Introduction and synopsis Materials in design

‘Design’ is one of those words that means all things to all people. Every manufactured thing, from the most lyrical of ladies’ hats to the greasiest of gearboxes, qualifies, in some sense or other, as a design. It can mean yet more. Nature, to some is Divine Design; to others it is design by Natural Selection, the ultimate genetic algorithm. The reader will agree that it is necessary to narrow the field, at least a little.

This book is about mechanical design, and the role of materials in it. Mechanical components have mass; they carry loads; they conduct heat and electricity; they are exposed to wear and to corrosive environments; they are made of one or more materials; they have shape; and they must be manufactured (Figure 1.1). The book describes how these activities are related.

Materials have limited design since man first made clothes, built shelters and waged wars. They still do. But materials and processes to shape them are developing faster now than at any previous time in history; the challenges and opportunities they present are greater than ever before. The book develops a strategy for exploiting materials in design.

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MICHAEL F. ASHBY

Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, England

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