Various metals are used in shipbuilding, depending on the specific applications and requirements of the vessel. Some of the most common metals used in shipbuilding are:
The choice of metal depends on several factors, including the type of ship, operational environment, required performance and the shipbuilder’s budget. In many cases, different metals are combined to obtain the optimal combination of properties for a specific ship design.
Aluminium is a lightweight metal with a silvery shine and low density. It is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust and is extracted from bauxite ore. Aluminium has a wide range of applications due to its unique combination of properties, including lightness, corrosion resistance, good thermal and electrical conductivity, formability and recyclability.
The use of aluminium offers a number of advantages:
Aluminium has many different applications:
Aluminium is a versatile material that plays an essential role in numerous industries and applications because of its unique combination of properties and benefits.
Various grades of aluminium are used in shipbuilding, depending on the specific requirements of the vessel and the conditions it will be exposed to. The following grades are commonly used in shipbuilding:
Rob Snel’s product range includes various products made of aluminium such as outer bushes of door toggles, mounting brackets of hatch toggles, hinge plates, manholes and portlights.
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, although other elements such as aluminium, nickel or lead are sometimes added as well to adapt the properties of bronze to specific applications. Bronze is known for its excellent mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and aesthetic appeal, making it a widely used material in various industries and applications for thousands of years.
Bronze has the following material properties:
Bronze is used for numerous applications:
Bronze is a versatile material valued for its unique combination of properties and applications in various industries, art forms and constructions.
Rob Snel’s product range does not include a lot of bronze products. Bottom plugs are one of the few products in the product range that are made of bronze.
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, sometimes supplemented by other metals such as lead, tin or aluminium, depending on the desired properties and applications. It is a widely used material because of its unique combination of properties, including good mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, aesthetic appeal and easy machinability.
The use of brass offers a number of advantages:
Brass is used for numerous applications:
Overall, brass is a versatile material used in a wide range of applications because of its unique combination of properties and aesthetic appeal.
Rob Snel’s product range includes various products made of brass such as eye bolts, butterfly nuts, bow nuts, tail nuts, grease nipples and portlights.
Stainless steel is also known as corrosion-resistant steel (CRES) or inox. It is an alloy of iron, chromium, nickel and other elements, which offers corrosion resistance and is known for its durability, shine and hygienic properties. Because of its many advantages, stainless steel is widely used in various industries, including construction, food, medical and automotive.
The use of stainless steel offers several major advantages:
Stainless steel is produced in different types and grades, each suitable for specific applications and environmental conditions. It is often referred to by numerical codes such as 304, 316, 430, which represent different compositions and properties. Generally, stainless steel is used for a wide range of applications, ranging from kitchenware, sanitary, construction materials, medical devices, to automotive parts, architectural elements and more.
The stainless steel in our commercial products is made of the following stainless steel grade:
Rob Snel’s product range includes many products made of stainless steel such as door toggles, manholes, eye bolts, butterfly nuts, bow nuts, tail nuts, self-locking nuts, hinges, bottom plugs and grease nipples.
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, typically with a carbon content of less than 2% of the total weight of the alloy. In addition to iron and carbon, steel may contain other elements such as manganese, chromium, nickel, molybdenum and vanadium to achieve specific properties such as hardness, corrosion resistance, tensile strength and more. Steel is one of the most widely used materials in the world because of its versatility, durability and economic production.
Steel has the following properties:
Steel has many applications:
Steel is a versatile material that is an integral part of our modern society, due to its wide applications, durability and cost-effectiveness.
Various grades of steel are used in shipbuilding, depending on the specific requirements of the vessel and the conditions it will be exposed to. Some common grades of steel used in shipbuilding are:
Rob Snel’s product range includes various products made of steel such as door toggles, manholes, hinges and bulkhead flanges.
Triclad is a composite material consisting of three separate metal layers bonded together by specialised manufacturing techniques, such as explosive lamination processes or heat and pressure bonding methods. These production methods result in a homogeneous material with unique properties that make it suitable for demanding technical applications.
In shipbuilding, a hull is usually made of steel and a superstructure of aluminium. These metals cannot be welded together. A triclad connecting strip makes it possible. Triclad consists of aluminium on one side, steel on the other and an intermediate connecting layer.
Triclad offers several benefits over traditional joining methods, such as bolts or adhesives. Some of these benefits include:
In conclusion, triclad offers an innovative and effective solution for joining steel and aluminium, making it a valuable material for a wide range of technical applications.
Rob Snel’s range of commercial products includes only one product made of triclad, a triclad wedge. This wedge is welded into an aluminium door frame. As aluminium is too soft a material to withstand the pressure of a tightened door toggle, a triclad wedge is applied for the toggle to rotate over the steel part of the wedge. In our production workshop, we do regularly use triclad for joining aluminium to steel.