This chapter targets areas that determine if a change occurred and if the change induced the failure: change or what's different analysis. It describes the different sources of changes that induce process deficiencies: design, process, test and inspection, environmental, supplier lot, aging, and supplier changes. The chapter presents an example of a cluster bomb failure to explain how the failure analysis team found and corrected the failure cause.

A product pedigree describes its design and how it was built and shows that it was built in accordance with the drawings and other documentation defining the product configuration. Evaluating the pedigree of a failed product can help to rule in or rule out hypothesized failure causes. This chapter describes various areas that can be examined by the failure analysis team to assess the pedigree of the failed system. If the failure analysis team suspects product pedigree anomalies it should confirm conformance through independent means.

At the conclusion of a systems failure analysis, the people involved should have a much more in-depth understanding of how the system is supposed to work. The analysis should help understand shortfalls in the design, production, testing, and use of the system. The failure analysis team will have identified other potential failure causes and actions required to preclude future failures. This is valuable knowledge, and it should not be set aside or ignored when the failure analysis team concludes its activities. This chapter is a brief account of the creation of failure analysis libraries, of process guidelines based on previous failure analyses, and of troubleshooting and repair guidelines. Also provided is a listing of the various steps that should be included in a failure analysis procedure.

This chapter briefly reviews the experience-based guidelines that were developed for forming and welding advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). It discusses the benefits of using HSS in car body structures and components that are analyzed by the performance indices developed for materials selection.

This chapter provides guidelines on how to set up and run an effective quality-improvement program for aluminum extrusion operations. It begins by identifying production processes and variables that impact the quality of hard and soft alloy extrusions. It then presents a series of checklists and flowcharts that can be used to monitor and troubleshoot billet-making and extrusion processes, die construction, equipment maintenance, heat treating, and sawing and stretching procedures. It also discusses the importance of charting test results and monitoring surface treatments that may be required to improve corrosion, oxidation, or wear resistance.

This chapter discusses the role of standards and specifications for steel castings. It defines specifications and discusses how certification, testing, examination, methods, practices, procedures, compositions, properties, facilities, statistical process control, and documentation relate to codes and standards. The chapter describes processes involved in the selection of specifications for steel castings. Further, it provides information on the cost of specifications.

This chapter discusses quality control programs and procedures for induction heat-treating systems and includes related forms and checklists.

This appendix provides information on organizations that issue specifications and standards related to titanium and its alloys.

This chapter discusses the processes and guidelines for selecting a supplier and for specifying and purchasing steel castings. It details the information that is most useful to the casting supplier and purchaser.

This chapter is a detailed account of various factors pertinent to the development and launch of a product. It begins by describing the five phases in the product launch process, namely product design and development, process design and development, product and process validation, product launch, and continuous improvement. This is followed by sections covering product-process flow diagrams and also the process elements considered for process failure mode and effects analysis. Some of the aspects covered by the engineering specifications to meet the product performance requirements are then reviewed. Details on product validation requirements and definitions of parameters related to the launch process are also provided. The chapter discusses the purpose of manufacturing control plan, along with an illustration of a manufacturing control plan outlined for a safety-critical suspension casting. It ends with an overview of the contents of a program launch manual.

Casting quality and consistency need to be carefully controlled. This chapter discusses the procedures that describe the process and product quality controls. In addition, it provides information on quality assurance programs.

This article addresses critical aspects in bond testing of thermal spray coatings and provides step-by-step guidance for obtaining representative and reproducible test results based on ASTM C633 and other applicable industry standards. It clarifies details of ASTM C633 requirements and provides examples of the best practice confirmed by hundreds of tests performed worldwide, adopted by numerous industrial standards, and requested to comply with international technical standardization and certification organizations such ISO, AS, SAE, and Nadcap.

The aim of every extrusion plant is the efficient production of competitive products that meet the appropriate quality requirements. This chapter discusses the processes involved in the selection and introduction of a quality management system, along with its application, advantages, and disadvantages. It describes the process chain for order processing within the quality circle and provides information on product liability legal issues. In addition, the chapter discusses the processes involved in quality control, along with its organization, responsibilities, audits, and testing.

This chapter addresses some of the challenges involved in materials selection, providing context for much of the information presented in the book. It describes a typical four-step design scenario, noting material-related considerations and information needs. It explains how design decisions are complicated by the interconnected nature of material properties, design geometry, and manufacturing requirements and effects. The chapter also assesses the design impact of several materials and discusses codes, standards, and specifications.

Failure analysis is a systematic investigative procedure using the scientific method to identify the causes of a failure. This chapter begins by exploring what failure analysis is followed by a section describing the sequence of stages in the investigation and analysis of failure and the three principles that must be carefully followed during the analysis. It then provides information on the normal location of fracture and concludes with a list of questions to ask about fractures.

This chapter describes the nine steps of a failure investigation. The steps add detail to the problem-solving process introduced in Chapter 3. The first five steps are (1) understanding and negotiating the investigation goals, (2) obtaining an understanding of the failure, (3) objectively and clearly identifying all possible root causes, (4) evaluating the likelihood of each root cause, and (5) converging on the most likely root cause(s). Many failure investigations stop at this point, but significant value is provided in the next four steps, which are (6) identifying all possible corrective actions, (7) evaluating each corrective action, (8) selecting the optimal corrective action(s), and (9) evaluating the effectiveness of each corrective action. Each step is discussed in detail with examples along with information on the procedures to be followed and resources needed for the investigation.

This chapter discusses the basic steps of a failure investigation. It explains that the first step is to gather and document information about the failed component and its operating history. It advises investigators to visit the failure site as soon as possible to record damages and collect test specimens for subsequent examination and chemical analysis. It also discusses the role of mechanical property testing, the use of nondestructive evaluation, and the final step of generating a report.

A successful heat treating operation is determined by the ability to satisfy the customer's quality requirements consistently and economically. This chapter reviews the steps that are important to produce quality parts in heat treating with a brief practical explanation of each. The steps include selecting proper material and design of the part being treated; determining whether the process is capable of heat treatment; using statistical process control, control charting, and in-process inspection and testing; and applying statistical quality control and final testing (sampling) to verify the results.

Achieving the best-performing composite part requires that the processing method and cure cycle create high-quality, low-void-content structures. If voids are present, the performance of the composite will be significantly reduced. There are multiple causes of voids in composite materials; they are generally categorized as voids that are due to volatiles (such as solvents, water) or voids that result from entrapped air. This chapter describes the analysis of various types of voids. It reviews techniques for analysis of voids at ply-drops, voids due to high fiber packing, and voids that occur in honeycomb core composites. The final section of the chapter discusses void documentation through the use of nondestructive inspection techniques and density/specific gravity measurement methods.