ABSTRACT
The reliability of mechanical components can be improved when parts are designed on the basis of the strength of the material in the fabricated parts instead of on the values listed in materials handbooks. However, evaluations of the preliminary designs of the traditional product designer by a producibility group before finalizing the designs seldom results in as optimal a design as when the design engineer is thoroughly educated in the engineering fundamentals of materials and manufacturing processes. The design engineer often has difficulty in selecting the optimal material for mechanical components because much of the mechanical property data for materials is incomplete or incorrect. Computer-aided design and manufacturing can significantly increase the productivity of discrete parts. The welding processes and the forming processes alter the strength of the material so that the properties in the fabricated part are the same as those in the original material.
