hot metal
Forge-fresh iron bar
Hot metal refers to typesetting technology where molten lead alloy is cast into type for printing—the dominant method from the late 1800s until phototypesetting and digital publishing displaced it in the mid-20th century.
The term distinguishes this process from "cold type" methods that don't involve casting.
In steelmaking, hot metal is molten iron tapped from a blast furnace before conversion to steel.
- pig ironUnrefined smelted metal
- ironmakingProducing metal from ore
- steelCarbon-hardened iron alloy
- bronzeCopper-tin alloy
- copperReddish-brown metallic element
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