Metal Properties Control metal properties For any component or joint we want to select materials that have specific metal properties and we […]
General Metallurgy |
Why is Stainless Steel Corrosion Resistant? Stainless steel is known for its corrosion resistance in many environments in which carbon and low alloy tool steels would […]
Stainless Steel |
Phase Diagram In metallurgy, the term phase is used to refer to a physically homogeneous state of matter, where the phase has […]
General Metallurgy |
Metal Corrosion Mechanisms Corrosion of metals is an electrochemical reaction that involves changes in both the metal and the environment in contact with […]
Corrosion |
Preventing Failure Analysis Frustration Have you ever run into the following situation? A component within your product broke or your manufacturing line was producing […]
Failure Analysis |
Orange Peel Failure Analysis Orange peel was present on bowls that were deep-drawn from low-carbon steel sheet. It was present on bowls produced from […]
Failure Analysis |
Cracked Rivet Failure Analysis Problem Brass rivets were cracking during assembly, when the rivets were being set. Failure analysis of the rivets was performed […]
Failure Analysis |
Free-Machining vs. Welding: A Manufacturing Dilemma Product design and manufacturing often involves trade-offs to optimize product performance, reliability, and cost. One aspect of cost includes the […]
Steel |
Component design and metals engineering Well-designed components are essential to every product’s success. Whether a component meets its performance and reliability requirements and is low-cost […]
Product design |
Aluminum Alloy Families: Strength Metallurgy There are many different types of wrought aluminum alloys used in a wide variety of applications such as wire for […]
Aluminum |
Stress Corrosion Cracking Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a fracture process that involves the combined and simultaneous action of a tensile stress and […]
Corrosion |
Annealing to Increase Metal Ductility Abstract: Annealing is a heat treating process used to modify the properties of cold-worked metal. This article discusses the reasons […]
General Metallurgy | Heat Treating |
Specifying Metal Hardness - Is it Enough? Rockwell and Brinell hardness tests are common metal characterization methods used to determine whether metal stock or a metal component […]
General Metallurgy | Product design |
Materials Selection: Design Requirements This is the second article in a series of posts on the materials selection process. The first article gave an […]
Product design |
Materials Selection for Great Products: Overview There are several situations during the life cycle of a product when a design team selects a material to use […]
Product design |
Introduction to Stainless Steel Stainless steels are steels with a minimum of 10.5% chromium. They gain their resistance to corrosion from a thin, tenacious […]
Corrosion | Stainless Steel |
Why Temper Through Hardened Steel Imagine you’re a warrior during the middle ages and it’s time to get a new sword. So, you go to […]
Heat Treating | Steel |
Residual Stress Residual stresses are locked-in stresses within a metal object, even though the object is free of external forces. These stresses […]
General Metallurgy |
Mechanisms for Strengthening Aluminum This article discusses the different aluminum alloy families and the different methods for strengthening aluminum. This includes a discussion of […]
Aluminum |
Orange Peel Abstract: Orange peel is a cosmetic defect most commonly found on sheet metal components after forming. This article discusses the […]
General Metallurgy |
Hydrogen Embrittlement of Steel Abstract: This article discusses hydrogen embrittlement of carbon steel. This includes a discussion of the mechanism by which a steel […]
Steel |
Recrystallization Anneal Abstract: Recrystallization annealing is a heat treating process used to modify the properties of cold-worked metal. This article discusses the […]
General Metallurgy | Heat Treating |
The difference between strength and toughness Abstract: Metal strength and fracture toughness are important mechanical properties for structural components. This article explains the trade-offs between strength […]
General Metallurgy |
What is a Failure Analysis? A failure analysis is performed for these situations: A metal component fails during testing or use A component does not […]
Failure Analysis |
Materials Engineering and Successful Products Successful product design and manufacturing requires the consideration of several perspectives including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, materials engineering, manufacturing, sourcing, […]
Product design |
Case Study: Material Selection for Drive Shaft Project Select the material to use for a 1/2-inch diameter, six foot long drive shaft used to run a power […]
Product design |
Cracked Chuck Failure Analysis Problem Determine the root cause of a tool chuck that was cracking during product assembly. Description About 30% of the […]
Failure Analysis |
When a Low-cost Supplier Becomes Expensive This article outlines an eight-step process to help you identify and repair the root cause of a problem that arises […]
General Metallurgy |
Selecting Capable Suppliers – Part 1 Suppliers of metal stock and components are critical to a company's success. They depend on their suppliers to provide materials […]
General Metallurgy |
Selecting Capable Suppliers - Part 2 Suppliers of materials, components, and sub-assemblies are critical to the success of a product. This is the second part of […]
General Metallurgy |
Materials Engineering for Cost Reduction One approach to cost reduction is to re-engineer products to use less expensive materials or reduced quantities of higher priced […]
General Metallurgy | Product design |
Why Control Heat Treatment Temperature? Whether you are through hardening steel, annealing a cold-worked metal, or solution treating an aluminum alloy, the heat treating temperature […]
General Metallurgy | Heat Treating |
Engineering the Properties of Metals When designing products engineers select metals that have specific properties. What many engineers don't realize is that when they select […]
General Metallurgy | Product design |
Precipitation Strengthening The strength of metals is improved by impeding the motion of dislocations through the metals. One approach to achieving this improvement […]
Aluminum | General Metallurgy | Heat Treating | Stainless Steel | Steel |
Controlling the Atoms in Metals In this article, I’m going to take a step back to consider the basic science of metallurgy. On a microscopic […]
General Metallurgy | Heat Treating |
Phase Transformations in Alloys The metallurgical phases present in an alloy have a huge impact on the properties of a metal component. Phases are […]
Aluminum | General Metallurgy | Heat Treating | Steel |
Sheet Metal Formability Formability refers to the ability of sheet metal to be formed into a desired shape without necking or cracking. Necking […]
General Metallurgy |
The Science of Metals This short video lesson explains the relationship between the properties of a metal and the metal's composition, microstructure, and the […]
General Metallurgy |
Metal Properties
Why is Stainless Steel Corrosion Resistant?
Phase Diagram
Metal Corrosion Mechanisms
Preventing Failure Analysis Frustration
Orange Peel Failure Analysis
Cracked Rivet Failure Analysis
Free-Machining vs. Welding: A Manufacturing Dilemma
Component design and metals engineering
Aluminum Alloy Families: Strength Metallurgy
Stress Corrosion Cracking
Annealing to Increase Metal Ductility
Specifying Metal Hardness - Is it Enough?
Materials Selection: Design Requirements
Residual Stress
Hydrogen Embrittlement of Steel
The difference between strength and toughness
Case Study: Material Selection for Drive Shaft
Cracked Chuck Failure Analysis
When a Low-cost Supplier Becomes Expensive
Selecting Capable Suppliers – Part 1
Materials Engineering for Cost Reduction
Precipitation Strengthening
Controlling the Atoms in Metals
The Science of Metals