Experts in the field of special glass and sintered refractory metals since 1960
For over 60 years, LIT Africa has provided contact to major international organisations and expertise in the fields of special glass and sintered refractory metals.
Highlights include the supply of specialised optical components to the defence industry, manipulators, vacuum valves and radiation windows for the nuclear industry, x-ray radiation protection windows to clinics countrywide, also glass tubing for the manufacture locally of ampoules, dental cartridges and test tubes.
Our Austrian partner Metalwerk Plansee supplies powder metallurgical metals to the glass, power transmission, lighting, electronics and defence industry. Molybdenum, Tungsten, Niobium and Tantallum are used in areas where high demands on temperature, chemical resistance and hardness are set.
Our partner Umicore, situated in the Principality of Liechtenstein, specialises in the manufacture and supply of specialised coating materials.
Recent Articles
Importance of refractory metals
These elements display several of the characteristic properties of refractory metals that have made them and their alloys so valuable in a wide range of industrial applications. These include high melting point, high density and exceptional resistance to wear and tear and to various forms of corrosion.
Tungsten Rod and its uses
Tungsten rod, the powdered form of the metal, and various alloys are now being used in a growing range of applications. With its incredibly high melting point of around 3410 °C, it is, for example, the ideal choice of material from which to construct the containers and related equipment necessary for the smelting of other metals.
Sintered refractory metals
An alternative means by which to fashion materials into some desired form, sintering makes use of heat and pressure to compact and bind particles together without the need to actually liquefy them. The use of this type of procedure is particularly valuable in the case of elements such as tungsten.
Management of arcing between electrical contacts
There are a variety of techniques in use to supress the tendency for arcing to occur between contacts. One approach makes use of a “snubber”, a device consisting of a small resistor and capacitor connected in series that acts to prevent the rapid rise in voltage that can lead to the formation of an arc.
