Nanotechnology and smart-coating technologies have been reported to show great promise for improved performance in critical areas such as corrosion resistance, durability, and conductivity. This article exemplifies nanofilms and nanomaterials used in coatings applications, including carbon nanotubes, silica, metals/metal oxides, ceramics, clays, buckyballs, graphene, polymers, titanium dioxide, and waxes. These can be produced by a variety of methods, including chemical vapor deposition, plasma arcing, electrodeposition, sol-gel synthesis, and ball milling. The application of nanotechnology and the development of smart coatings have been dependent largely on the availability of analytical and imaging techniques such as Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy.

The combination of high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance makes titanium the best material choice for many critical applications. This article begins with a description of the historical perspective of titanium casting technology. It discusses the types of molding methods, such as rammed graphite molding and lost-wax investment molding. The article provides information on the casting design, melting, postcasting, and pouring practices. It describes the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-6AI-4V alloy. The article examines the product applications of titanium alloy castings. The tensile properties, standard industry specifications, and chemical compositions of various titanium alloy castings are tabulated.

This article is a comprehensive collection of machining data, presented in tables, covering most of the commonly used machining operations including turning, face milling, end milling (peripheral), drilling, reaming, and tapping of several materials. It provides starting recommendations for the range of speeds and feeds for various machining operations, parameters for the selection of tool geometry, and guidelines on the selection and identification of cutting fluids.

This article focuses on precision and ultraprecision finish machining techniques that make use of defined cutting edges, such as polycrystalline diamond and cubic boron nitride compacts. The techniques are finish turning, finish broaching, finish milling, and finish drilling.

The primary objectives of the rolling process are to reduce the cross section of the incoming material while improving its properties and to obtain the desired section at the exit from the rolls. This article illustrates a rolling sequence for the fabrication of bars, shapes, and flat products from blooms, billets, and slabs. It describes two methods for shapes or sections: universal rolling and caliber rolling. The article provides information on two-high mills and three-high mills. Specialty mills for thin sheets, namely, the Sendzimir mill and planetary mill, are discussed. The article analyzes the components of a computer controlled system for high-speed mills. Steels and nonferrous materials are also discussed. The article concludes with information on the defects in flat, bar, or shaped products due to heating and rolling practices.

Forging of nickel-base alloys results in geometries that reduce the amount of machining to obtain final component shapes and involves deformation processing to refine the grain structure of components or mill products. This article discusses the heating practice, die materials, and lubricants used in nickel-base alloys forging. It describes two major forging processing categories for nickel-base alloys: primary working and secondary working categories. Primary working involves the deformation processing and conversion of cast ingot or similar bulk material into a controlled microstructure mill product, such as billets or bars, and secondary working refers to further forging of mill product into final component configurations.

Ring rolling is a process for creating seamless ring shaped components using specialized equipment and forming processes. This article provides information on the applications of ring rolling. It discusses the types of machines used for ring rolling, namely, vertical rolling machines, radial-axial horizontal rolling machines, four-mandrel mechanical table mills, three-mandrel table mills, and automatic radial-axial multiple-mandrel ring mills. The article provides a discussion on the process control technology and ancillary operations of ring rolling. It describes the methods of producing ring blanks and the various types of blanking and rolling tools used in ring rolling process. The article concludes with a discussion on rolled ring tolerances and machining allowances.

Titanium metal passes through three major steps during processing from ore to finished product: reduction of titanium ore to sponge (porous form), melting of sponge and scrap to form ingot, and remelting and casting into finished shape. This article describes primary fabrication, including all operations that convert ingot into general mill products, such as billet, bar, plate, sheet, strip, tube, and wire. The section on secondary fabrication describes processes such as die forging, extrusion, hot and cold forming, machining, chemical milling, and joining. The article presents a short note on powder metallurgy products of titanium. Casting processes and properties are covered in the final section.

Maintenance coating is an important part of any meaningful asset-preservation strategy in facilities producing pulp and paper and other chemicals. This article discusses maintenance coating for carbon steel structures and process equipment exposed to normal external pulp and paper mill atmospheric conditions. The important requirements and standards for surface preparation are emphasized and common issues encountered in maintenance coating projects are described.

Stainless steels, based on forging pressure and load requirements, are more difficult to forge because of the greater strength at elevated temperatures and the limitations on the maximum temperatures at which stainless steels can be forged without incurring microstructural damage. This article discusses the forging methods, primary mill practices (primary forging and ingot breakdown), trimming, and cleaning operations of stainless steels. It describes the use of forging equipment, dies, and die material in the forging operation. The article provides an overview of the forgeability of austenitic stainless steels, martensitic stainless steels, precipitation-hardening stainless steels, and ferritic stainless steels. It concludes with a discussion on the heating and lubrication of dies.

Metalworking is one of the three major technologies used to fabricate metal products. This article tabulates the classification of metal forming processes. It discusses different types of metalworking equipment, including rolling mills, ring-rolling machines, and thread-rolling and surface-rolling machines. The article outlines the significant characteristics of pressing-type machines: load and energy characteristics, time-related characteristics, and accuracy characteristics. It summarizes different specialized processes such as advanced roll-forming methods, equal-channel angular extrusion, incremental forging, and microforming. The article describes the thermomechanical processing of nickel- and titanium-base alloys and concludes with information on the advancements in process simulation.

This article is an atlas of fractographs that helps in understanding the causes and mechanisms of fracture of medium-carbon steels and in identifying and interpreting the morphology of fracture surfaces. The fractographs illustrate the torsional-fatigue fracture, cup and cone tensile fracture, brittle fracture, and in-service rotary bending fatigue fracture of fractured roof-truss angles, pressure-vessel shells, automotive axle shafts, broken keyed spindles, crane gears, blooming-mill spindles, automotive bolts, and crane wheels of these steels.

This article explains how ceramic powders are made. It begins by briefly describing the raw materials used in structural clay products, whitewares, refractories, and advanced ceramics. It then examines various additives that promote uniformity at different stages of the process. After a description of the comminution process (wet and dry milling methods), it discusses batching and mixing operations and granulation methods. The article also deals with the effect of process variables and the steps involved in chemical synthesis, including preparation from solution and gas-phase reactions, filtration and washing, and powder recovery techniques. It concludes with a discussion on characterization, centering on size distribution analysis, specific surface area, density, porosity chemical composition, phase, and surface composition.

This article discusses coating products available for use in the aerospace industry that are compliant with regulations requiring reductions in emissions from organic solvents. The coating products addressed include primers, topcoats, and chemical milling maskants. It describes their characteristics and limitations compared to conventional noncompliant materials. The article addresses the methods and products commonly used achieve regulatory compliance: waterborne coatings, exempt-solvent-based coatings, high-solids coatings, powder coating, and electro-deposition.

Most surfaces have regular and irregular spacings that tend to form a pattern or texture on the surface. This article provides information on the general background of surface topography and discusses the different methods for measuring surface topography, namely, contact and noncontact techniques, and the focus-follow method. Examples of different types of parameters obtained and how they are applied can best be described by discussing the various types of surfaces generated by finishing methods. The surfaces include ground, turned, and milled machined surfaces; surfaces subjected to stress; bearing surfaces; plateau honed and tapped surfaces; and reflective, painted, elastic, and wear-resistant surfaces.

Ferrous metals are metals that contain primarily iron and may have small amounts of other elements added to give the desired properties. This article discuses the characteristics of steel products used in most industries, including construction, automotive, energy, shipping, and agriculture. These products include bars, rods, wires, hot and cold rolled sheets, strip plates, tin mill products, steel tubes, castings, and forgings. The article also provides information on the methods used to prevent or control the rusting of ferrous materials, namely, alloying, coating, and covering.

Fundamental to the machining process, is the metal-cutting operation, which involves extensive plastic deformation of the work piece ahead of the tool tip, high temperatures, and severe frictional conditions at the interfaces of the tool, chip, and work piece. This article explains that the basic mechanism of chip formation is shear deformation, which is controlled by work material properties such as yield strength, shear strength, friction behavior, hardness, and ductility. It describes various chip types, as well as the cutting parameters that influence chip formation. It also demonstrates how the service life of cutting tools is determined by a number of wear processes, including tool wear, machining parameters, and tool force and power requirements. It concludes by presenting a comprehensive collection of formulas for turning, milling, drilling, and broaching, and its average unit power requirement.

This article discusses the classification, characteristics and temper designations of wrought aluminum alloys. Wrought aluminum products are available as flat-rolled products such as sheets, plates, and foils; rods, bars, and wires; tubular products such as tubes and pipes; extruded shapes; forgings; and impacts. The article provides information on product economics, design and selection, including product dimension and dimension tolerances, and design and use of wrought product capabilities. Finally, it tabulates the specifications and standards for aluminum mill products.

Low-carbon steel sheet and strip are used primarily in consumer goods. This article discusses quality descriptors and mechanical properties of low-carbon steel sheet and strip and carbon and low-alloy steel plate. Alloy steel sheet and strip are used primarily for those special applications that require the mechanical properties normally obtained by heat treatment. Steel sheet is coated in coil form before fabrication either by the steel mills or by specialists called coil coaters. Porcelain enamels are glass coatings applied primarily to products or parts made of sheet steel, cast iron, or aluminum to improve appearance and to protect the metal surface.