standard sizes...but in the long run, you know that the Physical & Mechanical Properties as outlined in the ASTM B438 spec will be in conformance to what you purchased. And most importantly read the specifications, ASTM B438-05,  ASTM B438-08 & ASTM B438-13.



 If you need a copy of one or all of these specs you can download them by visiting:  ASTM.org and type in ASTM B438 in the search bar.  



**DISCLAIMER:  While Maranatha Now, Inc. dba Atlas Bronze strives to make the content on this blog as informational and educational as possible,  Maranatha Now, Inc. dba Atlas Bronze makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this blog, and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this site.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Show Your Metal Some Love -- Photo Contest

In an effort to celebrate Valentine's Day in our normal quirky fashion, we decided to hold a Photo Contest where ANYONE can enter their Metal Pictures! And yes, this means anyone....nuts, bolts, hammers, round bar, plate...you name it! Last Tuesday I had to stay home from work because the kids were sick (the 3rd time since January 1st) so I decided to go into my pantry and pull out my box of Bronze Remnants and get creative. Here's my stellar art:

















Lovely aren't they!!! Here's the Contest Graphic. (Click on the picture to take you to the contest)