A metal is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typically malleable or ductile. Metals, as chemical elements, comprise 25% of the Earth's crust and are present in many aspects of modern life.
Metal Manufacturing Processes
Casting Processes: Metal casting processes involve pouring molten metal into a mold cavity where, once solid, the metal take on the shape of the cavity.
Deformation Processes: Deformation processes include metal forming and sheet metalworking processes. These processes use plastic deformation resulting from the use of a tool that applies stresses to the piece which exceed the yield stress of the metal.
Material Removal Processes: These processes remove extra material from the workpiece in order to achieve the desired shape.
Joining and Assembly Processes: In these operations multiple parts are connected either permanently or semi permanently to form a new entity.
STRUCTURE
Materials are made up of a wide variety of atomic structures. However, metals in particular almost always have their atoms organized in a crystalline lattice structure. This means that the atoms of metals are arranged in a patterned, three-dimensional way that repeats itself throughout large portions of the metal. The three most common crystalline structures in metal are face-centered cubic, body-centered cubic and hexagonal close-packed. Here are the pictures of the most common crystalline structure.
Different uses of Metals
Metals are usually very strong, most durable and highly resistant to everyday wear and tear. As such, they have been used since ancient times for a lot of things and even today with advances in technology. For example they are used, In the Construction Industry, In electronics, In medicine. Machinery, Refractory and Automobiles, Decorative products, Other Uses
Physical Properties of Metals
Shiny (lustrous) in nature, Metal is a good conductor of electricity and heat, Density and melting point is high, Moldable (Malleable), Ductile, At room temperature, it is in solid form except for mercury, Opaque
Chemical Properties of Metals
Easily corrodible, Can lose electrons, Form basic oxides, Have low electronegativities, Good reducing agents