Foil and Sheet Form Overview

ESPI offers foil and sheet made up of many different elements and alloys as well as numerous other forms and purities, up to 6N (99.9999%), including:

Ribbon

Pieces

Discs

Chips

Wire

Ingots

Rod

Pellets

Powder

Sputtering Targets

Shot

Custom Fabricated Parts

All forms can be manufactured to custom specifications. Or, for those time critical applications where standard sizes will meet project requirements, take advantage of ESPI’s Ready-To-Ship (RTS) program. ESPI stocks pre-fabricated items in foil and sheet that are available for same day shipment.* To view the Ready to Ship products, click here. For a quotation, call, e-mail or click "Chat Now" to the right for immediate assistance.

* Order must be received by 1:00 pm Pacific

 

Rolling Sheet and Foil

da vinci rolling mill

Leonardo da Vinci is attributed with creating the first design of a machine to roll lead into sheets. Da Vinci's basic concept is the same one used by the modern rolling mills of today. Most foils and sheets are made by hot or cold rolling through industrial roll mills. The rolling process involves incrementally reducing the material's thickness by successive passes between two rolls. Roll mills come in multiple configurations: 2Hi roll mills employ two work rolls; a 4Hi employs four rolls - two smaller work rolls and two larger backup rolls. A sendzimir roll mill or cluster mill is composed of multiple rolls and is capable of reducing material to extremely thin foils. Rolled sheet and foil can be found in many industrial and consumer products, from cars to toasters to the aluminum foil used to wrap up last night's leftovers.

Cold rolling

roll millCold rolling is a process where the metal is worked below its recrystallization temperature, usually at room temperature. Cold rolling increases strength via strain hardening (also known as work hardening). This strengthening occurs because of movement within the crystal structure of the metal (described as dislocation movements and dislocation generation). Some metals become too hardened or brittle during rolling to continue reducing in thickness, and so must be annealed (heated above the recrystallization temperature) before they can be further reduced. The condition or temper of a metal sheet or foil can be controlled by the amount of cold rolling performed after the last anneal. Some metal sheets and foils are routinely heated after being rolled to the desired thickness and are sold in an annealed or stress-relieved condition. Other metals may not be routinely annealed after rolling but annealing can be performed on request. Cold rolling improves the surface finish of the metal and holds tighter tolerances.

Hot rolling

hot rollingHot rollling is performed at temperatures above the recrystallization temperature of the metal. This allows the grains to recrystalize (nucleate and grow until the original grains have been consumed) during deformation. Recrystallization relieves strain hardening. In small operations the material starts at room temperature and must be heated. Large hot rolling operations start with large pieces of metal from a continuous casting operation, such as slabs and billets, and they are usually continuously fed directly into the rolling mills at the proper temperature. Hot rolling is used principally to produce sheet metal or simple cross sections, such as rail tracks. The specific properties of a particular metal or alloy may also determine whether it must be hot-worked.

 

Workmanship Standards

Where not specified in the purchase order or contract, ESPI shall apply standard workmanship tolerances:

Rounds (rod, wire, etc): diameters ≤0.004": +/-0.0005", diameters ≥0.005": +/-10%

Profiles (plate, sheet, foil, etc): thickness ≤0.004": +/-0.0005", thickness ≥0.005": +/- 10%

Other non-machined solids (powder, shot, pieces, etc): +/-10% for weight, +/-25% for size.

If you need a tighter tolerance, just ask!

 

Purity

Material purities indicate a minimum purity. Purities may be higher than stated in the material description based on availability. When no internal analysis is available, calculation of purity levels rely on the ingot analysis provided by the mill. Purities of fabricated metal products are generally based on ingot chemistry. Stated purity is on a metals basis; non-metals and gases are excluded. Elements falling below lower detection limits are counted as not being present. When non-metal and gas impurity levels are known they will be indicated on the certificate of analysis. When no specific analysis is available a typical analysis will be provided. Rare Earth purities are based upon rare earth contaminants only. Zirconium purity excludes hafnium. Niobium purity exludes tantalum.

 

Quality Assurance

ESPI's comprehensive line of high-purity metals, alloys, and chemical compounds are distributed to scientists worldwide. We have earned the trust of our customers by maintaining a strong commitment to quality and excellence. The figures given as typical analyses have been compiled as an average of previous batches. They are provided as a guide to the nature and extent of the impurities which may be expected and may vary from batch to batch. Actual material analyses will be provided free of charge upon request for those items which have had analysis work conducted in the normal course of production. For those items for which no analysis has been conducted, an analysis will be provided for a charge.

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Home Page Content Under Periodic Table

ALLOYS

Click on the Alloy to go to the Online Catalog page.

 

Welcome to

ESPI was incorporated in 1950 with a mission to provide a competitive source for high purity metals, metal compounds and alloys. We are a valuable resource for virtually all major universities worldwide, global corporate R&D laboratories, thousands of domestic and international manufacturing companies and all U.S. government research laboratories. ESPI offers unique advantages often unavailable from larger organizations with no minimum order size & all business hour calls are handled by a competent sales representative. Automated answering systems and voice mail are not an option at ESPI.

Located within our fabrication facility is the melting department, forging & shaping areas, and the rod & wire, and sheet & foil departments providing the following manufacturing capabilities:

  • Casting of pure metals and alloys
  • Vacuum arc melting
  • Induction melting
  • Rod and wire drawing/extrusion
  • Sheet, foil and ribbon rolling
  • CNC milling and machining

Tel: 541-488-8311 - Email: sales@espimetals.com - or click the "Live Help/Chat Now" icon, upper right.

 

FORMS

ESPI produces and sells 68 elements and dozens of alloys in various forms for your custom needs. Click on the forms below to be directed to detailed information on manufacturing.

 

 

At We Keep Good Company


Aerospace and Defense
Northrop Grumman, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lockheed-Martin, Hughes, Boeing, General Dynamics, Aerojet, Litton, General Electric


Medical Instruments & Technology
Cintron, Hologic/Lorad, Varian, Siemens Medical, St Jude Medical, ArthroCare, GE Medical, Harvard Medical School, City of Hope Medical Center, American Medical Systems, Cedars Sinai Medical Center


International
Atomic Energy of Canada, CNRS, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, INRS, Alberta Research Council, National Research Council of Canada, UNAM, CISRO, CERN


Education
Stanford, UCLA, Harvard, Georgia Institute of Technology, Caltech, Johns Hopkins University, University of Arizonia, Penn State, University of Michigan, Princeton, Yale, University of Wollongong, University of Tokoyo, University of Toronto, Tulane, University of New South Wales, Max-Planck Institute, University of Freiburg


Government Research Labs
JPL, Los Alamos National Lab, Battelle Pacific NW National Lab, US Department of Energy, Argonne National Lab, Brookhaven National Lab, Naval Oceans Systems Center, US Air Force, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, NASA


Green Energy
Origin Energy Solar, First Solar, Schott Solar, SunPower Corporation, Nanosolar, Inc.