This article describes the four basic steps of the purchasing process of cast components. These steps include defining requirements and developing a purchasing plan; requesting and evaluating bids from potential sources; selecting a source and negotiating contract terms; and carrying out the contract and pursuing continuous improvement. It provides guidance on purchasing cast components and explains specific issues and approaches that have proven to be useful in purchasing castings. The article presents a list of the most significant considerations when attempting to determine the overall cost and design requirements of a metal casting.

This article presents an overview of an engineering design process. Though the process is extremely complex, distinct stages of design activities are identified and described. The article illustrates guided iteration methodology that helps in problem solving in design. It describes the engineering conceptual design and configuration design of special-purpose parts. It discusses the parametric design methods of the parts and best practices that are used by successful firms to achieve the goals of quality, cost, time-to-market, and marketing flexibility.

The intent of this article is to assist the failure analyst in understanding the underlying engineering design process embodied in a failed component or system. It begins with a description of the mode of failure. This is followed by a section providing information on the root cause of failure. Next, the article discusses the steps involved in the engineering design process and explains the importance of considering the engineering design process. Information on failure modes and effects analysis is also provided. The article ends with a discussion on the consequence of management actions on failures.

This article provides assistance to a failure analyst in broadening the initial scope of the investigation of a physical engineering failure in order to identify the root cause of a problem. The engineering design process, including task clarification, conceptual design, embodiment design, and detail design, is reviewed. The article discusses the design process at the personal and project levels but takes into consideration the effects of some higher level influences and interfaces often found to contribute to engineering failures.

This article discusses the compositions, properties, and typical applications for ductile irons that are defined by U.S. and international standards . It describes the various methods used to test and inspect the metallurgical control processes in ductile iron production. The article discusses the effect of composition, graphite shape, and section size on the properties of ductile iron. The article also describes the mechanical properties of ductile iron at elevated temperatures. The heat treatment of ductile iron castings produces a significant difference in mechanical properties from as-cast ductile iron. A ductile iron generally has higher hardenability than a eutectoid steel with comparable alloy content. The article also discusses the physical properties of ductile iron, including density, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, electrical resistivity, and magnetic properties. Ductile iron has been chosen in many instances on the basis of significantly lower machining costs, which resulted in lower overall cost of the part.

Product design for manufacture and assembly can be the key to high productivity in all manufacturing industries. This article discusses the use of design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) software in the evaluation of proposed designs. It summarizes the steps taken when using DFMA software during design. The article describes the use of design for analysis tool in reducing the number of separate parts, estimating assembly time, and determining design efficiency. It reviews assembly analysis methods such as the assemblability evaluation method, the assembly-oriented product design method, the Lucas method, and the design-for-assembly cost effectiveness method. The article explains the design for manufacture in terms of cost estimation and principal cost drivers. It provides information on the applications of DFMA and roadblocks in the implementation of DFMA. The article concludes with a discussion on the design for automatic assembly.

This article provides an overview of thermal spray processes. It describes the microstructural character of thermal spray coatings as well as the criteria for coating selection. The optimization, parameterization, and surface preparation and treatments for the thermal spray coatings are also discussed. The article illustrates the adhesion of polymer coatings and the thermal spray process used to remove lead-base paint. It provides information on the specifications, standardization, and guidelines for thermal spray applicators.

This article provides a perspective on United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DOD) specifications, standards, handbooks, and related documents, as well as their role in the corrosion prevention and control activities in the U.S. military.

This article reviews the graphite morphology, chemical composition requirements, castability, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of compacted graphite (CG) irons. It describes the factors affecting the mechanical properties of CG irons. The article also presents the advantages of CG irons.

This article addresses problems, such as “in spec” dilemma and on-target key, associated with traditional approaches to quality. It discusses major robust design techniques, tools, and concepts, such as quality loss function, parameter design, tolerance design, signal-to-noise ratio, technology development, and orthogonal arrays.

This article presents a background of green chemistry and green coatings, and a summary of the key concerns of the green coating procurement process. It includes a discussion on green marketing and the seven sins of greenwashing, an overview of the environmental certification standards and regulatory environments, and the importance of performance during the duty cycle.

This article briefly introduces the concepts of failure analysis, including root-cause analysis (RCA), and the role of failure analysis as a general engineering tool for enhancing product quality and failure prevention. It initially provides definitions of failure on several different levels, followed by a discussion on the role of failure analysis and the appreciation of quality assurance and user expectations. Systematic analysis of equipment failures reveals physical root causes that fall into one of four fundamental categories: design, manufacturing/installation, service, and material, which are discussed in the following sections along with examples. The tools available for failure analysis are then covered. Further, the article describes the categories of mode of failure: distortion or undesired deformation, fracture, corrosion, and wear. It provides information on the processes involved in RCA and the charting methods that may be useful in RCA and ends with a description of various factors associated with failure prevention.

This article briefly introduces the concepts of failure analysis and root cause analysis (RCA), and the role of failure analysis as a general engineering tool for enhancing product quality and failure prevention. It reviews four fundamental categories of physical root causes, namely, design deficiencies, material defects, manufacturing/installation defects, and service life anomalies, with examples. The article describes several common charting methods that may be useful in performing an RCA. It also discusses other failure analysis tools, including review of all sources of input and information, people interviews, laboratory investigations, stress analysis, and fracture mechanics analysis. The article concludes with information on the categories of failure and failure prevention.

This article discusses the selection of types of stainless steel for various methods of forming based on the formability and on the power required for forming. It reviews the requirements of lubrication, blanking, and piercing. The article describes various forming methods, namely, press-brake forming, press forming, multiple-slide forming, deep drawing, spinning, rubber-pad forming, drop hammer forming¸ three-roll forming, contour roll forming, stretch forming, and bending of tubing.