Principles of Metallurgy

Principles of Metallurgy

Learn how to get the metal properties you need to make great products

Principles of Metallurgy teaches fundamental metallurgy concepts that apply to all metals. It's the starting point to learn how metals behave, why properties change, and how impacts design, manufacturing, supplier, and quality decisions.

You will learn...

  • the factors that influence metal properties
  • metal microstructure features
  • how alloying, heat treatment, and cold working modify metal strength and hardness
  • metallurgy terminology.

The concepts covered will give you a better sense of how metals can be engineered and what it takes to control metal properties.

This online course is a strong fit for engineers, designers, technicians, quality professionals, manufacturing teams, and purchasing professionals who work with metals but do not need to become full-time metallurgists. You will learn core metallurgy concepts that will help you make better decisions and communicate more effectively with technical teams.

 

"We use the acquired knowledge from this course on a daily basis to troubleshoot non-conformances and produce high-quality products."
F. Cardenas, Quality Manager, Gerard Daniel Worldwide

 

Course details

  • Length: 4 hours
  • Training credit: 4 training hours and 0.4 CEUs
  • Content: 12 learning modules, a final exam, and a pdf of the course slides
  • Format: Online, on-demand, and interactive
  • Access: 4 months
  • Certificate of completion: awarded after passing the final exam.
  • Best for: Engineers, technicians, quality and manufacturing teams, and purchasing professionals
  • Group discounts!

What this course helps you do

After completing Principles of Metallurgy, you will be better prepared to make design and manufacturing decisions, evaluate supplier information more effectively, solve quality problems faster, and communicate more effectively with engineers, customers, suppliers, and technical specialists.

The first step to understanding metallurgy

Learning the metallurgical concepts taught in Principles of Metallurgy is an important step to more in-depth learning about different alloys, fabrication and joining processes, and heat treating.

What you will learn

  • Relationship between a metal’s properties and its composition, microstructure, and processing.
  • How microstructure and metal composition influence metal strength and hardness.
  • How microstructure changes occur during heat treating.
  • Metallurgical changes due to alloying, cold working, and heat treating, and their effects on metal strength.

Concepts covered in Principles of Metallurgy are applicable to all metals. Steel and aluminum examples are presented.

Course content

Introduction
Explains the relationship between metal properties, composition, microstructure, and processing. This is at the core of practical application of metallurgy.
20 min
Composition
Covers how metal composition is expressed, difference between alloying element and impurity, effects of composition changes on metal properties.
22 min
Microscopic structures
Discusses crystal structure, grains, and phases. All have huge effects on metal properties.
21 min
Crystal defects
These are microscopic structures that are actually helpful. They enable metal ductility, affect metal strength, and enable alloying.
28 min
Diffusion
Explains how atoms move within a metal, factors that influence the motion, effects of diffusion on metal microstructure, and why it is essential for heat treating.
18 mins
Application of Metallurgy Principles
A review of concepts covered in previous modules.
8 mins
Cold working
Covers the microscopic changes that occur during cold working and effects on metal strength and hardness. Applies to all metals.
25 mins
Annealing cold-worked metals
Discusses microstructure changes that occur during annealing, effects on metal strength, and effects of annealing temperature and time. Applies to all metals.
30 mins
Solid solution strengthening
Explains how alloying elements affect metal strength and hardness. Applies to many alloys including steel, aluminum, brass, and others.
34 mins
Steel Metallurgy
Covers the phases present in steel, their effects on steel strength and hardness, and basics of common steel heat treatments.
26 mins
Precipitation Strengthening
Also known as precipitation hardening and age hardening. Discusses the heat treating steps, the microstructure changes that occur, and effects on metal strength. Applies to 2xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx aluminum alloys, PH stainless steels, and other precipitation strengthened alloys.
35 mins
Course Review
Final review of the material.
12 mins
Final Exam
 70% required to pass the course and receive a certificate of completion
Determined by user

Course content

This course includes 12 learning modules, interactive lessons, quizzes and problems, a final exam, 4 months of course access, and a certificate after successful completion.

The learning module titles and content are:

  1. Introduction. Explains the relationship between metal properties, composition, microstructure, and processing. This is at the core of practical application of metallurgy.
  2. Composition. Covers how metal composition is expressed, difference between alloying element and impurity, effects of composition changes on metal properties.
  3. Microscopic structures. Discusses crystal structure, grains, and phases. All have huge effects on metal properties.
  4. Crystal defects. These are microscopic structures that are actually helpful. They enable metal ductility, affect metal strength, and enable alloying.
  5. Diffusion. Explains how atoms move within a metal, factors that influence the motion, effects of diffusion on metal microstructure, and why it is essential for heat treating.
  6. Application of Metallurgy Principles. A review of concepts covered in previous modules.
  7. Cold working. Covers the microscopic changes that occur during cold working and effects on metal strength and hardness. Applies to all metals.
  8. Annealing cold-worked metals. Discusses microstructure changes that occur during annealing, effects on metal strength, and effects of annealing temperature and time. Applies to all metals.
  9. Solid solution strengthening. Explains how alloying elements affect metal strength and hardness. Applies to many alloys including steel, aluminum, brass, and others.
  10. Steel Metallurgy. Covers the phases present in steel, their effects on steel strength and hardness, and basics of common steel heat treatments.
  11. Precipitation Strengthening. Also known as precipitation hardening and age hardening. Discusses the heat treating steps, the microstructure changes that occur, and effects on metal strength. Applies to 2xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx aluminum alloys, PH stainless steels, and other precipitation strengthened alloys.
  12. Course Review
  13. Final exam. 70% required to pass the course and receive a certificate of completion.

Quizzes and problems give opportunities to apply the metallurgy concepts taught. The course takes about four hours to complete.

Course certificate

After completing all course modules and passing the final exam, participants receive a certificate for 4 training hours and 0.4 CEUs. This certificate can help document continuing education and technical skill development for engineers, technicians, quality professionals, manufacturing teams, and companies that track employee training.


What people say about our courses

Engineers and technical professionals use this course to build practical metallurgy knowledge they can apply in design, manufacturing, quality, and supplier related work.

  • "Principles of Metallurgy covered the foundations of metallurgy and effects of manufacturing processes needed to obtain desired mechanical properties. This information has been valuable during my work in both design and manufacturing. I highly recommend it for someone that could benefit from knowledge of the fundamentals of metallurgy."
    Chris M.
    Mechanical Design Engineer
    Oil & Gas Industry
  • The Principles of Metallurgy course was a great refresher and supplement to the Properties of Materials course I took in college. The content focuses on information relative to industry, which will help greatly in my day-to-day job functions.
    Alex Nocera
    Ensign-Bickford Aerospace and Defense
  • Well worth the time to do Metallurgy of Steel Heat Treating. It has given me more confidence in my job and given me a better understanding of some of the heat treatments used in the business
    Mark Winter
    Test House, Abbey Forged Products
  • I learned a bunch from this course. I needed an understanding of the heat treating and metals for our heat treating process in house. I now have a much better understanding of what is accomplished in the process along with understanding what could be a problem in our process.
    Tim Harris
    Gesipa Fasteners USA

Registering

Individual: Fee is per person. Add the course to your cart and pay. You will receive an email with instructions on how to access the course. Registering for someone else? Register using their name and email address at the start of the check-out process, and use your credit card to pay.

Group: Contact us to register more than one person or for pricing for groups of 5 or more people.

Registering

Individual: Add the video to your cart and pay. You will receive an email with instructions on how to access the course. Registering for someone else? Register using their name and email address at the start of the check-out process, and use your credit card to pay.

Group: Contact us to register more than one person or for pricing for groups of 5 or more people.

Registering

Individual: Fee is per person. Add the webinar to your cart and pay. You will receive an email with instructions on how to access the training. Registering for someone else? Register using their name and email address at the start of the check-out process, and use your credit card to pay.

Group: Register more than one person by clicking the "Add to Cart" button multiple times or by editing the quantity in the shopping cart. After registering you will receive an email with information about how to access the course that you can share with the others in your group. Contact us for pricing for large groups of people.

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$225.00
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We offer group discounts and discounted all-access passes.

Group Training Discounts

Why Industrial Metallurgists?

  • Practical, up-to-date content.
  • Metallurgy expertise and 20+ years of experience.
  • Courses designed for non-metallurgists.
  • Training accessible from anywhere with internet access.
  • Engaging content.
  • Convenience. Learn when it suits your schedule.
  • Avoid being overwhelmed with too much information at one time. Set your own pace.
4 hours, 0.4 CEUs
$225.00
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Watch the introduction to our Principles of Metallurgy course, for free.

Industrial Metallurgists, LLC

Providing metals engineering expertise for failure analysis and forensic investigations of metal components and products.
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