Materials

Materials

1. Wood

   • Softwood
     • Pine
     • Birch
     • Softwoods come from coniferous trees which are evergreen, needle-leaved, cone-bearing trees, such as cedar, fir and pine.
   • Hardwood
     • Mahogany
     • Oak
     • Hardwoods come from broad-leaved, deciduous trees. The main hardwood timbers are ash, beech, birch, cherry, elm, iroko, mahogany, meranti, oak, obeche, sapele and teak.
   • Manufactured Boards
     • MDF
     • Hardboard
     • Chipboard
     • Plywood

2. Metals

   • Ferous
     • Ferrous metals contain iron. Examples are cast iron, mild steel, medium carbon steel, high carbon steel, stainless steel and high speed steel.
   • Non-Ferous
     • Non-ferrous metals do not contain iron. Some common non-ferrous metals are aluminium, Duralumin, copper, zinc, brass, gilding metal and tin.
   • Alloys
   • Most metals are extracted from their ores using a chemical reaction. Metals are rarely used in their pure form, and are usually mixed with other metals to improve their properties. This is called an alloy. Most metals are good conductors and can be recycled.

3. Plastic

   • Thermoplastics
   • Thermosetting Plastic
   • Natural sources of plastics include: plants - from which cellulose can be extracted trees - from which latex, amber and resin can be extracted animals - from which horn and milk (used to make glues) are obtained insects - from which shellac (used to make polish) is obtained Synthetic Synthetic plastics are chemically manufactured from: crude oil coal natural gas