METAL CONVERSION METHODS

As long as a clients specification don't prohibit it, be creative when faced with a tough sourcing problem. Here are a few ideas for alternate ways of supplying hard to find materials.

BAR PRODUCTS

Round Bar

Forge it
Turn it from a larger diameter
Cut from plate - if the finished lengths are short and plate is available at that thickness
Upset it to make larger diameters from smaller ones - only in short lengths

Square Bar

Cut from plate
Hot roll it from round or flat bar - conversion
Forge it
Mill it from round bar
Saw cut from round bar

Hex

Forge it, if lengths are short
Mill it from round bar


Flat Bar

Cut from plate
Forge it
Mill it from round bar
Saw cut from round bar

 

FLAT ROLLED PRODUCTS

Sheet

Mill or grind it from heavier sheet or plate
Get it slit and cut to length from strip coil
If aluminum or titanium, chemically mill it

Plate

Mill it from heavier sheet or plate

TUBULAR PRODUCTS

Seamless Tube & Pipe

Forge It, if lengths are short
Bore It
Trepann it
Centrifugally cast it
Flow form it

Welded Tube & Pipe

Offer seamless, if available
Roll and weld plate or sheet - over 2" OD
Custom draw it - under 2" OD

Square & Rectangular Tube

Re-square it from round tube (Louisiana Steel)

 

REMEMBER - Alternates often come down to a trade-off between cost, time, quality, etc....

While many of these alternatives can be done by your suppliers, ie..many have in-house milling, grinding, saw cutting, waterjet, etc.....many require an understanding of an entirely new subset of service suppliers - companies who can bore, trepann, forge, roll & weld and more.

MBA will give you the forge shops, but here is a valuable list of service providers to do the rest

Utilizing these options can be a time consuming process, requiring you to contact and negotiate with multiple vendors, with varying chances of actually winning the job.