Glossary of terms
Glossary of terms |
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Bevel |
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A bevel placed on the edge of an object is an angled face that is not perpendicular (at a right angle) to the other faces of the object. For example, the blade of a knife is bevelled. | |||
Brittle |
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The brittleness of a material is a measure of how easily it will break and shatter, rather than stretching or compressing, when stress forces are applied to it. | |||
Burrs |
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Raised pieces of metal protruding from the surface of an object. | |||
Deflection |
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The deflection is a measure of how much an object is displaced (moves). This can either be under load, as in a load deflection, or under the object’s own weight, as in natural deflection. | |||
Ductile |
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Ductility is the ability of a material to change its shape, or stretch under tension without breaking. | |||
Hardness |
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Hardness is a measure of how well a material resists scratching and changing its shape when a force is applied to it. | |||
Parallel |
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When two surfaces or lines are an equal distance apart across their entire length, i.e. they will never meet. | |||
Quenching |
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Quenching is the process of rapidly cooling metal during manufacturing, often using water.
It’s done as part of heat treating to achieve desirable properties in the metal, such as strength and hardness. |
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Rigidity |
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Rigidity or stiffness, is the measure of an object’s ability to resist deflection or deformation of its shape when a force is applied to it. | |||
Rusting |
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Rusting is a form of corrosion undergone by metals that contain iron. It occurs when such metals are left unprotected in the presence of oxygen and moisture in the atmosphere. | |||
Square |
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Two sides are said to be square to one another when the angle between them is 90° (a right angle). | |||
Tolerance |
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The tolerances of an item are the acceptable errors in the physical dimensions of the item. No item is ever exactly to size, so tolerances are used to ensure a consistency of acceptable variation from the ideal size is achieved. For example, if a piece of wood was cut to be 1m long, it may actually be 1.001m. Or a millimetre (0.001m) longer in length than it was meant to be. If the tolerance for that piece of wood was ±0.001m, then this would be acceptable. If however, the tolerance was ±0.0005m then it would not be acceptable and would fail a quality test. | |||
Toughness |
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Toughness is the measure of a material’s ability to stretch or compress without breaking or shattering when a force is applied to it. | |||
