Material	Heat, Melt, or Cast
Ingot Metallurgy Wrought Products Excluding Aluminum Alloys	A heat is material which, in the case of batch melting, is cast at the same time from the same furnace and is identified with the same heat number; or, in the case of continuous melting, is poured without interruption.
Ingot Metallurgy Wrought Aluminum Alloy Products	A cast consists of the sequential aluminum ingots which are melted from a single furnace charge and poured in one or more drops without changes in the processing parameters. (The cast number is for internal identification and is not reported.)
Powder Metallurgy Wrought Products Includ- ing Metal-Matrix Composites	A heat is a consolidated (vacuum hot pressed) billet having a distinct chemical composition.
Cast Alloy Products Including Metal-Matrix Composites	A melt is a single homogeneous batch of molten metal for which all processing has been completed and the temperature has been adjusted and made ready to pour castings. (For metal-matrix composites, the molten metal includes unmelted reinforcements such as particles, fibers, or whiskers.)