Materials and techniques are fundamental to manufacturing. There are classifications for manufacturing materials and material selection for appropriate processes. It is vital to grasp the fundamentals of materials and process selection in order to work in the manufacturing industry. Because contemporary manufacturing is continually growing and reliant on market demands, cost reductions, and eco-friendly solutions, the choice of material and method is largely dependent on the ultimate product’s quality.
A wider range of materials is becoming accessible. The majority of engineering materials are classified into the Metals, Ceramics and Polymers.
Metals, Ceramics and Polymers
These categories have different properties in terms of chemical composition & behavior, mechanical properties, and physical properties. Mainly these differences influence the manufacturing procedures.
Composites:
There are composites in addition to the three core divisions. Instead of being a separate category, composites are nonhomogeneous combinations of the other three fundamental categories.
Metals:
Alloys often consist of two or more different components. The alloys one of the element which is metallic. The alloys are more significant economically than pure metals in most circumstances.
The two fundamental groups are:
The Ferrous, Metals – (Iron, Steel & Cast iron)
The Non-Ferrous, Metals
The majority of ferrous metals have an iron-based composition. The iron based ferrous metals account for 75% of global metal tonnage: Steel is a materials that is an iron carbon alloy. This iron-carbon alloy (Steel) that contains (0.02) to (2.11)percent (%) carbon composition. Cast iron is another ferrous metal. The cast iron is an alloy contains (2-4) percent (%) carbon composition. The most frequent is the grey cost iron.
Nonferrous-metals– The nonferrous includes all other metallic elements. All other metallic substances and alloys are available, such as aluminum, gold, silver, copper, mg, tin, titanium, nickel, and so forth.
Ceramics:
Ceramics are described as, a composition made up of metallic, semi-metallic, and nonmetallic components. This includes (oxygen), (nitrogen), and (carbon).
Ceramics are classified as follows for processing purposes:
Crystalline ceramics (both powder and fired):
Secondly the traditional ceramics, for example, the clay – Aluminum Silicate
Then Modern, the contemporary ceramics, For example (alumina (Al2O3))
Lastly Glasses – The glasses are mostly consists of (silica (SiO2)) in the form of melted and casted
Polymers:
Polymers are a type of substance composed of repetitive cellular structure known as mers, where atoms exchange electrons. Large molecules are created when they combine to produce one another. These are often composed of carbon and one or more additional materials, such as oxygen, hydrogen, and (nitrogen).
There are three main categories for Polymers:
Thermoplastics -polymers, such as PVC & Nylons, These can sustain repeated of both heating and cooling cycles without modifying their atomic structure.
Thermo-setting-polymers – In that the molecules when cooled from a heated plastic state they chemically convert or you can say cure into a solid structure, such as resins and epoxies.
Elastomers, like natural rubber, contain substantial elastic properties.
Composites:
A material that has two or more different phases or stages. These steps are treated independently before being combined to provide qualities that are better than the sum of their parts.
A mass of uniform material known as a phase has the same unit cell structure as the grains of a solid metal. Particles or fibres from one phase are often combined with particles or fibres from a second phase known as the matrix to form the typical structure. The properties of a material are defined by the components, their physical shapes, and how they are combined to produce the final substance.
For example: fibre in polymer matrix: fibre reinforced plastics. If we talk about the composition of a Ceramics in metallic matrix: For Example, to manufacture a cemented carbide cutting tool, tungsten carbide is mixed with a cobalt binder.
Classification of Manufacturing Processes:
Manufacturing Processes:
The diagram depicts the manufacturing process categorization chart. Processing and assembly are the two basic structures in production. Any product can be made by processing, assembly, or both processes. All of the steps will be addressed in depth in subsequent posts.
Processing operation:
These operations change the status of the work material. The process of moving from a basic to a more developed and valuable level of completion.
Assembly Operations:
These processes include joining two or more components together. A connection to create an assembly or its subassembly, a new entity.
Shaping Processes:
Shaping procedures use heat, mechanical work, or a mix of the two to change the structure of the work material. The shaping process is divided into several subcategories, such as solidification, powder processing, deformation, heat treatment techniques, surface treatments, and coating, and others.
Similarly, there are several assembling operations. These processes will be described in depth in subsequent posts, with explanations and examples. Learning materials and techniques are critical for effective and competitive product design.
Solidification processes – In a solidification the initial material or substance is a heating liquid or semi-fluid that solidifies to produce the shape of the component. The example includes the casting of metals and molding of plastics.
Particulate processing – It begins with a powder, It is afterwards formed into the required geometry and hardened by sintering.
Deformation processes – To begin a deformation procedure, a ductile solid is first distorted, usually a metal.
Material-Removal Methods – A solid (ductile or brittle) is used as the starting point or the primary component, from which material is taken away to create the desired form in the resulting section.
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