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Isaac Babbitt’s Inventions

Posted in Reflections on 5th December 2011

Isaac Babbitt was born in Taunton, Massachusetts on 26th July 1799 and started his career in metals as a goldsmith, but he soon turned his attention to the production of alloys. He produced the first Britannia metal to be manufactured in the USA in 1824. This alloy has similar properties to pewter, and the production of utensils and flatware was very popular at the time and pewter was the material of choice for these products. These products were originally imported and Isaac Babbitt hoped to supply his Britannia metal as an alternative for their production, however it proved to be financially unsuccessful.

The Photovoltaic Effect and the Solar Cell

Posted in Reflections on 14th October 2011

Solar panels use wafers of crystalline silicon cells or thin-film cells based on cadmium telluride or silicon. The conducting wires that take the current off the panels may contain silver, copper or other conductive (but generally not magnetic) transition metals. Due to the vagaries of the weather solar panels must be able to withstand a wide range of climatic changes from heatwaves to prolonged periods of rain fall and the harsh conditions that icy winters brings.

The Global Foundry industry - an overview

Posted in Reflections on 30th September 2011

The melting and casting of metal is an established technique which has been used in and across the World for thousands of years. In the UK, the most relevant growth in the ferrous metal casting industry came with the birth of the industrial revolution. Cast iron and steels were able to be developed on extensive scales as metal components were in great demand from the multiple technologies that were evolving...

Investment Castings - an Overview

Posted in Reflections on 8th August 2011

Investment casting, the lost wax process, Cire perdue, are all terms used to describe a form of producing castings to very nearly a finished condition. This production method is thousands of years old.

Top Five Things to Look for in a Nickel or Nickel Alloy Supplier

Posted in Reflections on 31st March 2011

When choosing a nickel or nickel alloy supplier, there are many factors to consider; however, these are the five that we at William Rowland consider to be the most important...

Sheffield Cutlery - The Cutting Edge

Posted in Reflections on 1st February 2011

Also know as The Steel City, Sheffield became well-known for its production of steel and was the centre of the cutlery trade.

Tinsel

Posted in Reflections on 2nd December 2010

Its name reportedly is derived from the old French word "Estincele" which means sparkle. Tinsel was was first produced in about 1610, in Nuremberg, Germany. It was originally made from shredded silver, which then decorated the sculptures and Christmas scenes in the houses of the well-off.

Nailed

Posted in Reflections on 5th November 2010

Ever since mankind learned that melting iron ore produced metal, ideas on what could be done with it must have followed very quickly. Making nails from it to join pieces of wood together began a creative process, an early form of engineeringif you like that, like Topsy, just grew and grew.

In the UK evidence of nail making has been found from Roman times. These early nails were hand made from wrought iron by blacksmiths working the hot iron into square bars on an anvil by hammering the sides into shape, tapering one end and using a nail header to form the head at the other.

Bits and Pieces

Posted in Reflections on 21st September 2010

Boring? Well if we are going to talk about the twist drill what better way to name the article? The twist drill, so called because the piece of bar that was originally used in its production had two grooves cut into opposite sides and was then twisted to produce the flutes and was the invention of an American gentleman, Steven Morse in 1861.

A look at Titanium

Posted in Reflections on 9th September 2010

There is some debate as to who actually named the element, was it named by The Reverend William Gregor the original discoverer or by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth who found it later in the same year of 1791. Whichever is the case it was named after the Titans, sons in Greek Mythology of Gaia and Uranus and is now universally known as titanium.

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