Several exposed copper wires with black tape around them lie on a white surface.
By Dan Markham General Information • Tips and Tricks • • • 0 Comments

Best Applications For Copper

When it comes to the metals in our lives, their properties make them useful for a wide variety of applications. However, no two metals will be used the same way! Every metal has a unique set of properties which determine the areas that it would be most useful in. When talking about flexibility in those traits, there aren’t many metals on Earth that do it better than copper! To show you just how flexible copper is in a variety of industries, we’ll go over some of the most practical applications for it!

Wiring

If you’re at home now, get up from where you’re standing and walk over to the kitchen. Take a look around the room. For every household appliance you see, there’s a good chance that they utilize copper wiring in their designs! Amongst the other properties of this metal, copper is a fantastic conductor of electricity. This makes it the primary choice for metal wiring in many electrical appliances, from your microwave oven to telephone pole wiring.

Copper Pipes

Copper is all around you in more ways than you think! Many homes utilize copper pipes in their plumbing systems, and they’re a big part of what makes them run so efficiently. One of the properties that makes copper so useful across industries is its superior resistance to corrosion. This is why the metal holds up so well despite constant influence from water. In fact, copper pipes won’t need much replacing over the course of your lifetime.

Copper Gutters

Your gutters are the last line of defense between your home and the ugly outside elements that could cause damage to its foundation. If you haven’t already guessed, the corrosion resistance that copper displays makes them an ideal choice for those looking to get gutters installed on their homes. It isn’t just the corrosion resistance that makes copper desirable here, either; copper gutters are known to change color to a unique shade of green. It doesn’t affect their performance at all, but it does add a little curb appeal to your home!

Metalworking at Markham Metals

If you need copper fashioned a certain way for your next application, bring it to Markham Metals! We offer a variety of different metalworking services to bend, shape and form metal to the specifications that you desire. We also carry our own in-line supply of certain metals! For all of your metalworking needs, contact Markham Metals today.

A man in a blue flannel and protective mask uses a tool to weld a piece of metal. Blue sparks fly from the metal's surface.
By Dan Markham General Information • • • 0 Comments

Which Metalworking Process Is Most Effective?

Metals are some of the most important materials to use across a variety of industries. They can be bent, shaped, and cut into numerous shapes that make them useful for the items and buildings we use in everyday life. There are plenty of metalworking processes that allow metals to take these shapes. However, that doesn’t mean that each one is equally effective! There are some processes that are far more beneficial than others depending on what you want to accomplish. But, how can you tell the difference? We discuss which metalworking process is most effective below!

Bending and Forming

Let’s say you need to assemble some copper pipes. You won’t be able to do that if your copper is in a sheet! Forming and bending metal is a common process that’s used to warp metal into shapes and sizes that other processes can’t do. However, just because it’s a unique process does not mean it’s an easy one! Because of how difficult it is to make metal bend and fold to your will, the process can only be done at facilities with advanced technological equipment. Even then, it’s almost easier to join two metal parts together to get the shape you want.

Cutting

Perhaps the most versatile metal fabrication process is metal cutting. We aren’t even talking about how efficient it is, either; there are plenty of different tools and methods that you can use to cut it! Some of the most common types of metal cutting include water jet cutting, plasma cutting, and saw cutting. It’s incredibly efficient at getting metals to be the size and shape you want, and depending on which method you use, it’s also fairly cheap! The one main draw for metal cutting is that it will likely be the first – and only – way you can form your metal sheet. If you can find the right application, it will pay off!

Welding

Metal welding is a unique metalworking process that carries a sizable amount of benefits. However, the benefits don’t come without their drawbacks! The main flaw of metal welding is the fact that it needs to be done by hand, not using a machine. While it certainly makes the process cheaper, it’s not as quick or efficient as some of the other processes are.

Metalworking at Markham Metals

While the metalworking processes differ in level of efficiency, all of them are vital for the applications we use today. They’re also the services that Markham Metals can offer you! For expert metalworking that can yield you the best results for your application, click here to contact us directly.