Materials
R E Thompson work with a wide range of materials as detailed below. Materials are held in a bonded store with full traceability back to source and all stock is catalogued on our in house production management system.

Aluminium
We work with the following standard alloys 1050, 2014, 5083, 6082, 6061 and 7075, together with fully released L111, L113 and L115 material, rolled plate and extruded profiles. Our experience with these materials will enable us to work with your own designated material if not shown above.

Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is stored separate to other steels and care is taken where required to the type of tooling and finishing used in order to minimise surface contaminants. Typical grades of stainless steel handled include 304, 316, 303, and 309 as well as 416 and 500 series materials.

Wrought and Cast Aluminium
We are experienced with the machining of cast aluminium which requires specialist set up on the mills in order to locate the base coordinates.

Aluminium Bronze
We use aluminium bronze for many applications including bearing brushes, aircraft landing gear components and marine applications, both billet and cast formed and have experience with the production of aluminium bronze components for frictional applications.

Titanium
We work mainly with Ti-6Al-4V (grade 5) although have experience with Ti-6Al-4V ELI (grade 23). Because of titanium's tendency to gall it is necessary to maintain sharp tools which means regular tool changes and observation. Another common feature of titanium is its elasticity which causes chatter and requires firm holding to mitigate. For particular operations such as drilling, and tapping we use carbide tooling in place of steel tooling which is prone to wear and breakage and pay particular attention to low cutting speeds, fluids and constant high feed rates.

Copper
Free machining copper (C109 & C111) like many coppers tend to demonstrate sticky machining qualities and so require appropriate cutting fluids and low cutting speeds. Additional problems associated with copper include chip removal from drilled holes, and staining resulting from inappropriate use of cooling fluids. Copper is used widely in the electrical and electronics industries as well as the water and marine industries.

Brass
Most of our brass machining is CZ121 which allows for high speed machining. Typical applications include hose couplings and fluid handling equipment. Other brass alloys such as CZ124 can be used where higher ductility is required for secondary cold forming processes.

Iconel
Iconel is a difficult metal to work with due to the way it work-hardens after a single pass, as such aggressive but slow cuts with a hard tool are required. Most of our experience is with Iconel 718 which is typically used for high temperature applications such as turbines, combusters, pressure vessels and heat exchange equipment.

Macor
Macor, a glass ceramic typically used in electronic and optical applications is an easy material to work with. Good clamping with a soft jaw is suggested on smaller items and chamfering of internal threads is recommended to reduce chipping. Polished finishes up to 0.013µm can be achieved.

Cast Iron
Modern cast iron (continuous cast) today is a far improved material than 20 years ago and can be machined twice as fast as steel whilst offering considerable ductility. Typical applications include locomotive and ship building, furnace hardware and architectural metalwork. Traditional cast irons such as grey, white & malleable iron, all of which can me handled by R E Thompson have their established limitations associated with hardness and brittleness, with grey cast iron being the easiest to machine.

Metal Matrix Composite (MMC)
Composite materials come in many varieties, each with their own machining considerations. Some of the materials we have experience with include silicon carbide fibres in a titanium matrix for aerospace components and boron nitride in a steel matrix for defence applications.

Peek
Polyetheretherketone (Peek) is a plastic typically used for aerospace, semiconductor and high-technology applications such as seals, insulators and wear strips. Although easily machined, as with many plastics thermal expansion is many times higher than metal and so localised heating is avoided.

PTFE
PTFE is a difficult material to work with and has a number of variants. Combining low tensile strength, resilience and high thermal expansion, PTFE can prove elastic under machining, more so with turning and can even alter in its dimensions after machining is complete. PTFE is commonly used as an insulator in electrical applications, food and pharmaceutical equipment and laboratory apparatus. PTFE has applications where exposure to aggressive compounds occurs such as acid and caustics, for its electrical resistance, for high temperature environments and because it is chemically inert, for food, medical and pharmaceutical applications.

Acrylic
We have experience with cell cast, continuous cast and extruded acrylic and utilise differing techniques for each material including varying the type of cutting tool used in order to prevent melting and discolouration. Acrylic has wide applications across all industries and is primarily used for its weatherability, strength and optional transparency.

Phenolic Resins
Phenolic resins, high-pressure thermosetting industrial laminated plastics made of composite layers of paper or glass cloth impregnated with a synthetic resin comes in a wide range of forms. Machining is general easy but each form will require close attention to suppliers specification sheets.

Delrin
Delrin, which is a brand name for acetal resin engineering plastic is a hard wearing self lubricating material which is often used as a metal substitute. Most of our experience is with Delrin 150 SA and Delrin 550 SA. Typical applications include medical components, washers, nozzles and for semiconductor components.

Ertalyte
We have experience with the machining of both Ertalyte and Ertalyte TX, which has high wear resistance suited for the manufacture of mechanical precision parts that have to sustain high loads. Typical applications include mating surfaces in valves and mechanical housings and food equipment.