We recently spoke in a previous article about the manufacturing process behind golf clubs and the metals and casting process involved in producing the variety of clubs available. This left us thinking about other sports and how base metals are used in producing sporting equipment.
Darts
For the avid darts enthusiast, there are three types of dart head to choose from – brass; nickel-silver; tungsten.
Brass is the lightest of these three metals. It is a soft alloy which is made up from copper and zinc which allows it to be manipulated to shape by manufacturers with greater ease.
Nickel-silver is another light metal which is predominantly made using an alloy consisting of nickel, copper and zinc. In a similar way to the brass tipped darts, it is easy for manufacturers to shape and work with during the production process.
The final option for a darts head is tungsten, which unlike brass and nickel-silver, is a very heavy and dense metal. It is usually mixed with nickel to give a consistency of 80% tungsten, 20% nickel. Although harder to work with, the durability is greater than the other metals.
The shafts of the darts themselves are usually made form a high grade aluminium alloy.
Athletics – Running Spikes
We could talk and talk about the application of metal across the wide range of athletics events, from javelin to pole vault to shot put. Despite the events changing, the one metal product most athletes have in common is the spikes in their running shoes.
Running spikes are a fundamental necessity in all events where the terrain is not 100% asphalt. In order for them to benefit the athlete effectively and efficiently, the spikes of choice are usually made from a lightweight material such as titanium alloys.
Ice Skating/Ice Hockey
Although a majority of the boot is made from raw materials, the skate’s blade is usually created from carbon steel which is then coated with high quality chrome or nickel plating in order to prevent rusting. Very few skating blades are made from stainless steel as this is quite soft.
The carbon steel used to make the blades is heated in a furnace at a very high temperature before being cooled quickly. The temperature and rate of cooling determines the hardness of the metal.
Baseball
Most people would associate baseball bats with being predominantly wooden. However, the choice of bat for today’s professionals is now made from aluminium.
Aluminium bats are far lighter and have a greater durability than their wooden counterparts. The aluminium can be lined with graphite or titanium to increase the rigidity and swing speed of the bat.
William Rowland Ltd are ferro alloys suppliers, high purity metals suppliers, metal powders suppliers, nickel powder suppliers, nickel alloy suppliers and tin suppliers. If you would like to find out how we can meet your requirements, please contact us using the Quick Enquiry Form on the right-hand side of this website.
