This chapter addresses the hardware requirements for filament winding, from elementary processing equipment to more advanced systems. The chapter describes the equipment, defines how it is best used, and presents real-life examples. It describes a helical horizontal filament winding machine system and a vertical winding machine. The chapter provides information on in-plane (polar) winders and several types of creels, namely stationary and no twist, rotating, braking, and combinations thereof. Comprehensive descriptions of mandrel designs used in filament winding are presented in text and illustration. The chapter also reviews process control of filament winding parameters, including for some specialized winding processes and unique component types.

Wrought tubular products are nondestructively inspected chiefly by eddy current techniques (including the magnetic flux leakage technique) and by ultrasonic techniques. The methods discussed in this chapter include eddy current inspection, flux leakage inspection, ultrasonic inspection, magnetic particle inspection, liquid penetrant inspection, and radiographic inspection of resistance welded tubular products, seamless steel tubular products, and nonferrous tubular products. This chapter discusses the fundamental factors that should be considered in selecting a nondestructive inspection method and in selecting from among the commercially available inspection equipment. The factors covered are product characteristics, nature of the flaws, extraneous variables, rate of inspection, end effect, mill versus laboratory inspection, specification requirements, equipment costs, and operating costs.

In the case of gearboxes, vibration is the primary mode of failure even at the mid-range of operating speeds. Avoiding such failures requires an understanding of gearbox design, vibration theory, and material properties. This chapter details sources and types of gearbox vibrations; characteristics of gearbox vibrations; fundamentals of periodic vibrations; and vibration theory. It provides housing design for single-stage offset parallel gearboxes, high-speed gearboxes, and epicyclic gearboxes. The chapter then provides an analysis and selection of design factors for vibration reduction. It presents five types of gear tooth geometry errors. The chapter also focuses on gear quality inspection and on bearing-induced vibrations.

This chapter discusses the important role of metallography and the metallographer in predicting and understanding the properties of metals and alloys. Examples are presented of a metallographer working as part of a team in a research laboratory of a large steel company and a metallographer working alone at a small iron foundry. The three basic areas in all metallography laboratories are discussed: the specimen preparation area, the polishing/etching area, and the observation/micrography area. Important safety issues in a metallographic laboratory are also considered.

This chapter focuses on the inspection of steel bars for the detection and evaluation of flaws. The principles involved also apply, for the most part, to the inspection of steel wire. The nondestructive inspection methods discussed include magnetic particle inspection, liquid penetrant inspection, ultrasonic inspection, and electromagnetic inspection. Eddy current and magnetic permeability are also covered.

Sand and metallic charge materials are two essential and heavy raw materials that are needed for molding and casting. This chapter focuses on planning and provision for storage and handling of the raw materials needed for casting manufacturing. The major raw materials used for molding and casting are metallic charge materials and nonmetallic materials. The chapter also presents the advantages, limitations, and applications of drum or rotary dryers (also known as rotary kiln dryers) and fluidized bed dryers (also known as vibration fluidized bed dryers).

This chapter focuses on the elements and functions of sand conditioning equipment which are critical to achieving good quality castings. The sand conditioning equipment include sand muller; core sand mixers; sand conveyors and bucket elevators; sand aerators; mold conveyors; shakeout units; magnetic separators; lump breakers and core crushers; screens; sand coolers; sand reclamation systems; and sand hoppers.

Rough grinding and polishing of mounted specimens are required to prepare the composite sample for optical analysis. This chapter describes these techniques for preparing composite materials. First, it provides information on grinding and polishing equipment and describes the processes and process variables for sample preparation. Then, the chapter discusses the processes of abrasive sizing for grinding and rough polishing. Next, it provides a summary of grinding methods, rough polishing, and final polishing. Finally, information on common polishing artifacts that can result from any of the steps is provided.

Prior to forging, it is often necessary to preform billet stock to achieve adequate material distribution. This chapter discusses the equipment used for such operations, including transverse rolling machines, electric upsetters, ring-rolling mills, horizontal presses, and rotary (orbital) and radial forging machines. It describes their basic operating principles as well as advantages and disadvantages.

This chapter discusses the processes involved in heat treating of stainless steels, providing information on the classification, chemical compositions, and corrosion resistance of stainless steels. Five groups of stainless steels are discussed: austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, precipitation-hardening, and duplex grades. The chapter also describes the heat treatment conditions that should be followed for processing of stainless steels.

Because of its speed and ease of control, induction heating can be readily automated and integrated with other processing steps such as forming, quenching, and joining. Completely automated heating/handling/control systems have been developed and are offered by induction equipment manufacturers. This chapter deals with materials handling and automation. First, it summarizes basic considerations such as generic system designs, fixture materials, and special electrical problems to be avoided. Next, it describes and provides examples of materials-handling systems in induction billet heating, bar heating, heat treatment, soldering, brazing, and other induction-based processes. The final section discusses the use of robots for parts handling in induction heating systems.

After pouring, castings are allowed to solidify and cool. They are later removed from the molds in the shakeout operation. A series of activities then follow, which are generally referred to as finishing and heat treatment. These activities can be broadly categorized as shakeout, abrasive blast cleaning, removal of risers, ingates, and discontinuities, rough inspection, removal of discontinuities, finishing welding, heat treatment, and final visual, dimensional, and NDT inspection. This chapter provides a detailed discussion on these activities.

Abradable coatings (such as Ni-4Cr-4Al/bentonite) are used throughout jet engines, primarily as sacrificial coatings into which moving components wear. This article presents the Accepted Practice for sample preparation of abradable coatings for metallographic analysis, based on round robin testing by several laboratories.

The cyclic nature of gearbox vibration lends itself well to the analysis in the frequency domain where the effects of a gear mesh, bearing defects, and other sources of vibration are effectively set apart, making it much easier to identify and correct the underlying causes of vibration. This chapter presents spectral maps that show how gearbox vibrations change with the rotational speed of components. It then explains how to identify the sources of vibration in a high-speed gearbox. The chapter also discusses other errors including backlash, ghost frequencies, unbalance, misalignment, mechanical looseness, and index variation form errors. It also presents the calculation of gear frequencies on gearbox vibration spectra and the influence of operating conditions.

This chapters discusses the considerations involved in the qualification and analysis of induction hardening treatments. The discussion covers material selection and prior heat treatment, hardness and case depth, frequency selection, power density and heating time, part and process tolerances, geometrical effects, quenchant selection, coil design, and work-handling equipment. The chapter also presents several examples, walking readers though each step, and discusses the development of setup instructions and operating procedures.

This chapter reviews the development of filament winding systems and the automated processes used in state-of-the-art filament winding facilities. It first provides a description on the early stages of modern filament winding, followed by brief information on the advances of filament winding in the computer age. Then, the chapter discusses the requirements for filament winding in manufacturing oil and gas industry components and in high-volume production of sporting goods, propane tanks, and curing ovens. The chapter concludes with examples of the versatility of filament winding in producing complex parts.