Mechanic Advice

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What's the name of this (metal?) alloy? (lemmynsfw.com)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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This is usually found in really cheap products and looks and sounds metallic (rings a bit when dropped) , but I'm not sure if it is one.

The pictured cross section shows the greyish metal (the gold is just paint).

The cross section feels coarse and has tiny glittering specks. It also looks a bit porous (tiny air bubbles seem to be present in this alloy)

It's also pretty weak - a pencil like object made from this stuff can easily be snapped in two with your bare hands.

Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's from a cheap curtain rod end cap.

I'm not sure if it's a ceramic, wouldn't that break if dropped from shoulder height?

The end cap is definitely tougher than that but still a lot more brittle than other common metals.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

There are many types of ceramic with different properties, but typically they're pretty brittle. Tungsten carbide is a ceramic used in saw blade and lathe tool tips because of how strong it is, but it is weak to impacts, so they usually don't make large objects out of it.