The Materials Engineering Perspective

The materials engineering perspective is based upon the following considerations:

The performance, reliability, and cost of a product depend on the properties of the materials that make up the product.
Proper selection of the materials that make up a product is crucial to satisfy the desired performance, reliability, and cost requirements of the product.
Control of the variation of the properties of the materials that make up a product is crucial for enabling the consistent performance, reliability, and cost of the product.

The first consideration focuses attention on understanding the properties required of a component’s materials to obtain the desired mechanical, electrical, optical, or chemical functionality, while also meeting reliability and cost requirement.

The second consideration may seem obvious. Engineers recognize that the right materials must be selected for any given application. Nevertheless, while selection of the optimum materials demands knowledge of all a product’s performance, reliability, and cost requirements, many design teams start selecting materials without knowing all the selection criteria and based on inaccurate criteria. Furthermore, design teams often consider only the materials with which they are familiar, not other options that may be more optimum.

The third consideration recognizes that there are many sources of variation of the properties of the materials used in a product. Controlling the variations requires understanding the relationship between manufacturing processes and materials properties. Excessive variations in materials properties results in products that are difficult to manufacture and which do not have the desired performance and reliability.

Example Application of the Materials Engineering Perspective

An example of the materials engineering perspective can be demonstrated with a pair of scissors. From a functional perspective, the scissors is a mechanical device for cutting paper. From a materials engineering perspective the scissors is a set of materials with certain properties:

Two pieces of corrosion resistant material hard enough to maintain a sharp edge, and ductile enough so as not to fracture when dropped or used to pry something open.
Handles rigid enough to transfer a user’s force to the blades, but with enough strength and impact resistance so that they do not crack or break when the scissors are used or dropped.
A pivot pin made of a hard, corrosion resistant material and with a surface smooth enough so that the blades pivot with little effort.

Furthermore, there are common requirements for all the materials. The materials must enable the blades, handles and pivot pin to be easily manufactured and that the materials must be of reasonable cost.

Focus

Recognition of these requirements and their importance helps engineering teams focus on the options of materials that can be considered for use, and selecting materials that optimize a product’s performance, reliability, and cost to produce.

The materials engineering perspective also helps engineering teams focus on how to control the variation of the material properties to ensure that a product consistently satisfies the wants and needs of the customer. This involves proper characterization of the materials to understand the effects of manufacturing process variations on the variations of the material properties, developing capable manufacturing processes, and selecting capable suppliers.

Imagine designing products that have performance and reliability requirements that are much more demanding than for a pair of scissors. For example a jet engine, a hip implant, or an automobile fuel level sensor. What is the likelihood of the success of these products if the optimum materials are not selected and are not well controlled?

Many Decisions Require the Materials Engineering Perspective

The materials engineering perspective may seem like a narrow niche. However, many decisions occur during product design, development, and manufacturing that have an impact on the materials selected for use in a product and the variations of the materials properties. The chances of these decisions resulting in favorable outcomes improves when a materials engineering perspective is brought into the decision making process.

Materials Engineering is Not the Only Answer

It is not our intention to diminish the role of other engineering perspectives or to imply that materials engineering alone can solve all the problems encountered during product development and manufacturing. The materials engineering perspective is just one perspective of many that is required for making good decisions that increase the likelihood of producing a successful product.