What Manufacturing Processes Will Make the Future World?

Electric vehicles require lighter weight structural components than is common in today's offerings. This comes as a byproduct of the battery weight problem but is also fundamental to increasing passenger miles per unit of energy. Let's assume here for the sake of discussion that steels still offer the best performance/cost compromise in this type of consumer product. I could be wrong about that.

On top of the weight issue is the issue of product life. A compelling argument could be made for motor vehicle product life being of the same order of magnitude as buildings both for personal as well as business usage. Longer life will certainly be preferred in an era of increasing costs (a product of higher standard of living costs among the skilled manufacturers), decreasing incomes in the high volume customer base and decreasing resources of materials and energy for fabrication.

Product life in steel structures used within design limits is determined by corrosion and to a lesser extent fatigue life. The latter can be mitigated by design practice. But corrosion resistance relies on some combination of metallurgy, corrosion resistant coatings and a bit of design to reduce immediate exposure of components to the brunt of corroding agent attack.

The central issue here is really fabrication of a steel structure whose materials have a set of sometimes mutually exclusive properties of strength and corrosion resistance versus machinability and formability.

I hasten to add that I am a bit of a lay person in this area having only the passing experience of an average mechanical engineer with the art and science of metal fabrication. But looking at that world what I see is a large opportunity for metallurgical science to work closely with the creators of fabrication technology to develop material systems and fabrication methods that will meet the market challenge I suggest. I have seen a lot of work in that direction. But I'm still waiting for metal forming technology with the capabilities to form a wide variety of shapes and sizes without resorting to expensive special tool forms as well as on board interactive metrology to adjust tool setting to meet a design requirement. Also waiting for alloys with superior properties that do not require intermediate operations such as heat treating to facilitate completion of the fabrication.

So we continue to design structures heavier than they need to be and spend money (plus add weight in many instances) by applying coatings to improve life in operating environments

I think this area is one crucial key to the future of environmentally friendly consumer products and I fully expect a lot of R&D for it to become commonplace.

As I suggested above I am not close to this technology. I have seen examples of research and am reasonably confident that we already have the early stages of this marriage of metallurgy and fabrication technology in products we buy, especially our automobiles. But we have a long way to go. As we speak someone close to me is on a special assignment to solve a set of engineering problems that could have been easily solved by the technology advances I view (and wish for). So inspite of work to date we are not there yet.

Ed Weldon

In a steel mill operation where high quality steel can be made (no cheap scrap allowed please!) one of the most important departments will be dedicated to developing new products to meet the market requirements.

Steel makers hold quality control procedures very close as the information can give you an advantage for a year or two and better prices because of it.

Every quality of steel has it's own parameters for melting, casting and rolling - if you have it right the costs can be controlled - if not then life is not so good.

Many manufacturers work closely with suppliers or potential suppliers to develop steels to meet engineering requirements. For example - Mercedes does not just go on the market and make a purchase of steel coil to make auto rims - they will only go to a supplier they have pre-qualified.

"Metals manufacturing techniques are rarely seen as crucial to significant advances in engineering."

HUH?

I guess they called it the bronze age because of the jewelry fad?

The age of steel?

Try making anything in commercial quantities without using metal implements.

How many metal parts on a low carbon car?

And is a car made of carbon fiber low carbon? OxyMORON terminology.

Let me know how that goes.

Seriously, does someone really think like this, get paid to use words this uhh, loosely, or is this a shot just to get a rise out of us poor metallurgists?

For anyone interested in the issue of metalworking and solar automobile technology, may I modestly offer the following?

http://pmpaspeakingofprecision.com/2010/07/15/wolverine-machine-solar-cars-and-leading-technology/

Milo

somebody has been watching too much starwars...

ga

Chris