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Materials Engineering

This Thread is focused upon the many aspects of manufacturing. We discuss various materials, how they are made, how they are used, what their properties are, why they are important, and any other subjects specifically having to do with manufacturing and production.

Feel free to add any information about any type of manufacturing related subjects, including mining, production, development, even how manufacturing methods may affect the use of various things.

All things are welcome here. History, culture, even religion may play an important part in how, when, where, or why some things are made. Please add that information.

This Thread is expected to grow and provide a database of practical information about the things that are in our lives. Jump in and have fun learning and teaching.

UPDATE: The subject matter within this thread used to be on a separate Board, but has since been merged with this one. You may feel free to start new manufacturing related topics here.

Engineering Materials

A lot of people these days don't regard manufacturing, especially the type that includes iron, plastics, or cloth, as being a very exciting subject to study. Yes, many, many people throughout the world work in various types of manufacturing, from the "high-tech" folks in the medical and electronics industry, through automotive and other "heavy metal" industries, out to the garment houses. But most of us rarely consider just how fascinating it really is to learn about the intricacies of the processes involved in making simple things, or how incredibly complex it is to make something of great beauty and utility.

It is said that there are three ways to really create wealth. Farm it, mine it, or modify either of the first two.

Farming is rather obvious. The farmer plants a little seed (actually, lots and lots and lots of little seeds), cares for it by cultivating, watering and protecting it, then harvests the results at the end of the season. So, he spends a little bit of money on the seeds, some more for the fertilizer, possibly some for water, and then may pay for help to do all the various jobs involved. At the end, he (hopefully) has a crop that has multiplied his investment many times. This growing true wealth.

Mining is also rather obvious. The miner digs a hole, extracts some mineral, and then sells it. Maybe he isn't really "creating" wealth, but he is making it available where it wasn't before.

However, manufacturing is where wealth really comes from. In many ways, manufacturing could include such things as cooking a meal or knitting a sweater as much as it does building a truck or extruding a PVC pipe. Manufacturing consists of all processes that create changes in other physical objects. We hope that all of our manufacturing processes add value to those physical objects. This is ultimately the purpose of all manufacturing, to increase the value of things.

For example, if you make toast, you are increasing the value to yourself. Perhaps you feel that strawberry jam tastes better on toast than it does on bread. So, you place a piece of bread in the toaster, which changes the bread by applying heat to it, and in a few seconds, you have manufactured a piece of toast!

Likewise, there are thousands of different manufacturing techniques, operations, and processes to make the myriad of items that we use in everyday life. The intent is always to add value to an item. So, all manufacturing industries share a lot of common values, such as the search to increase production and quality without adding too much cost.

Within this board, we will explore some of these issues across a very wide variety of manufacturing disciplines.

Edited: Nighthawk on 18th Feb, 2005 - 1:09pm

Materials Engineering UFO & Writing Art Education Sciences

Please follow these rules for posting in this board:

• Keep separate materials and methods in their own topics.
• If applicable, place the name of the material you are talking about in brackets ([,]) in the topic title.
• Feel free to ask questions, add information, and especially add experiences that apply to any open topic.
• Avoid the use of copyright material. If you find a good reference on the internet to describe or show a material or process, feel free to link to it. Don't copy it into your message complete.
• If you wish to carry on a conversation about a specific problem or concern about a material or process, go ahead and post it in the appropriate thread, if available. If it is not really right for this forum, the moderator (me, NightHawk) will discuss it with you personally. I have no problem setting up discussions about specific technical issues, but they may be extremely boring to people who don't eat, sleep and breathe specific manufacturing processes. Believe me, I know from experience. I've bored many people to death.
• Jump in and try to learn. Who knows, this just might help you find a new interest!

Edited: Nighthawk on 18th Feb, 2005 - 1:09pm