Metal Conversations

From an engineering perspective, what is a successful product? In this episode I discuss what I think it is and the influence of metals engineering on product success.

I also discuss three new resources for learning about successful component design, designing for reliability, and various metallurgy and metals engineering topics that apply to product design and manufacturing.

https://www.imetllc.com/designing-optimized-components/

https://www.imetllc.com/design-for-reliability-course/

https://www.imetllc.com/short-course-series-metallurgy-for-successful-products/

This episode is a complement to articles and podcasts available on the Industrial Metallurgists website https://www.imetllc.com/.

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Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., PE is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.
He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and  cost. For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode I discuss two failure analysis projects I worked on.

This episode is a complement to articles and podcasts available on the Industrial Metallurgists website https://www.imetllc.com/.

---------------------------

Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., PE is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.
He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and  cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode I discuss product reliability. Reliability refers to the ability of a product to perform as needed for a period of time.

This episode is a complement to an article (Designing for Reliability) and short video presentation (Product Reliability and Materials Engineering) available on the Industrial Metallurgists website at https://www.imetllc.com/designing-for-reliability/

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Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., PE is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.
He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and  cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode I discuss 6-sigma, statistical process control, and the role of materials engineering in developing capable manufacturing processes.

Materials are used to fabricate components and join components together. And, we want manufacturing processes capable of producing components and assemblies without defects or problems, and whose materials have the desired properties. So, developing and maintaining a six-sigma manufacturing process depends heavily on materials engineering.

To learn more about this subject check out https://www.imetllc.com/6-sigma-and-materials-engineering/

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Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., PE is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.
He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and  cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode I discuss the state of steel metallurgy knowledge and the things this knowledge have enabled including ultra-high volume steel production and the ability to engineer components with a wide range of properties for a wide range of applications.

To learn more about this subject check out https://www.imetllc.com/a-tribute-to-steel-metallurgy-knowledge/

Also, on May 17, 2023 there's a live online course https://www.imetllc.com/product/steel-metallurgy-webinar/

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Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., PE is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.
He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and  cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

How do you look at any product? See just a thing that performs a certain function?

In this episode I discuss my perspective on how I see a product - as an assembly of materials - and how it influences how I help design products to meet performance, reliability, and cost goals.

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Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., PE is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.
He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and  cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode I discuss learning and professional development.

There’s so much to know to be an engineer and college courses cover the tip of the iceberg, even if you go to grad school. I learned this early in my career as I was faced with decisions and problems related to topics that I never encountered in school. I also learned that I had to shoulder the responsibility of learning the topics. Some of the learning came from colleagues, some came from taking short courses, and some came from reading textbooks and technical journals.

I this episode I discuss my learning experiences and philosophy about learning, the pitfalls of relying on learning just from experience, and resources for learning and professional development.

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Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., PE is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.

He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and  cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode I discuss Design for Manufacturability related to component fabrication and joining components by welding, brazing, or soldering. Design for manufacturing is concerned with designing components and assemblies that can be repeatedly produced with consistent good quality without hassles, and at low-cost.

DFM applies to primary component fabrication processes, secondary processing (coating, heat treating), and joining. Primary component fabrication processes include casting, extruding, stamping and other cold forming, forging, and machining. Secondary processes include heat treating, machining, and coating by painting, electroplating, anodizing and other processes. And joining includes welding, brazing, soldering, and using adhesives.

Michael Pfeifer, Ph.D., PE is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from     University  of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and    Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional    Engineer, licensed in Illinois.

He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select     materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering     consulting and training. The training is geared to design,     manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about   Industrial   Metallurgists' services and training is at   https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode I discuss failure analysis component or joint failures during product testing or use and manufacturing problems such as supplier quality problems and manufacturing output that doesn't meet specifications. 

Failure analysis is part of performing a root cause analysis to identify the action, event, or decision that led to a component failing in a product or led to a manufacturing problem. The information from a root cause analysis is used to either fix a problem - in the case of product design and manufacturing - or assign blame - in the case of an insurance claim or litigation.

Michael Pfeifer is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from    University  of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and   Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional   Engineer, licensed in Illinois.

He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select    materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering    consulting and training. The training is geared to design,    manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about  Industrial   Metallurgists' services and training is at  https://www.imetllc.com/

(Apologies up front - I recorded this episode using the wrong microphone. So, the sound quality is fair. I'll do better next time.)

There are microscopic structures and processes in metals that have large effects on metal properties, performance, and reliability. Being able to conceptualize these structures and processes goes a long way toward understanding the behavior of metals and the effects of mechanical processing and heat treating on metal properties. In this episode I discuss some of the microscopic structures and their effects on metal properties.

I also discuss recent projects and a bonus at the end - some details about my recent trip to Seward, Alaska

Michael Pfeifer is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from   University  of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and  Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional  Engineer, licensed in Illinois.

He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select   materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering   consulting and training. The training is geared to design,   manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial   Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode Michael discusses the metals engineering perspective to component design. The concepts actually apply to all materials – metals, polymer, ceramics, and new classes of materials.

No matter the application, the considerations when designing a component are always the same. It’s necessary to understand all the design requirements when selecting materials and finalizing a component’s shape and features. The design requirements include performance, reliability, weight, cost, how the component will be fabricated, and how it will be joined to other components. With this information it’s possible to identify alloys and make changes to the component’s shape and features as needed to meet the design requirements at low-cost. Often, trade-offs between component materials and form are made to optimize the design. This is especially important for design for manufacturability to keep costs down and ensure a receptive supply base.

Michael is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

His company, Industrial Metallurgists, offers metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University  of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.  He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Metals engineering is the application of metallurgy (the science of metals) to design and manufacturing decisions and problems involving metals. In this episode I explain the fundamental principles of metallurgy and how they are applied to engineer metals for component design and solving component failures and production quality problems.

Michael is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University  of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.  He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

In this episode I discuss two lessons I learned as a process engineer in the semiconductor fab. One lesson was a real-life example of the effects of manufacturing processes on metal microstructure and the resulting effects on a metal property that was used to monitor a manufacturing process. The other lesson was about the fallacy of engineering or scientific ingenuity.

Michael is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University  of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.  He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

I discuss my education, my experience working in a semiconductor factory and as part of a product design group, and the many different product design and manufacturing activities I was involved in as a metals engineer.

Michael Pfeifer is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from  University  of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering  from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.

He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select  materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering  consulting and training. The training is geared to design,  manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial  Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/

This episode is an introduction to the Metal Conversations podcast. Michael Pfeifer from Industrial Metallurgists, LLC introduces himself and gives a brief description of what the podcast series will be about.

Michael is a metallurgist and metals engineer. He works with design and manufacturing clients to help with 

• Component materials selection
• Manufacturing process development
• Supplier evaluation
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis

He received a B.S. and M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from University  of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from  Northwestern University. He is a Professional Engineer, licensed in Illinois.

He's wrote a book - Materials Enabled  Designs. It teaches how to select materials that optimize product  performance, reliability, and cost.

For more information about Michael go to https://www.imetllc.com/about/

Industrial Metallurgists offer metallurgy and metals engineering consulting and training. The training is geared to design, manufacturing, and quality engineers. More information about Industrial Metallurgists' services and training is at https://www.imetllc.com/