CHAPTER 2

Material Selection Process

CO1: Analyze product design and

materials selection process for various
products
 Overview

• Material Selection for Products

• Material Substitution
• Process Selection
• Manufacturing Costs and Cost Reduction
 Introduction
Materials selection is an important part of a
larger process of creating new solutions to
problems. This larger process is called
“Engineering Design ”
Why do we need to select a new material ?
• When the product is new (never produced before),
the decision to select a new material is obvious

• With existing products (Material Substitution),

selecting a new material is due to the following:

– Reduce material cost

– Reduce production cost
– Accommodate some changes in function
– Solve some material processing problems
– Take advantage of new materials or processing
methods
– Incorporate failure analysis recommendations
Factors Influencing Materials
Selection
Material Selection Considerations
1. Do the materials selected have the
appropriate manufacturing characteristics?

2. Do the materials under considerations have

properties that meet requirements and
specifications?
Material Selection Considerations
3. Are the raw materials (also called stock) specified
available in standard shapes, dimensions,
tolerances and surface characterizations?

4. Is the supplier of the materials reliable? Can the

materials be delivered in the required quantity
within required time frame?

5. Does the materials present any environmental

hazards and concern?
Shapes of commercially available
materials
 Shapes of commercially available
materials

Ingots Wire Structured Shapes Foil

P – Plates and sheets T - Tubing B - Bar and rod

 Manufacturing Characteristics of
materials
• Manufacturing characteristics includes:

– Castability
– Workability
– Formability
– Machinability
– Weldability
– Hardenability
 Manufacturing Characteristics of
materials
• Manufacturing properties are influenced by
quality of raw materials:

Porous casting will

develop a poor
surface finish when
machined.
Manufacturing Characteristics of
materials
Round rods with internal defects such as hard
inclusions will crack during further processing
Manufacturing Characteristics of
materials
A bar with longitudinal seam, or lap, will develop
cracks during simple upsetting and heading
operations.
 Recycling Considerations
• Recycling may be relatively simple for
products such as scrap metals, plastic bottles
and etc.

• Often requires components to be separated or

disassembled.

• May become expensive.

 Recycling Considerations
• General considerations:

1. Reduce the number of

parts and types of
materials in products.

2. Reduce the variety of

product models

3. Use a modular design to

Facilitate disassembly

4. For plastic parts, use

single types of polymers
as much as possible
 Recycling Considerations
• General considerations:

5. Mark plastic parts for ease

of identification

6. Avoid using coatings,

paints, and plating; instead,
use molded in colors for plastic
parts

7. Avoid using rivets,

adhesives, and other
permanent joining methods
in assembly
Process Selection
 Process Selection
Before selecting a manufacturing process, we need to
know the following attributes:

1. Material to be used
2. Number of parts required (batch size)
3. Size and shape to be produced
4. Dimensional tolerances required
5. Geometrical complexity
6. Surface finish
7. Economics (cost) of tooling, capital, scrap rate, etc…)
8. Environment and safety
 Types of process
• Intermittent operations are used to produce
many different products with varying
processing requirements in lower volumes.
(Project process and batch process)

• Continuous operations are used to produce

one or a few standardized products in high
volume. Examples are a typical assembly
line, cafeteria, or automatic car wash. (Line
process and continuous process)
Intermittent vs. continuous
 Intermittent operations
• Project processes are used to make one-at-a-time
products exactly to customer specifications.
– These processes are used when there is high customization
and low product volume, because each product is different.
– Examples can be seen in construction, shipbuilding, medical
procedures, creation of artwork, custom tailoring, and interior
design.
 Intermittent operations
Batch processes are used to produce small quantities
of products in groups or batches based on customer
orders or product specifications.
❑ The volumes of each product produced are still small and there
can still be a high degree of customization. Examples can be
seen in bakeries, education, and printing shops. The classes
you are taking at the university use a batch process.
 Continuous operations
Line processes are designed to produce a large
volume of a standardized product for mass
production.
– With line processes the product that is produced is made in high
volume with little or no customization.
– Think of a typical assembly line that produces everything from
cars, computers, television sets, shoes, candy bars, even food
items.
 Continuous operations
Continuous processes operate continually to produce
a very high volume of a fully standardized product.
– Examples include oil refineries, water treatment plants,
and certain paint facilities.

Waste water treatment

 Example 1
You are asked to produce the simple axisymmetric part shown in Figure below.
it is 125 mm long, and its large and small diameters are, respectively, 38 mm
and 25 mm. Assume that this part must be made of metal because of functional
requirements such as strength, stiffness, hardness, wear resistance, and
resistance to elevated temperatures. Which manufacturing process would you
choose, and how would you organize the production facilities to manufacture a
cost-competitive, high-quality product?
 Solution
*Parts should be produced at or near their final shape (net- or near net-
shape manufacturing)

*Eliminates secondary processing and thus reduces the total manufacturing

time and cost.

Casting and powder metallurgy - net shape / near net shape

One method is upsetting a 25-mm round bar in a suitable die to form the
larger end.

Another possibility is partial direct extrusion of a 38- mm diameter bar to

reduce its diameter to 25 mm. Note that each of these processes produces
little or no material waste, an important factor in green manufacturing.
The part also can be made by machining a 38-mm-diameter bar stock
to reduce the lower section to 25 mm.

Machining this part will require much more time than forming it, and a
considerable amount of material inevitably will be wasted as metal
chips.

However, unlike net-shape processes, which generally require special

dies, machining involves no special tooling, and this operation can be
carried out easily on a CNC lathe at high rates.

Note that, alternatively, the part can be made in two separate pieces
and then joined by welding, brazing, or adhesive bonding.
After these initial considerations, it appears that if only a
few parts are needed, machining this part is the most
economical method.

For a high production quantity and rate, producing the

part by a heading operation or by cold extrusion would
be an appropriate choice.

Finally, note that if, for some technical reason, the top
and bottom portions of the part must be made of
different materials, the part can be made in two pieces,
and joining them would be the most appropriate choice.
 Manufacturing Costs

• The total costs of a product generally consists of

material costs, tooling costs, fixed costs, variable
costs, direct labor costs, and indirect labor costs.
 Manufacturing Costs
• Materials Costs – depends not only on the type
of material, but also on its processing history,
as well as its size, shape and surface
characteristics.

• Example: Square bars are more expensive than

round bars, thin wire are more expensive than
thick wires, metal powders are more expensive
than hot rolled bars.
 Manufacturing Costs
• Tooling costs – Costs involved in making
tools, dies, molds, pattern, and special jigs
and fixtures.

• Fixed Costs – Electric power, fuel, taxes,

rent, insurance and capital (including
depreciation and interest)

• Capital costs – machinery, tooling,

equipment, investment in buildings and
land
 Manufacturing Costs
• Direct labor costs – for labor
that is directly involved in
manufacturing products
(productive labor).

• From the time of raw materials

to the time when the product is
manufactured (referred as
floor-to-floor time)

• Direct labor costs = labor rate

x working time
 Manufacturing Costs
• Indirect labor costs – servicing of the total
manufacturing operations.

• Costs for supervision, maintenance, quality control,

repair, engineering, research and sales as well as
office staff – nonproductive labor
Select three different products commonly found
in homes. State your opinions on:

A) What materials were used in each product?

B) Why those particular materials were chosen?
C) How the products were manufactured?
D) Why those particular process were used?