Prevent product delays: design to prevent fatigue Failures during product testing lead to product delays. The root cause of the failure must be found, a fix made, and repeat the test. Fatigue ...
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Reducing Component Costs Reduce product costs by including materials engineering expertise during product design to avoid expensive components.
Product design |
How to Pass Product Testing the First Time Discover an often overlooked approach to pass product testing on the first attempt and avoid costly delays that lead to lost sales and ...
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Reduce Costs of Poor Quality Quickly finding the root cause of quality problems is critical for keeping manufacturing costs low.
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Reduce Product Costs Materials engineering is a powerful approach to reduce product costs. It's easier and less expensive to implement than many other ...
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Prevent product delays Discover a powerful approach that can be applied to many product development decisions to avoid costly product delays
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Metallurgy for Operational Excellence and Market Leadership A missing piece of product design and manufacturing and operational excellence is metallurgy expertise. This is ironic since ...
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Preventing Metal Fatigue Fatigue is a common degradation and failure mechanism. It involves localized, permanent damage to metals exposed to cyclic stress.
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Galvanic Corrosion Galvanic corrosion occurs when two dissimilar metals are in electrical contact in the presence of a aqueous solution that causes ...
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Metal Microstructure Microstructure refers to microscopic structures present in metals. These structures include crystal structure, grains, phases, ...
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Mechanical Properties of Metals For engineering applications, metals must have mechanical properties that enable components to perform as needed. For any component ...
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Metal Heat Treating Heat treating involves heating a metal to a specified temperature, holding at the temperature for a specified amount of time, ...
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Metal Hardness Metal hardness refers to the ability of a metal to resist permanent indentation or deformation when in contact with an ...
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Iron-Carbon Phase Diagram The iron-carbon phase diagram shows the phases present in steel as a function of carbon content and temperature. It is a fundamental ...
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Metal Strength Metal strength is related to the mechanical loads that a component can withstand before deforming or breaking. For structural ...
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Understanding Metallurgical Failure Analysis Metallurgical failure analysis involves examination of failures of metal components during manufacturing or use. It's a ...
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What is Metallurgy? What is metallurgy? Metallurgy is the study of the science of metals . It involves understanding the relationship between ...
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Metal Annealing Annealing is a common term used for metal heat treating. However, the term is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to ...
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Engineering Mistakes, Causes, and Prevention Engineering and producing a product or structure involves many decisions and actions. Occasionally engineering mistakes ...
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Supplier Selection Companies rely on suppliers to provide metal components and stock metal that meet requirements and are delivered on time.
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Designing Optimized Components Have you ever read Consumer Reports magazine? It contains ratings of products based on performance, reliability, and cost.
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Product Launch Formula Developing and launching a product can be stressful – there are many decisions, problems to overcome, and risks to mitigate.
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Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) Have you ever been ‘no quoted’ by a component fabricator for a component you designed? Or the quote was way ...
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Five Key Metallurgy Concepts Our ability to tailor the properties of metals to meet the requirements for the diverse array of product, equipment, and ...
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Two fundamental metallurgy principles Two fundamental principles are at the foundation of metallurgy. These principles are concerned with the relationship between a metal's ...
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How Metallurgical Engineering Fits In I’ve been working over 30 years as a metallurgical engineer. Metallurgical engineering involves applying the science of metals (metallurgy) to ...
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Applying metals engineering to meet product development schedules Many organizations struggle to meet product development schedules. These problems can be avoided, but the expertise needed ...
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What is Metals Engineering? In many of my articles and all over my website I talk about applying Metals Engineering (short for Metallurgical Engineering).
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New Speedy Webinar videos Our Speedy Webinars are short, focused training on metallurgy and metals engineering topics that apply to product design and ...
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Steel Hydrogen Embrittlement Hydrogen embrittlement is the result of the absorption of hydrogen by susceptible metals resulting in the loss of ductility and ...
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Failure Analysis Case Studies Understanding how to perform a failure analysis and what to do with the data obtained is important for being able to quickly ...
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Design for Reliability Design for Reliability is an engineering practice that focuses on building reliability into a product from its very inception. It ...
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Steel Metallurgy Basics This article explains about steel metallurgy - factors that influence steel properties, the different types of steel, and how heat treating ...
Steel |
A Tribute to Steel Metallurgy Knowledge Our knowledge of steel metallurgy has come a long way in the more than 2,000 years since it was first used to make weapons and tools.
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Six-Sigma and Materials Engineering Six-sigma and materials engineering are critical parts of developing high-quality, low-cost manufacturing processes.
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Product design - A different perspective Materials engineering perspective on product design. A product is an assembly of materials formed into components ...
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Improving Fatigue Resistance Fatigue involves localized, permanent damage to metals exposed to cyclic stress. In a previous article about the fatigue ...
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Failure Analysis Case Study This video shows an example of how failure analysis was used to improve the reliability of a component and ...
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Failure Mode and Mechanism Identifying failure modes and mechanisms are crucial aspects of Design for Reliability and component failure analysis.
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Presentation - Stressors and reliability The reliability of devices, equipment, and structures is the probability that they will perform their intended function without failure for ...
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Fatigue Fatigue is a common degradation and failure mechanism. It involves localized, permanent damage to metals exposed to cyclic stress.
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Tensile Testing Tensile testing is a mechanical test used to determine metal yield strength, tensile strength, elongation, and elastic modulus.
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Materials and Design for Reliability Design for Reliability is a systematic approach to product development that prioritizes reliability at every stage of the product lifecycle.
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I love being a metallurgical engineer I knew nothing about metallurgy and engineering when I chose metallurgical engineering as a major. As a 17-year-old, I liked ...
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Thinking small Fatigue cracks that originate at inclusions. Stainless steel corrosion due to chromium carbide precipitates. Low steel toughness ...
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Residual Stress in Metals When designing components for which fatigue or stress corrosion cracking is a concern, it’s important to be aware of the effects ...
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Product Reliability: Selection and Control The reliability of any product depends on the reliability of the individual components and joints within the product.
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Why stainless steel is corrosion resistant Stainless steel is an iron-based alloy containing a minimum level of 10.5% chromium. Stainless steel corrosion resistance makes it ...
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The difference between strength and toughness Metal strength and toughness are important mechanical properties for structural components. This article explains the trade-offs between ...
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Metal Conversations podcast I recently started a podcast about metallurgy and metals engineering. It's called Metal Conversations and is available on Spotify, Apple ...
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Using Failure Analysis to Improve Equipment Reliability I just published a post on the Accendo Reliability website about an example of how failure analysis was used to improve ...
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1-hour metals engineering consultation We just announced a new offering - a 1-hour metals engineering consultation. It's for design and manufacturing companies and ...
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Reliability Testing – Product vs. Materials I just published an article on the Accendo Reliability website about the approaches for evaluating the reliability of the materials ...
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A teacher’s learning moment Webinars have been a boon for learning. They have enabled people from anywhere in the world to learn new things ...
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Writing for Accendo Reliability website I recently started writing an article series about Metals Engineering and Product Reliability on the Accendo Reliability website. Here's a ...
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Why is Stainless Steel Corrosion Resistant? Stainless steel is an iron-based alloy containing a minimum level of 10.5% chromium. Stainless steel corrosion resistance makes it ...
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Phase Diagram Phase diagrams are graphical representations of the phases present in an alloy being held at a particular temperature. They are ...
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Forms of Metal Corrosion Corrosion is degradation of a metal due to a reaction with its environment. It involves an electrochemical reaction between ...
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Preventing Failure Analysis Frustration Have you ever run into the following situation? A component within your product broke or your manufacturing line was producing ...
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Orange Peel Failure Analysis Orange peel was present on bowls that were deep-drawn from low-carbon steel sheet. Orange peel is a cosmetic defect that ...
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Rivet Cracking Failure Analysis Brass rivets were cracking during assembly, when the rivets were being set. Failure analysis of the rivets was performed as ...
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Free-Machining vs. Welding: A Manufacturing Dilemma Product design and manufacturing involves trade-offs to optimize product performance, reliability, and cost. One aspect of cost includes ...
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Interview: Heat Treating Interview about heat treating with Craig Zimmerman and Rich Shapiro from Bluewater Thermal Solutions.
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Interview: Metal Stamping This interview is with Rich Nielsen, Director of Engineering at IMS Buhrke-Olson, a metal stamping and assembly company.
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Interview: Metal Fasteners This interview is with Mike Connelly, retired VP of Engineering and Quality at Casey Products, a metal fastener distributor. We ...
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Component design and metals engineering Well-designed components are essential to every product’s success. Whether a component meets its performance and ...
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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 ...
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Stress Corrosion Cracking Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a metal fracture process that involves the combined action of a tensile stress and a ...
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Annealing Metal Annealing is a heat treating process used to modify the ductility and strength of cold-worked metal. This article discusses the ...
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Specifying Metal Hardness - Is it Enough? Rockwell and Brinell hardness tests are common metal characterization methods used to determine whether metal stock or ...
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Materials Selection for Great Products: Overview Materials selection is a crucial part of designing components. The goal is to choose the most suitable materials so products ...
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Materials Selection: Design Requirements The first step of the materials selection process is to identify the design requirements for components and joints.
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Introduction to Stainless Steel Stainless steels are iron-based alloys that contain a minimum of 10.5% chromium. The chromium results in the formation of a ...
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Tempering Steel: Why Temper Through Hardened Steel? Tempering steel after quenching is part of the steel through hardening heat treatment. The reason for tempering steel is to ...
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Residual Stress Residual stresses are locked-in stresses within a metal object, even though the object is free of external forces. These stresses ...
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Orange Peel Orange peel is a cosmetic defect associated with a rough surface appearance after forming a component from sheet metal. It ...
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Hydrogen Embrittlement of Steel This article discusses hydrogen embrittlement of carbon steel. This includes a discussion of the mechanism by which a steel ...
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Cold Working and Annealing Cold working and annealing are used together to obtain desired stock metal dimensions, mechanical properties, and ...
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The difference between strength and toughness For structural components, strength and toughness are important properties for performance and reliability. The trade-offs ...
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Mechanisms for Strengthening Aluminum The different methods for strengthening aluminum make it possible to achieve a wide variety of strengths, making aluminum ...
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Materials Engineering and Successful Products Successful design & manufacturing requires consideration of several perspectives including mechanical engineering, electrical ...
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Case Study: Material Selection for Drive Shaft A material selection project involved finding a material to use for a 1/2-inch diameter, six foot long drive shaft. The shaft ...
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Cracked Chuck Failure Analysis Problem Failure Analysis helps you find the root cause or component failures and manufacturing quality problems. In this case study ...
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Materials Engineering for Cost Reduction One cost reduction approach is to reduce the cost of the materials used in product. This can be achieved by ...
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Selecting Suppliers Suppliers of metal stock and components are critical to a company's success. Companies depend on suppliers to provide ...
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Precipitation Strengthening Precipitation strengthening involves forming a uniform distribution of closely spaced sub-micron sized particles throughout an alloy.
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When a Low Cost Supplier Becomes Expensive This article outlines an eight-step process to help you identify and repair the root cause of problems that arise when working with ...
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Engineering Metal Properties Understanding how metal properties can be engineered. When designing products, engineers select metals that have specific ...
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Why Control Heat Treating Temperature? Whether you are through hardening steel, annealing a cold-worked metal, or solution treating an aluminum alloy, controlling heat ...
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Atom Diffusion in Metals Diffusion in solid metals is the process by which atoms move through a metal. It enables us to use heat treating to ...
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Phase Transformations in Metals Phases are physically distinct materials within metals. They have distinct properties and are comprised of the elements ...
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Sheet Metal Formability Fabrication of sheet metal into components is an important part of product manufacturing. It's critical to select alloys and mechanical ...
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Metallurgy: Science of Metals Metallurgy is the science of metals. It encompasses metal extraction through engineering and fabrication of metal components ...
General Metallurgy |
Prevent product delays: design to prevent fatigue
Reducing Component Costs
How to Pass Product Testing the First Time
Reduce Costs of Poor Quality
Reduce Product Costs
Prevent product delays
Metallurgy for Operational Excellence and Market Leadership
Preventing Metal Fatigue
Galvanic Corrosion
Metal Microstructure
Mechanical Properties of Metals
Metal Heat Treating
Metal Hardness
Iron-Carbon Phase Diagram
Metal Strength
Understanding Metallurgical Failure Analysis
Metal Annealing
Engineering Mistakes, Causes, and Prevention
Supplier Selection
Product Launch Formula
Five Key Metallurgy Concepts
Two fundamental metallurgy principles
How Metallurgical Engineering Fits In
Applying metals engineering to meet product development schedules
What is Metals Engineering?
New Speedy Webinar videos
Steel Hydrogen Embrittlement
Failure Analysis Case Studies
Design for Reliability
Steel Metallurgy Basics
Six-Sigma and Materials Engineering
Product design - A different perspective
Failure Analysis Case Study
Presentation - Stressors and reliability
Fatigue
Tensile Testing
I love being a metallurgical engineer
Thinking small
Residual Stress in Metals
Why stainless steel is corrosion resistant
The difference between strength and toughness
Metal Conversations podcast
Using Failure Analysis to Improve Equipment Reliability
1-hour metals engineering consultation
A teacher’s learning moment
Forms of Metal Corrosion
Orange Peel Failure Analysis
Rivet Cracking Failure Analysis
Free-Machining vs. Welding: A Manufacturing Dilemma
Interview: Heat Treating
Interview: Metal Stamping
Interview: Metal Fasteners
Component design and metals engineering
Aluminum Alloy Families: Strength Metallurgy
Stress Corrosion Cracking
Specifying Metal Hardness - Is it Enough?
Materials Selection for Great Products: Overview
Introduction to Stainless Steel
Mechanisms for Strengthening Aluminum
Case Study: Material Selection for Drive Shaft
Cracked Chuck Failure Analysis
Materials Engineering for Cost Reduction
Selecting Suppliers
Precipitation Strengthening
Atom Diffusion in Metals
Phase Transformations in Metals