Introduction

This course mainly deals with mechanical design and the role of materials in it. Mechanical
components have mass, carry loads, conduct heat and electricity, they are exposed to wear and
corrosive environments, they are made of one or more materials, they have shape and they must
be manufactured.

This course basically describes all these activity how they are related.

Materials in Design
 Design is a process of translating a new idea or a market need into the detailed
information from which a product can be manufactured.
 Each of its stage requires decision about the materials of which the product is to be made
and the process for making it.
 The choice of material is dictated by the design. The new product, evolution of the
existing one was suggested or made possible by a new material.
 The choice of material cannot be made independently of the choice of process by which
the material is to be shaped, joined and finished. Cost enters the equation, both in the
choice of materials and in the way the material is processed.
 Design problems are almost open ended. They don’t have a unique or correct solution
through some solutions will clearly be better than others. First tool a designer need is an
open mind, consider all possibilities and then select the excellent from good.

The Evolution of Engineering Materials

Stone age – before 10000BC

Copper age- 10000 BC- 4000BC

Bronze age- 4000BC- 1000BC

Iron age- 1000 BC- 1920AD

Age of steel-1920AD- 1980AD

Age of polymer-1980 AD-2000AD

The molecular age- above 1980AD

The progressive filling of material-property space over time (the charts list the date at the top left) showing
the way the materials have been developed over time to meet demands on strength and density. Similar
time plots show the progressive filling for all material properties
The Evolution of Materials in Products:

Kettle : Cast iron, Bronze, Polypropelene

Vacuum Cleaner:

Vacuum cleaner: A hand-powered cleaner from 1880, the Electrolux cylinder cleaner of
1960, and the Dyson centrifugal cleaner of 2010.

Camera: A plate camera from 1900, a Leica from 1960, and a plastic camera from 2006