All metal products start in the form of casting. Wrought metals are converted from cast ingots by plastic deformation. For high-strength aluminum alloys, an 80 to 90 percent reduction (dimensional change in thickness) of the material is required to obtain the high mechanical properties of a fully wrought structure.

Both iron and aluminum alloys are cast for aircraft uses. Cast iron contains 6 to 8 percent carbon and silicon.

Cast iron is a hard un-malleable pig iron made by casting or pouring into a mold. Cast aluminum alloy has been heated to its molten state and poured into a mold to give it the desired shape.

The extrusion process involves the forcing of metal through an opening in a die, thus causing the metal to take the shape of the die opening. The shape of the die will be the cross section of an angle, channel, tube, or some other shape. Some metals, such as lead, tin, and aluminum, may be extruded cold; however, most metals are heated before extrusion. The main advantage of the extrusion process is its flexibility. For example, because of its workability, aluminum can be economically extruded to more intricate shapes and larger sizes than is practical with other metals.

Extruded shapes are produced in very simple, as well as extremely complex, sections. In this process, a cylinder of aluminum, for instance, is heated to 750–850 °F and is then forced through the opening of a die by a hydraulic ram. The opening is the shape desired for the cross section of the finished extrusion. The extrusion process forms many structural parts, such as channels, angles, T-sections, and Z-sections.

Aluminum is the most extruded metal used in aircraft. Aluminum is extruded at a temperature of 700–900 °F (371–482 °C) and requires pressure of up to 80,000 psi (552 MPa). After extrusion, the product frequently is subjected to both thermal and mechanical processes to obtain the desired properties. Extrusion processes are limited to the more ductile materials.

Cold-working applies to mechanical working performed at temperatures below the critical range. It results in a strain hardening of the metal. In fact, the metal often becomes so hard that it is difficult to continue the forming process without softening the metal by annealing.

Since the errors attending shrinkage are eliminated in cold-working, a much more compact and better metal is obtained. The strength and hardness, as well as the elastic limit, are increased; but the ductility decreases. Since this makes the metal more brittle, it must be heated from time to time during certain operations to remove the undesirable effects of the working.

While there are several cold-working processes, the two with which the aviation mechanic is principally concerned are cold rolling and cold drawing. These processes give the metals desirable qualities that cannot be obtained by hot working.

Cold rolling usually refers to the working of metal at room temperature. In this operation, the materials that have been rolled to approximate sizes are pickled to remove the scale, after which they are passed through chilled finishing rolls. This gives a smooth surface and brings the pieces to accurate dimensions. The principal forms of cold-rolled stocks are sheets, bars, and rods.

Cold drawing is used in making seamless tubing, wire, streamlined tie rods, and other forms of stock. Wire is made from hot-rolled rods of various diameters. These rods are pickled in acid to remove scale, dipped in limewater, and then dried in a steam room where they remain until ready for drawing. The lime coating adhering to the metal serves as a lubricant during the drawing operation.

The size of the rod used for drawing depends upon the diameter wanted in the finished wire. To reduce the rod to the desired size, it is drawn cold through a die. One end of the rod is filed or hammered to a point and slipped through the die opening. Here it is gripped by the jaws of the drawing block and pulled through the die. This series of operations is done by a mechanism known as a draw bench.

To reduce the rod gradually to the desired size, it is necessary to draw the wire through successively smaller dies. Because each of these drawings reduces the ductility of the wire, it must be annealed from time to time before further drawings can be accomplished. Although cold-working reduces the ductility, it increases the tensile strength of the wire.

In making seamless steel aircraft tubing, the tubing is cold drawn through a ring-shaped die with a mandrel or metal bar inside the tubing to support it while the drawing operations are being performed. This forces the metal to flow between the die and the mandrel and affords a means of controlling the wall thickness and the inside and outside diameters.

The use of magnesium, plastic, fabric, and wood in aircraft construction has nearly disappeared since the mid-1950s. Aluminum has also greatly diminished in use, from 80 percent of airframes in 1950 to about 15 percent aluminum and aluminum alloys today for airframe construction. Replacing those materials are nonmetallic aircraft materials, such as reinforced plastics and advanced composites.