Minding the Materials

by Michael Pfeifer, President, Industrial Metallurgists, LLC
Published in Appliance Design magazine August 2005

Materials are used in all the products around us. Unfortunately, the material considerations that go into designing and manufacturing a product are too often minimal. Product designers need to understand the value of proper materials engineering and some of the misconceptions regarding materials engineering.

Most companies understand the relationship between materials performance and cost. However, few people appreciate the impact of materials properties on this equation, especially when buying more performance than needed. Understanding materials properties is critical in making decisions that optimize cost and performance.

Click here to read the rest of the article