PME 2431 Manufacturing Processes

Work-Materials
Albert J. Shih
Professor, Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University
Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan

Che-Chih Tsao
Assistant Professor, Power Mechanical Engineering
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Three Segments

2-1 Work-materials:
Definition, type, and evolution

2-2 Metals:
Irons, steels, and aluminum

2-3 Polymers, ceramics, and composites

 PME 2431 Manufacturing Processes

2-1 Work-materials:
Definition, Type, and Evolution
Albert J. Shih
Professor, Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University
Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan

Che-Chih Tsao
Assistant Professor, Power Mechanical Engineering
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Learning Objectives

Definition of
work-materials

Four types of
Work-materials
work-materials

Evolution of
work-materials
Learning Objective 1

Definition of
work-materials

Four types of
Work-materials
work-materials

Evolution of
work-materials
What are Work-Materials?
A machine manufactures the workpiece
(made of work-materials) utilizing the tools
(made of tool-materials).

The following three lectures cover:

▪ Work-materials (Lecture 2)
▪ Tool-materials (Lecture 3)
▪ Machines (Lecture 4)
What Are Your Work-Materials?

Food

Clothes
Leather, fiber

Shelter
Stone, mortar
…..
Learning Objective 2

Definition of
work-materials

Four types of
Work-materials
work-materials

Evolution of
work-materials
Materials (by Michael Ashby): Metals, Polymers, Composites, and Ceramics
 Metallic Elements in the Periodical Table

Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Periodic_Table_Of_Elements.svg
Polymers
• Large macromolecule composed of multiple repeated
molecular units.
• Natural polymers (vs. synthetic polymers)

• Mostly organic materials (carbon-based compounds)

Ceramics
Non-metallic, inorganic
Structure ceramics Electronic ceramics

Glass
Roof of Tesla
Model 3

SiC for power electronics

Composites
A material made from two or more constituent materials with
significantly different physical or chemical properties that, when
combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the
individual material.

An example of natural composite material

Bamboo Bamboo plant Fiber Yarn Fabric

Learning Objective 3

Definition of
work-materials

Four types of
Work-materials
work-materials

Evolution of
work-materials
Work-Materials: 10,000 to 5000 BC
Stone Age
How to make a better tool? By manufacturing!

Middle Stone Age New Stone Age

Old Stone Age (Mesolithic)
(Neolithic)
(Paleolithic) polished stone
Farming was created to
care for animals.

Work-materials:
• Ceramics – Stones (both tool- and work-materials)
• Polymers – Woods, skins, fibers
• Composite – Straw-brick

Neolithic wood-working tools

Gold, Copper and Bronze Ages
Gold
Copper age (3500 – 2300 BC)
Bronze age (3000 – 1200 BC) [=Copper+Zinc+…]
 Copper Age and Bronze Age: Work-Materials

Mirror
Reflection
from an
ancient
Egyptian
mirror
Bronze Age: Metal Working and Community

Fire melts and

extracts the metal

Manufacturing activities
changed/assembled
the community
 Egyptian Giza Pyramids: 2500 BC Granite Work-Material in the Bronze Age

Pyramids of Giza

Granite from Aswan quarry

https://flic.kr/p/2n1Qjmp
 Theory: Pyramid Granite Stone Cutting in Ancient Egypt 2500 BC

How Egyptians cut the stone so precisely?

• Workers cut a series of holes in the granite with a
hammer and bronze chisel and inserted wooden
wedges.
• Soaked wood with water, which made the wood expand
and the rock split.
• The stone workers then used the chisel again to break
the granite apart.

https://sciencing.com/granite-quarried-ancient-egypt-6032.html
Egyptian Obelisks: One-piece Granite Made between 1950 BC to 120 AC

How do they cut these obelisks so precisely?

Obelisk in Vatican Obelisk in Paris

Obelisk in Luxor, Obelisk Obelisk Obelisk

Egypt (1500 B.C.) in Istanbul in London in Rome
(Flaminio)
 A PBS Documentary: Pharaoh's Obelisk

Unfinished obelisk in Theory: stone cutting

the Aswan stone quarry granite manually

• Work- and tool-materials are

two key manufacturing
challenges.
• Metrology and transportation
are also great challenges.
2-1 Takeaways
• Material and manufacturing technologies are both
advancing and complement each other
• An analogy: material and manufacturing are two
faces on the same coin.
 PME 2431 Manufacturing Processes

2-2 Metals:
Irons, Steels, and Aluminum
Albert J. Shih
Professor, Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University
Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan

Che-Chih Tsao
Assistant Professor, Power Mechanical Engineering
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Learning Objectives

Irons

Steels
Metals
Stainless steels

Aluminum
Learning Objective 1

Irons

Steels
Metals
Stainless steels

Aluminum
Iron Age: 1200 – 550 BC
Post Bronze Age – Iron Age Empires: Neo-Babylonian, Neo-Assyrian and Persian Empires
King David (1100-970 BC): Iron to Israel

Why iron is better than bronze?

• Brinell hardness: 40-50 Copper, 100 Bronze (60% Cu,
33% Zinc, 1-5% Mg, ..), 134 Iron
YES!
Is this a big deal?

• [Iron of Culture] (2 Sam. 5:17-25) David and his

men fled to Achish, the Philistine king of Gath.
And because they found favor with him, …, at
about the time David became king of Israel, the
Israelites learned to work iron and thus became
the dominant culture in the region.

Viking sword
 Iron Age –Why Making Iron is More Difficult?
• Iron – the most abundant metal element
• Iron oxide – convert to iron
• Blast furnace for iron making
• Three key ingredients: Chemical reaction:
• Iron ore (Fe2O3) 2C(s) + O2(g) → 2CO(g)
Fe2O3 + 3CO → 2Fe + 3CO2
• Coke (C(s))
• Limestone

A lot of CO2
emission!!

https://www.123rf.com/photo_122405969_stock-vector-metallurgy-of-iron-and-steel-the-cast-iron-production-process-vector-illustration.html
 Video Iron Ore à Iron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7JqonyoKA&t=303s
 Video Iron Ore à Iron: Lessons Learned
• Iron ore (taconite) mining
• Magnets for separation
• Coal à Coke for solid carbon fuel
• Blast furnace for iron making
• Adding the limestone to remove impurity
• Three key ingredients: Iron ore, coke, and limestone
• Large quantity (90,000 ton) per day
• Cast iron is ready for the next operation to make steel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7JqonyoKA&t=303s
Cast Iron: 1200 BC - date
Cast Iron – Graphite Shape and Distribution

Examples of cast iron parts

Machine Turbocharger
tool base Disk brake
housing
 Cast Irons - Classifications

http://steel---0.blogspot.com/2017/06/14-graphite-vs-iron-vs-steel-irons-vs.html
 High Strength Cast Iron à Energy Savings
An example of impacts in lightweighting and fuel saving
of high-strength work-materials

Thin-wall, Lightweight Lightweight, more

lightweight cast diesel fuel-efficient trucks
iron engine block engine

1988-2019
3 million Cummins diesel engines in trucks
è A lot of fuel/energy savings

http://www.therepublic.com/2019/09/28/cummins_celebrates_engine_no_3_million_in_ram_trucks/
Learning Objective 2

Irons

Steels
Metals
Stainless steels

Aluminum
Steels and Alloy Steels
Steels – AISI Classification
Examples
AISI 1020 (0.2% C)
low carbon steel

AISI 1080 (0.8% C)

piano wire

AISI 4340
alloy steel

AISI 52100 (1% C)

Bearing steel
 Video Iron à Steel Slab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7JqonyoKA&t=303s
 Video Iron à Steel Slab
Lessons Learned
• Iron and/or scape iron are added to the
oxygen furnace
• High purity oxygen blows into the furnace at
supersonic speed to burn and create heat
• Iron converts to over 15,000 types of steel with
different alloying elements

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7JqonyoKA&t=303s
 Video Steel Slab to Sheet with Coating and Surface Treatment for Products

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7JqonyoKA&t=303s
 Video Steel Slab to Sheet: Lessons Learned
• Slab was reheated to 2400°F
• Hot rolled to thinner sheet
• Computer-controller machines
• Acid batch to clean the surface
• Cold rolled to even thinner thickness
• Coating to make the steel corrosion resistant
o e.g. Tin coating for can goods
• Annealing for easy to bend and form
• Tempering using special rollers to add the hardness and
surface texture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7JqonyoKA&t=303s
Learning Objective 3

Irons

Steels
Metals
Stainless steels

Aluminum
Stainless Steels – Classification
Non-magnetic: Austenitic Stainless Steel (2xx and 3xx)
Stainless Steels – AISI 3xx
Stainless Steel – Major Applications Coming
Tesla SpaceX
Cybertruck: Starship:
SAE 3xx
stainless Used to be
steel SAE 301
stainless
steel

Converting
to SAE
304L in
2020
 Video Steel à Stainless Steel Slab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zwgI-pQ6kE
 Video Steel à Stainless Steel Slab: Lessons Learned
• Scrap steel and iron are melted by three electrical arc
(energy source as arcing)
• Temperature at 1650 °C
• Argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) converter
• Transfer to the ladle metallurgical stand
• Final alloying for different stainless steel
• Pour to casting ladle to a casting turret and then to a
copper mold (cooled by water)
• Outer shell is solidified and then turn from vertical to
horizontal and then cut to slab
• Grinding to remove surface imperfection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zwgI-pQ6kE
 Iron à Steel à Stainless Steel à Product
• Strength and durability
• Profit (value-added in manufacturing)
• Price:
Grey Cast Iron < Ductile Iron < Low carbon steel <
Spring steel < Stainless steel
• Price of metals changes daily (e.g. current price see this
link)

Metal price: https://agmetalminer.com/monthly-outlook/

Learning Objective 4

Irons

Steels
Metals
Stainless steels

Aluminum
Aluminum Alloy Designation
 Video Aluminum Ore (Bauxite) à Ingot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4HAzfhWtqE
 Video Aluminum Ore (Bauxite) à Ingot: Lessons Learned
• Bauxite is mined and shipped by boat to the US
• Chemical process: bauxite + water + lime + soda ash
• Covert to sodium aluminate, which is purified, and
convert to aluminum hydroxide crystal and then to
aluminum oxide (alumina)
• Use the electrolytic bath to create the molten aluminum
and pour into ingots for further processing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zwgI-pQ6kE
2-2 Takeaways
Metals are broad and still a key material.

Superior “Material + Manufacturing” technologies

determine the dominance of a country.

Egypt

Philistine (vs. Israel)

Roman

British

US
 PME 2431 Manufacturing Processes

2-3 Polymers, Ceramics, and

Composites
Albert J. Shih
Professor, Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University
Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan

Che-Chih Tsao
Assistant Professor, Power Mechanical Engineering
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Learning Objectives

Polymers

Ceramics

Composites

Work-materials in advanced manufacturing

Learning Objective 1

Polymers

Ceramics

Composites

Work-materials in advanced manufacturing

 Polymers

Michael Ashby
 Video Natural Gas (Ethane) à Ethylene à Polyethylene Pellet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7EwPX7312k
 Video Natural Gas (Ethane) à Ethylene à Polyethylene Pellet

Lessons Learned
• Natural gas is cooled to -100 °C to recover ethane
• Ethane is converted to ethylene in 850°C using
cracking process
• Ethylene gas is pumped into a reactor to mix with
butane to create a long-chain solid: polyethylene
• Polyethylene powder is extruded to wire and cut
into pellet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zwgI-pQ6kE
Natural Gas à Plastics
 Examples of Plastic Materials
PE bottles
• Polyethylene (PE) (C2H4)n - the most
common plastic, 34% by weight (100
million ton/yr) - mostly for packaging.
Dow (Midlane MI) is the world’s largest
producer of PE.
• Polypropylene (PP) (C3H6)n
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
PVC pipe
• Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) or
acrylic
• Polystyrene (PS)
• Poly(p-phenylene oxide) (PPE)

Polystyrene Acrylic
foam cooler sheet
 Engineering Plastics
• Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) ABS Nylon fishing wire
Lego
• Nylon 6, 6-6, 12 (Nylon)
• Polyamides (PA)
• Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)
• Polycarbonates (PC)
• Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Polycarbonate headlight
• Polyetherketone (PEK)
• Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
• Polyimides (PI / Kapton)
• Polyoxymethylene plastic (POM / Acetal)
• Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Kapton cover for satellite
• Polyphenylene oxide (PPO)
• Polysulphone (PSU)
• Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE / Teflon)
 Example: Plastic Nonwoven Materials
• Not woven or knitted.
• A fabric-like material made from
short or long fiber, bonded together by chemical,
mechanical, heat, or solvent treatment.

• Engineered fabrics for specific functions such as

absorbency, liquid repellence, resilience, stretch, softness, strength,
flame retardancy, washability, cushioning, thermal insulation,
acoustic insulation, filtration, use as a bacterial barrier and sterility.

• Suited for
apparel, home
furnishings, health
care, personal
protection, industrial
and consumer goods.
 Video Nonwoven Manufacturing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYd0Rdu53Rw
 Video Nonwoven Fabric

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn5imoNQi8o
 Nonwoven Manufacturing: An Overview
Plastic pallet

Molten plastic

Solidification
(but not totally solid)

Nonwoven fabric
Three Layers of Nonwoven in Surgical Masks

Outside –
liquid repellent

Middle – filtration

Inside – hydrophilic
absorption (e.g. cotton)
Learning Objective 2

Polymers

Ceramics

Composites

Work-materials in advanced manufacturing

Ceramics
 Example: Float Glass Manufacturing Process

Soda-lime glass
Material % Reason for
adding
Sand 72.6 -
Soda Ash 13.0 Easier melting
Limestone 8.4 Durability
Dolomite 4.0 Properties
Alumina 1.0 -
Ceramics – New Glass Materials
Example: Gorilla Glass
• Thin alkali-aluminosilicate sheet glass
• Toughened by ion exchange
• Immersed in a molten alkaline potassium salt at 400°C
• Replace smaller sodium ions in the glass by larger
potassium ions in the salt bath
• A surface layer of high compressive residual stress
• Thin
• Scratch and impact resistance
 Video Gorilla Glass Manufacturing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZPeyErbqz4
Video Gorilla Glass Manufacturing
Lessons Learned
• One bag of raw material turns to thousands of sheet of
gorilla glass
• Raw material travels to 7-story high to an oven of 1800 °F
(industrial secret)
• $11.4B business in 2018
• Cooled a flow down (fusion forming)
• Flowed from 2 mm slit to 0.1 mm thin glass
• Cut to 8 x 10 feet
• Handles by robots, never touches
by human hand
• After further cut to device size,
immerse in hot salt for ion
exchange toughening
 Example: Armor Glass and Tesla Cybertruck
• Aluminum oxynitride (ALON)
• Cubic spinel structure
• Manufactured using ceramic powder pressing process
• Optically transparent
• Hardest polycrystalline transparent ceramic
• Bullet proof up to 0.5-inch caliber browning machine gun
• Similar glass may use
in Tesla Cybertruck glass (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLIwwGSddiM&t=181s
 Video ALON Armor Glass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLIwwGSddiM&t=181s
 Video Tesla Cybertruck Glass Test

https://electrek.co/2019/11/23/a-few-too-many-rounds-tesla-cybertruck-window-shattering/
Learning Objective 3

Polymers

Ceramics

Composites

Work-materials in advanced manufacturing

Composites
 Glass Fiber vs. Carbon Fiber
• Lightweight Carbon fiber

• High tensile strength

Human
hair
• Corrosion resistant
Aerospace
Carbon Fiber E-Glass Stainless ABS
Aluminum
HexTow® IM7* Fiber* steel 304* Plastic*
7075-T6*
Density (kg/m3) 1780 2540 2810 8000 1010
Tensile Strength
5516 3450 572 505 49
(MPa)
Strength / Density
3.10 1.36 0.20 0.06 0.05
(MPa m3 / kg)

𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ =
𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
right before fracture
*Typical values from: http://www.matweb.com
 Video Glass Fiber

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeqDm9l3yEM
Glass Fiber Manufacturing
• Molten glass
• Glass fiber
• Glass fiber roving (roll)
• Converts long string of glass fiber to:
▪ Chopped matte
▪ Uni-directional
▪ Woven
• Key thermal insulation material (Owens Corning)
Learning Objective 4

Polymers

Ceramics

Composites

Work-materials in advanced manufacturing

 Work-Materials in Advanced Manufacturing
Quality • Big impacts to sustainability,
Cost heathcare, national security, …
Time to market

Reconfigurability

Innovation/design

• New metals: Stainless steel for aerospace and automotive, …

• New ceramics: Semiconductor, …
• New polymers: Masks, …
• New composites: Carbon fiber composite structure
• Electronic record and traceability of work-material
(e.g. in aerospace and medical device industry)
Example: SpaceX Falcon 9 Work-Materials

Outer shell: Aluminum-

lithium shell (~5 mm thick)
Grid fin: Titanium
Fairing: Carbon fiber
skin overlaid on an
aluminum honeycomb
core
Landing leg: Titanium?
Concluding Remarks
• Novel work-materials are transforming the design and
manufacturing
• Materials and associated manufacturing innovations are
key for competitive advantage in industry – for example –
turbine engines

New
• metallic
• plastic
• ceramic, and
• composite
materials enable better
(fuel efficient, safe, …)
engines
Bonus: Magnetic Materials
• Ferrite (Fe2O3)
• Alnico (Al-Ni-Co),
• Rare-earth magnets: Samarium-Cobalt (Sm-Co)
and Neodymium-Iron-Boron (Nd-Fe-B) [ideal for high
performance electric motors]
• Sintered (better performance) or molded (lower cost).
 Manufacturing of Nd-Fe-B Sintered Magnets

https://www.hsmagnets.com/blog/brief-introduction-of-sintered-alnico-magnet/
 Video Manufacturing of Nd-Fe-B Magnet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHuWloNGo6c
 Video Manufacturing of Nd-Fe-B Magnet
Lessons Learned
• Raw materials preparation
• Strip casting
• Oxygen removal
• Jet milling
• Molding
• Pressing
• Sintering
• Machining
• Plating/coating
• Magnetization

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHuWloNGo6c