If you are new to the construction industry, it can be easy to be terrified of bigger, better companies. After all, since they have all of the high-tech equipment and skilled laborers, how will you compete when you bid for new jobs? Although it might seem pointless to try, you can significantly improve your own construction business by investing in the right industrial equipment. I want to teach you which pieces of equipment can make a big difference for your business, which is one of the reasons I made this site. Read here to learn how you can make your small business competitive in an ever-evolving marketplace.
Heat and fire have been used in industrial processes for a very long time. They take something that is not as strong or as nice-looking, and they make it stronger or more attractive. There are a number of thermal processes and products for which this is used. A sampling of those processes and products are as follows, in case your curious mind wants to know more about heat and product manufacturing.
Vulcanization
Vulcanization is most commonly used with taking weaker rubber fibers harvested from rubber tree plants and turning it into a tough, durable substance. Liquid rubber is bathed in a chemical and then heated up to a high temperature so that "bridges" are formed across the cellulose polymers and adhesion in the bonds formed is permanent. The reason why this process is referred to as "vulcanization" is because it is named after the Roman god of fire, Vulcan, who interestingly enough, is also the Roman god of metalworking and industrial forging.
Tempering
Tempering is most commonly used with glass. Tempered glass is most commonly used as windshield material. Traditional glass shatters in very unpredictable and very dangerous ways. Hence, when tempered glass was created/discovered, it quickly became the safety glass of choice for use in automobiles and the manufacture thereof. Glass may also be tempered by glass sculptors and glass artists so that their works do not break so easily during shipping and installation.
Annealing
Annealing is also a heat process, but it is generally reserved for metalworking. Annealing metal causes it to become more pliable when hot so that it can be worked with easier, but the annealing process also strengthens it so that when it cools completely, it is extremely hard. One such example of annealing is a farrier's crafting of horseshoes. Every shoe is made to fit a horse's hoof perfectly, but it would not be possible if the farrier could not heat and reheat the horseshoe to work it into the correct size and shape to fit the horse's hoof.
Chemical Bonding With Heat
Plastics are made harder and more durable when exposed to heat and combined with other chemicals, monomers, and polymers. Plastic in and of itself is usually too soft and too pliable a material, but if you heat it to a semi-liquid state and combine it forcefully with chemicals to other kinds of plastics, it suddenly becomes quite hard. It only remains malleable in its "hot" state, however, so plastics manufacturers have to work quickly if they are going to shape, mold, extrude, and form it.
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