Hard mineral of aluminum and oxygen Al03 used as an abrasive.
Annealed
Softest possible state of any material.
Annealing, Full
Heat treating process wherein metal is heated to a temperature above its critical range, held at that temperature long enough to allow full recrystallization, then slowly cooled through the critical range.
Anode
Positively charged electrode.
Anodizing
Process of applying a controlled oxide layer to the surface of aluminum.
Archive
The storage of files in the form of tape or disk for long periods of time.
Arcs
Partial circles used to describe rounded corners of material and show bends in material.
Artificially Aged
Hardening process of material accelerated by temperature.
ASCII
Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
Austempering
A heat treating operation in which austenite is quenched to and held at a constant temperature usually between 450°F and 800°F until transformation to bainite is complete.
Austenite
The solid solution in which gamma iron is the solvent. Austenite is a structure and does not refer to composition. Austenite is the structure from which all quenching heat treatments must start.
Austenitic Stainless Steel
Non-magnetic stainless steel. Not hardenable through heat treatment; good corrosion resistance.
AutoCAD
A brand name of CAD software prevalent in the marketplace.
Automatic Spinning
The art of forming metal over a mold using an automatic Computer Controlled or Template spinning lathe.
Auxiliary Slide
A bed mounted, cam operated slide typically used for forming on a slide forming machine.