Use this link below to access a publication on Materials Technology. Surprise yourself because whilst you probably never thought you would read an article on Materials Technology I bet the way this is presented you will not be able to stop reading it. Banno
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BAHh3pPii8--8aqeuyC4vRvAJSDPQdN-/view?usp=sharing
I don’t have much in common with Elon Musk but reading about some of his odd behaviours I can identify with some of them. When one of his Space X rockets fails he is obsessive about finding the part that has failed and because he insists on every part, every process and every standard needing to have a name attached to them he can locate the individual responsible for it. Big Brother applied to parts. It does tend to focus the mind on those working for him since you may be the next one in the firing line. But this isn’t where I am like him. The likeness relates to finding the part then handling it and trying to understand how and why it failed. The classic example being he lost a whole rocket because of one corroded nut. Inevitably the failure normally comes down to its design form or the material from which it is manufactured. Or if these are correct how it has been maintained and or what elements it has been exposed to. In this case it was salt water. In fact my garage is full of the dead carcasses of things that have broken and I have chosen to dismantle them determine the reason for the failure. I have to admit to the majority of them being made out of plastic. The wonder material from a manufacturing perspective (Think injection moulding) but the cheaper varieties degrade in terms of the physical strength very often due to exposure to sunlight. I know you might want it as bio degradable, for environmental reasons, but not when its holding the washing line in place.
I have other similar attributes in my thinking processes to
Elon Musk. Sadly none of them have lead me to make a fortune. But like Elon
Musk I strongly believe in the importance
of materials technology. Making something out of the right material is one of
the most significant steps you take in a design process. Then avoiding having
too many components figures highly in my thinking. Keep componentry to a
minimum. Bolt or weld or glue the least number of parts together to make the
whole finished unit. Make as much as you can from a single piece.
Finally any design should align itself with very automated production
processes. The design of the product should be adjusted to facilitate the use
of with efficient and effective automated production processes. So factories producing
the product can run unmanned 24/7 with no heating or lighting required. Raw materials
into one end and finished products flowing out of the opposite end of these Mega
Factories producing the finished product on one huge floor area thus minimising
the need for any external supply chains and wasted logistics expense. Think
Telsa cars and their batteries.
So lets look at manufacturing materials always looking out
for both a minimum of social impact, environmental impact and consideration of
effective recycling capabilities built into the original design.
I found this book linked to above in a Second-Hand Bookshop
for £2 and being published in 2016 it is only 8 years old. What appealed to me was
the simplicity of its design and its visual impact. Getting anyone to read a
book on Materials Technology is nearly impossible these days. But this one does
capture and engage you as a reader once you overcome the hurdle of making a
start.
Copyright should not be an issue since its purpose was to spread
the word on materials technology, particularly focussing upon environmental issues
so publishing it here only further support that objective. But it has to be
acknowledged that this only skims the surface of what is a huge subject. Hopefully
it will serve to encourage you as a reader to think more about the materials
you use and handle everyday. With the current trend away from the oil based
plastic industry towards more bio-friendly alternatives we will be seeing
materials technology impact the design of what we use in our daily lives. This
publication certainly leads you down this bio-pathway.
Afterword
When McDonalds first abandoned the use of plastic straws providing paper based ones they were useless becoming ineffective before you finished the drink. But time has now resulted in their development with the current batch of what appear to be paper straws (But who knows?) not suffering the flattening collapse of the straw internal side walls which created a blockage problem and prevented effective suction. I bet Elon Musk must have fully analysed this problem with his appetite for fast food. No doubt someone who left their name on the straw design drawing or more likely the standard for the straw material got fired at the straw manufacturer.
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