Design
The basic design of pliers has changed little since their origins, with the pair of handles, the pivot (often formed by a rivet), and the head section with the gripping jaws or cutting edges forming the three elements. In distinction to a pair of scissors or shears, the plier's jaws always meet each other at one pivot angle.
The materials used to make pliers consist mainly of steel alloys with additives such as vanadium or chromium, to improve strength and prevent corrosion. Often, pliers have insulated grips to ensure better handling and prevent electrical conductivity. In some lines of fine work (such as jewellery or musical instrument repair), some specialized pliers feature a layer of comparatively soft metal (such as brass) over the two plates of the head of the pliers to reduce pressure placed on some fine tools or materials. Making entire pliers out of softer metals would be impractical, reducing the force required to bend or break them.
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Famous quotes containing the word design:
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—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948)
“Westerners inherit
A design for living
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—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“You can make as good a design out of an American turkey as a Japanese out of his native stork.”
—For the State of Illinois, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)