2016: Our Year in Review

It’s hard to believe that 2016 is already coming to an end. Time has flown this year as it usually does. With that said, the holidays are a good time to look ahead at the year to come, and to reflect on the year just passed — and what a year it has been for all of us!

One of the major milestones in our own year here at Ed Fagan Inc. was the expansion of stock inventory in two lines of high performance alloys in our roster of available alloys and super alloys, Hiperco 50/50A and Super Invar.

Originally known as permendur, Hiperco 50 is a soft-magnetic alloy made of iron and cobalt, generally 49% of each, and 2% vanadium for improved mechanical properties and machinability, with the occasional addition of trace volumes of manganese, niobium, and silicon to further improve machinability. Though not a new material, having been invented in the 1920s, Hiperco 50 is being found in more applications (add link back to “being found in more applications”) thanks to its extremely high magnetic saturation, useful in many engine and aerospace applications.

Available in plate, round bar, and sheet form, Super Invar is another alloy that is increasingly sought after. An alloy of 63% iron, 32% nickel, and 5% cobalt, this alloy is strong and has excellent thermal properties — in fact, of every nickel-based alloy, Super Invar has the lowest coefficient of thermal expansion. This makes it ideal for structural applications in a wide range of optical instruments, lasers, gyroscopes, and more.

While the stock inventory expansions of these highly sought after materials was a big moment for us, it was far from all that we accomplished this year. In April, June, and October we, along with many others in the various manufacturing industries, celebrated Earth Day, National Safety Month, and Manufacturing Day.

Perhaps most importantly of all, in August we were able to investigate the entirety of our vast and complex supply chain and confirm that Ed Fagan is a completely conflict mineral-free business.

We would like to thank everyone who helped to make 2016 such a great year for us. Have a happy, safe, and healthy holiday season — we’ll see you in 2017!

Curious about researching our metals and alloys while you have time off of your feet? Read more from Ed Fagan by continuing to follow our blog, LinkedIn, and Twitter!

The Defense Industry in an Election Year

Being an election year, there is a lot of talk about the defense of our country, even around here at Ed Fagan. Whether you side with the left, the right, or somewhere in the middle, the defense industry is going strong worldwide, and will likely continue to do so. Currently, in the U.S. there’s talk on Capitol Hill about trying to increase the amount of F-35s that are slated for purchase next year. Both sides of the aisle believe that a larger purchase will result in savings by lowering unit costs.

India’s Defense Acquisition Council has recently approved the purchase of 145 M777 from the U.S. These Ultralight Howitzers have been under consideration for purchase since 2013, and as soon as India’s Cabinet Committee on Security gives the approval, the purchase can be finalized.

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Leonardo-Finmeccanica, an Italian aerospace and defense company, have come to an agreement on designing an unmanned rotor-wing technology. Although trials have only had the helicopter setting down on land, the goal is to have it land on a moving ship.

These are only a few examples of the agreements, purchases, and product designs that are going on around the world. Here at Ed Fagan, we’re proud of our involvement with the defense industry, and we are experts when it comes to working with specialty metals and alloys. Whether it’s for an aircraft, drone, tank, or defense weapon, we can supply the right, raw materials that go into your parts.

EFI specializes in controlled expansion, electrical/electronic nickel, soft magnetics, refractories, and hard to find alloys, sizes, and grades. Our extensive inventory allows us to ship within 24 hours, so you get the materials you need when you need them. We invite you to contact us for all your special purpose alloy and metal needs. Our technical assistance is here to help!

Ed Fagan Stands Proud of Its Contributions this National Manufacturing Day

National Manufacturing Day has become a successful ritual. Officially hosted on the 7^th of October 2016, this year scores of producers around the US will open their doors to inquisitive minds of the future generation and invite them to delve deep into the world of manufacturing.

Shattering Myths:

Generally projections are fuzzy estimations. It is very difficult to predict with a high degree of accuracy just how strongly the manufacturing sector will grow over the coming years. But one thing is for certain. The skill gap that it is experiencing will not improve if the major players do not work together to shatter the myths that keep competent candidates from aspiring for manufacturing jobs.

The youth of today is stuck in a 1950s view of manufacturing when the term “blue collar” implied limited growth opportunities, income or respect. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Today a skilled floor worker can earn an average compensation of $79,553 compared to $64,204 which is the benchmark in other industries. They also enjoy some of the best health benefits in the country. Manufacturing has evolved into a career that is more financially rewarding than other pursuits.

Most eligible prospects believe that manufacturing is manual labor with little scope of leveraging finer skills. Again their ideas must be revised because the US is predicted to overtake China to earn the top spot for the most competitive nation in the world. The manufacturing industry, valued at trillions of dollars, it is the lifeblood of the country requiring workers to have knowledge of engineering, robotics and mechanics to handle the increasingly sophisticated equipment.

Ed Fagan’s Role in US Manufacturing:

A market leader in special purpose alloys, Ed Fagan is proud of doing our part both in terms of supplying industries with the highest quality of Controlled Expansion Alloys, Electrical/Electronic Nickel, Soft Magnetic Alloys, and Refractory Metals in a variety of pre-fabricated forms and in supporting sectors that are leading manufacturing as a profession into the future by working on cutting edge projects with the technologies of tomorrow.

Boasting a long history of associations with Aerospace/Aviation, Defense, Electronics, Magnetic, Medical, Lighting, Optical and Telecommunications Ed Fagan’s well stocked, up to date inventory and fast timely deliveries have contributed to the profitability of these industries that are driving the youth of the nation to take an avid interest in manufacturing again.

If you would like to collaborate with Ed Fagan and experience our stellar service and product range, please reach out at sales@edfagan.com.

Alloys Hiperco 50/A & Super Invar are Scripting a New Success Story for Ed Fagan Inc.

The global economy is ever expanding. Development of new applications runs far and wide. Areas that were previously thought to be unreachable are now experiencing both interest and investments. Under such circumstances, industries are always on the lookout for new or existing alloys with unique and desirable traits.

Hyperco 50 & Super Invar:

The demand for Hiperco 50 and 50A (an alloy of 49% cobalt, 2% Vanadium and balance Iron) has been steadily increasing over the past few years.  A variety of custom sizes and forms are available. Hiperco 50 is strip product while Hiperco 50A comes in bulk form like billet and bar.  Hiperco 50 and Hiperco 50A both have highest magnetic saturation of any commercial alloy. This makes them quite unique. Hiperco 50 is an ideal choice for special motors and generators in the aerospace industry where weight is an important consideration. Electric generators, radiology instruments, specialty transformers,  and magnetic bearings are some of the other applications that benefit from Hiperco 50 and Hiperco 50A.

Super Invar, on the other hand, has a composition of 32% Nickel, 5% Cobalt and balance Iron. It has the lowest coefficient of thermal expansion at room temperature of any nickel based alloy. Super Invar is much sought after by sectors requiring parts that exhibit minimal dimensional variations with changes in temperature. Super Invar is often selected for use in optical instruments, telescopes, laser instruments and equipment, ring laser gyroscopes, laser benches, positioning devices and metrology devices. It is available in bulk forms.

Ed Fagan and Super Alloys:

Over the past 50 years, Ed Fagan has established a trusted market reputation for procuring, machining, and supplying Soft Magnetic and Controlled Expansion alloys. EFI is the trusted partner of choice for businesses that mandate top performance from products. If you wish to a develop opportunities for your company with these materials, contact Ed Fagan Inc. and ensure only the very best in raw material for your various manufacturing efforts. Here is our link!

Ed Fagan Inc. Doesn’t Deal In Conflict Minerals

Minerals are the backbone of the modern world as we know it.

From MP3 players to cell phones, from jewelry to laptops, ores, and the metals that are eventually extracted from them – they make our 21^st-century lifestyle a reality.

Established in 1965, Ed Fagan Inc. has been a vital pumping point of alloys and metals to the manufacturing and production industries of North America. Our promise of quality, reliability in delivering stocks to the most inaccessible locations, huge and varied inventory and just-in-time shipping efficiency are all facets of Ed Fagan’s competence and thus our calling cards.

Ed Fagan procures Controlled Expansion Alloys, Electrical/Electronic Nickel, Soft Magnetic Alloys, and Refractory Metals and Alloys in sheets, bars, rods, wires and foils to serve the Aerospace/Aviation, Defense, Electronics, Magnetic, Medical, Lighting, Optical, Telecommunications, Ceramics, and Heat Treating sectors.

Even though our company’s area of operation brings us in close contact with invasive processes to obtain natural resources, we are fully aware of our social responsibility and steer clear of conflict minerals in its supply chains.

What are Conflict Minerals?

Conflict minerals are precious or semi-precious ores that are sold by rebelling groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the aggravation of the terrorist and militant activities in the region.

The 3 T’s of cassiterite (for tin), wolframite (for tungsten), coltan (for tantalum) together with gold ore are cheaply excavated and then supplied to first and second world industries to fuel violence through the purchase of arms.

As per the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, each and every manufacturer and procurer in the country is required to carry out a mandatory audit of its mills and suppliers to ensure that conflict minerals are not a part of the chain. This is a major step in the direction of successfully defusing the volatile conditions in Congo because without funds the perpetuation of conflict is not possible.

Ed Fagan Has Done Our Part:

Even though its suppliers form a serpentine network of multiple touch points around the globe, Ed Fagan has carefully probed each mill and found no involvement or use of conflict minerals in the end products.

The company continues to be one of the most highly sought-after providers of custom metals and alloys that have made a stand against the atrocities in Congo.

If you want to know more about Ed Fagan Inc. and its capabilities, please contact us for a quote.

 

The Importance of Soft Magnetic Alloys for Shielding Applications

Soft magnetic alloys have long played an important part in a wide range of industries, including everything from aerospace to lighting to telecommunications and more. Soft magnetic alloy sheets, plates, bars, and coils have all been used to advance applications and equipment. However, operation of even the best-engineered circuits can be seriously impaired by magnetic interference from nearby components or (in very low-level applications) from the earth’s magnetic field. Stray magnetic fields can present a major problem and shielding is often necessary. The factors of field strength and frequency can help to determine what kind of alloy to use.

The primary application of soft magnetic alloys was originally in the telephone industry. They were also used for electric motors. Since that time, soft magnetic alloys are now more widely used and shielding for electronic components is prevalent. For example, soft magnetic alloys are being used in biomedical equipment. These alloys can provide shielding that is used to isolate rooms where MRI tests are being conducted. Computer monitors, which are in virtually every hospital and doctor’s office in the country, may need protection from magnetic fields that can be produced in buildings. Another common application would be in our cell phones. We carry these small computers in our pockets daily.

Electromagnetic interference ( EMI ) shielding is the practice of reducing the electromagnetic field in a space by blocking the field with barriers made of magnetic materials. Shielding is typically applied to enclosures to isolate electrical devices from the “outside world,” and to cables to isolate wires from the environment. The high permeability and absorption characteristics of soft magnetic alloys make for a good filter for EMI pollution. EMI shielding can reduce the coupling of electromagnetic fields. The amount of reduction depends very much upon the material used, its thickness, the size of the shielded volume and the frequency of the fields of interest and the size, shape and orientation of apertures in a shield to an incident electromagnetic field. Typical applications for EMI shielding would be cathode ray tubes, discrete component shields, cable shielding, bio-medical diagnostic equipment, area shields such as MRI diagnostics, laboratory equipment, Squib rooms, and so on and so forth.

When alloys are used in biomedical settings, they can help to prevent EMI pollution. Ed Fagan supplies the highest quality soft magnetic alloys for a wide range of high-tech industries, and can provide any industry with custom answers for all their alloy needs. Are you in need of specialty metals and alloys? Contact us today!

Ed Fagan Ramps Up Safety in June

The materials that we use here at Ed Fagan require a high level of safety when you are working with or around them. Our aim is year-round safety, but with National Safety Month coming up, we like to ramp up our safety efforts, both in terms of education as well as practice.

National Safety Month 

Every June, the National Safety Council puts together packages of resources highlighting important safety topics around the home, the workplace, on the road, or out in your community. These can range from general avoidance and response, to how to handle specific safety issues. Materials include safety measurement tools, charts for educating and changing unsafe behaviors, and more.

Safety with Metals and Alloys

At its end point, metals and alloys are pretty cut and dry when it comes to safety concerns – it’s merely a matter of weight and size. That being said, safety still needs to be exercised when handling large amounts, as the usual dangers from improper lifting, falling objects, and other materials handling factors are present.

Of course, when we handle them here, the metals and alloys require much more in the way of attention to safety. As we roll, melt, bend, and shape these materials, we are using dangerous machinery, as well as materials with potentially toxic materials. We look at these factors as two different areas. For the latter, we have surveyed all of our major suppliers, and all have been certified as Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) compliant. This means all steel and alloy products are free from materials including asbestos, chromium, lead, mercury, and other hazardous materials along these lines, as can be seen here.

In regards to the dangers of production and handling, we utilize the latest in safety methods, including lock out/tag out procedures, regular safety meetings, extensive training on new machines, regular refreshments, corrections for older machines, and more.

Our company will always strive to perform with safety in mind, as this keeps our work-family safe, and allows you the customer to know that your material is responsibly and safely manufactured. At Ed Fagan Incorporated, while we will celebrate National Safety Month, we strive to make safety a year-round endeavor, and hope you will join with us and the National Safety Council to make your home, workplace, and roads safer for everyone.

EFI Puts Eco-Friendly Metals and Alloys First

What does it mean to be ‘environmentally conscious’? Most of us take the time to make greener choices, but it hasn’t always been easy. Activists began lobbying for environmental protections since the industrial revolution. In April of 1970 the first formal event, Earth Day, was celebrated. Marking the importance of environmental awareness has become an annual event. On April 22nd, we, along with the rest of the world, will show our support for protecting the environment.

Because we supply metals and alloys to high-tech industries, EFI works diligently to ensure that all our materials meet the strictest environmental regulations. Through managing supply chains and suppliers, we deliver products that restrict substances that are dangerous to humans and the environment. By surveying our major suppliers for compliance with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), we can state that EFI is in compliance with all directives for manufacturers using our metals and alloys.

Complying with Directives 2002/95/CE and 2011/65/EU confirms that our steel and alloy products do not contain substances such as asbestos, PBBs, Penta or octa-BDE brominated flame retardants, organic tin compounds, organophosphate compounds, phthalates, ethylene glycol ethers, PCBs, or Chromium (VI) and its compounds. Cadmium, lead, mercury are not added to any of our alloys, but trace amounts may be present because of raw material impurities. Directive 2003/11/EC compliance ensures that Pentabromodiphenyl ether (pentaBDE) and Octabromodiphenyl ether (octaBDE) are not found in any of our steel and alloy products.

Adhering to governmental regulations is vital to today’s manufacturing sector across all industries. Earth Day is a celebration of such resulted clean air, water, and land. Through regulatory programs, rules are in place to lessen the industrial impact on the environment.

When our special purpose metals and alloys are used in components for aerospace/aviation, electronics, medical, lighting, optical, telecommunications, ceramics, and other high-technology industries, you can be sure that they do not contain known hazardous substances and are fully compliant with RoHS Directives 2002/95/CE, 2011/65/EC, and 2003/11/EC.

EFI’s Capabilities Stand Out in New Video

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. So what is a video worth? To us a video is priceless and lets us ‘speak’ to our customers in a way that text on a page simply can’t. Having the ability to promote our products and services through short videos lets us focus on a topic using words and pictures.

Here you can watch the video we have prepared to explain our specialty metals and alloys. You will note a company overview, the industries we serve, and our capabilities. In this one short video we highlight how we deliver the materials you need when you need them.

For over 50 years EFI has been supplying and warehousing the highest quality special purpose metals and alloys for the aerospace, electronics, aviation, defense, magnetic, optical, telecommunications, and other high tech industries. Our extensive inventory includes controlled expansion alloys, electronic nickel, soft magnetic alloys, refractory metals and alloys, and are stocked in a wide variety of forms such as bar, rod, sheet, plate, coil, strip, wire, and foil. Various thicknesses, diameters, lengths, widths, and tempers of these metals and alloys are available. We can also machine materials to meet exact specifications.

With Inventory Management and Consignment and Custom Stocking Programs, EFI is your full-service materials supplier. Managing and storing your materials enables us to help you keep your production running, streamlines the manufacturing process, and reduces costs. To learn more about EFI’s high quality materials and outstanding service programs, please contact us today.

NASA Delays Mars Lander Launch

Because December was a huge holiday focus, we wanted to recap some big NASA news that flew under the radar that month. As industry professionals connected to and involved with the aerospace industry, we like to highlight the ins and outs of space agency projects and missions in an effort to ensure that the resources and materials that engineers need are on hand.

On Dec 22, 2015, NASA announced that the launch of the Mars lander, InSight, is going to be delayed indefinitely. The InSight lander was developed as a stand-alone Discovery mission to reveal key details about the seismic activity and internal structure of the planet, including the size of the core. It was scheduled to launch March 2016, but discovery of a leaking instrument has currently grounded the mission.

Working in collaboration with CNES (the French Space agency) and DLR (the German space agency) NASA discovered a leak in the vacuum chamber surrounding a seismometer supplied by CNES. The instrumentation is so precise that it requires a perfect vacuum to deliver reliable results. The engineering team was aware of the leak and delivered a series of fixes to seal the chamber; however, in simulated tests of the extreme cold temperatures of Mars, air was still making its way into the chamber. The next launch window won’t come until mid-2018 and it is still undetermined if it will launch at all.

This recent breaking news from the aerospace industry reveals how important it is for the materials and systems to be error free. Just the slightest bit of air leaking into the chamber renders the instrumentation useless and the mission results unusable. As specialists with specialty metals and alloys, we understand this importance.

We will continue to monitor the progress of this mission. Turn to EFI for industry updates on our blog, Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

References:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/12/22/instrument-failure-may-ground-nasas-next-mars-rover/

http://www.space.com/31451-nasa-insight-mars-lander-delay-effects.html