Castle Metals Aerospace Processing and Services

A. M. Castle was the first to offer a wide range of processing services. Today, few suppliers can match our attention to detail or provide the bundling services needed to function as a one-stop resource for customers.

H-A Industries is our state-of-the-art bar processing facility, which has thermal treating, bar turning, and centerless grinding capabilities, supplies unequalled quality and value, to either commercial or customer specific properties. In addition to the special capabilities of H-A, we offer a comprehensive range of specialty, value-added, processing services for plate, sheet, tubing, and bar products from many other locations in our North American network. These include; bar cutting, plate burning and sawing, grinding, milling, turning, thermal treatment, and material testing.

Product Literature (PDF)
For more detailed information on our processes, select see the following PDF brochure:

Processing Data Sheet

Cutting

Castle’s advanced cutting processes include:

Cutting Processes

Abrasive Water-Jet: A cutting method that uses a jet of pressurized water containing abrasive powder for cutting steel and other dense materials.
Aluminum Contour Saw: Sawing to a layout line of regular radius or irregular contour. The term is often used to describe any band machining operation more complicated than a simple straight line cut.
Cut-to-Length: The process to uncoil sections of flat-rolled steel and cut them into a desired length. Product that is cut to length is normally shipped flat-stacked.
Deburring: A method whereby the raw slit edge of metal is removed by rolling or filing.
Precision Saw Cutting: The metalworking process used to cut starting ingot or billet stock to length in preparation for the forging process and also to trim forged parts to size.
Shearing: A type of cutting operation in which the metal object is cut by means of a moving blade and fixed edge or by a pair of moving blades that may be either flat or curved.

Testing

Castle’s testing processes include the following:

Testing Processes

Hardness: A test used to determine the relative resistance to indentation or displacement of metals by pressure, or by resistance to abrasion. Common methods of testing include Brinell, Rockwell, and Vickers tests.; Brinell:
A common standard method of measuring the hardness of certain metals. The smooth surface of the metal is subjected to indentation by a hardened steel ball under pressure or load. The diameter of the resultant indentation, in the metal surface, is measured by a special microscope and the Brinell hardness value read from a chart or calculated formula.; Rockwell:
A method for testing the hardness of metals by determining the depth of penetration of a steel ball or a diamond sphero-conical indenter. The value is read from a dial and is an arbitrary number related to the depth of penetration. (http://metals.about.com/library/bldef-Rockwell-Hardness-Testing.htm)
Eddy Current Tester: The ROTOMAC 550 CUSTOM rotary probe eddy current tester at Castle’s HA Industries provides for detection of surface defects such as cracks or seams in bar stock. The rotating multiple test probes at speeds up to 6000 RPM around the bar. The material under test moves longitudinally through rotating probes creating a helical search pattern. As the probe passes over a defect, variations in the induced eddy-current pattern are produced, detected and indicated.

Additional Services

Castle’s additional processing services include:

Additional Services

Bar Coding: A method of encoding data on products for fast and accurate electronic readability, which can be read by electronic readers, and used to facilitate timely and accurate input of data to a computer.
Chamfering: The process in which a flat surface is made by cutting off the edge or corner metal or other material.
Forming/Drilling/Machining: Forming:
The process in which a machine press shapes a metal work piece by applying pressure on it.; Drilling:
The type of machining used when smaller holes are needed and a closer ole diameter tolerance is preferred or required. However, it is the slowest of the drilling operations and hole drift is typically greater than .001 per inch of length drilled.; Machining:
The process to remove excess or unwanted stock by the use of machine tools for rough or finish turning, boring, drilling, or milling.
Line Marking: The process of placing a distinct sign or image upon or within an object or material for identification or other purposes.
Packaging: The process in which we provide protective packaging material used to protect products throughout the entire transportation and distribution environment.