ABSTRACT
Every material possesses unique physical, mechanical, and processing characteristics and therefore a suitable manufacturing technique must be utilized to transform the material to the final shape. One transforming method may be best suited for one material and may not be an effective choice for another material. For example, wood is very easy to machine and therefore machining is quite heavily utilized for transforming a wooden block to its final shape. Ceramic parts are difficult to machine and therefore are usually made from powder using hot press techniques. In metals, machining of the blank or sheet to the desired shape using a lathe or CNC machine is very common. In metals, standard sizes of blanks, rods, and sheets are machined and then welded or fastened to obtain the final part. In composites, machining of standard-sized sheets or blanks is not common and is avoided because it cuts the fibers and creates discontinuity in the fibers. Exposed and discontinuous fibers decrease the performance of the composites. Moreover, the ease of composites processing facilitates obtaining near-net-shape parts. Composites do not have high pressure and temperature requirements for part processing as compared to the processing of metal parts using extrusion, roll forming, or casting. Because of this, composite parts are easily transformed to near-net-shape parts using simple and low-cost tooling. In certain applications such as making boat hulls, composite parts are made at room temperature with little pressure. This lower-energy requirement in the processing of composites as compared to metals offers various new opportunities for transforming the raw material to near-net-shape parts.
