Design and manufacture

• Hardwoods


  • Beech: Hard, strong, tough, bends well, mid-brown
  • Ash: Flexible, tough, bends well
  • Mahogany: Medium weight, quite strong, easy to work with and durable, warps easily
  • Oak: Hard, tough, heavy and durable, hardens with age
• Hardwoods


  • Beech
  • Ash
  • Mahogany
  • Oak
• Softwoods


  Straight grained, knotty, quite strong, easy to work with
• Softwoods


  • Red pine
  • Spruce
• Red pine


  • Straight grained but knotty, quite strong, easy to work with, red-orange in colour, sustainable
• Spruce


  • Straight grained with few knots, quite strong, easy to work with, not durable, will wear and scratch, pale yellow colour, sustainable
• Manufactured boards


  Engineered wood products
• Manufactured boards


  • Plywood
  • Flexi-ply
  • MDF
  • Chipboard
  • Hardboard
• Plywood


  • Very strong and stable, easy to machine and work
• Flexi-ply


  • Same as plywood but flexible, can be bent and curved
• MDF


  • High strength, easily machined, takes paint well, not waterproof
• Chipboard


  • Heavy, strength dependent on density of wood chips
• Hardboard


  • Like hard cardboard, weak and brittle
• Non-ferrous metals


  Contain no iron, not magnetic
• Non-ferrous metals


  • Aluminium
  • Copper
  • Brass
• Aluminium


  • Strong and lightweight, corrosion resistant, can be dyed and coloured
• Copper


  • Tough, ductile and malleable, excellent electrical conductor, expensive
• Brass


  • Hard, casts well, easily joined, polishes well, corrosion resistant
• Ferrous metals


  All contain iron, magnetic
• Cast iron


  • Relatively inexpensive, brittle and casts well, strong but prone to rust
• Mild steel


  • Malleable and ductile, easy to work with
• High carbon steel


  • Malleable and ductile, can be hardened and tempered
• Stainless steel


  • Hard and tough, corrosion resistant
• Thermoplastics


  Plastics that can be melted and reformed
• Thermoplastics


  • ABS
  • Acrylic
  • Polypropylene
  • Polystyrene
• ABS


  • Strong, light, durable, scratch-resistant, chemical-resistant
• Acrylic


  • Stiff, hard, durable, easily scratched and brittle, coloured or clear
• Polypropylene


  • Tough, semi-rigid, chemical-resistant, can be formed into hinges, electrical resistance
• Polystyrene


  • Light, stiff, water resistant, thermal insulator
• Thermosets


  • Urea formaldehyde
  • Melamine formaldehyde
• Urea formaldehyde


  • Stiff, strong, hard, brittle, excellent electrical insulator
• Melamine formaldehyde


  • Waterproof, chemical resistance, hard, scratch resistant