Summary and conclusions

The number of engineering materials is large: estimates range from 40 000 to 80 000. The designer must select from this vast menu the material best suited to his task. This, without guidance, can be a difficult and tedious business, so there is a temptation to choose the material that is ‘traditional’ for the application: glass for bottles; steel cans. That choice may be safely conservative, but it rejects the opportunity for innovation. Engineering materials are evolving faster, and the choice is wider than ever before. Examples of products in which a novel choice of material has captured a market are as common as - well - as plastic bottles. Or aluminium cans. It is important in the early stage of design, or of re-design, to examine the full materials menu, not rejecting options merely because they are unfamiliar. And that is what this book is about.

The history and evolution of materials Connoisseurs will tell you that in its 11th edition the Encyclopaedia Britannica reached a peak of excellence which has not since been equalled, although subsequent editions are still usable. On matters of general and technical history it, and the seven-volume History of Technology, are the logical starting points. More specialized books on the history and evolution of metals, ceramics, glass, and plastics make fascinating browsing. A selection of the most entertaining is given below.

‘Encyclopaedia Brirannica’, 1 1 th edition. The Encyclopaedia Britannica Company, New York 1910. Davey, N. (1960) A History of Building Materials. Camelot Press, London, UK. Delmonte, J. (1985) Origins of Materials and Processes. Technomic Publishing Company, Pennsylvania. Derry, T.K. and Williams, T.I. (1960) A Short History of Technology’. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Dowson, D. (1979) History of Tribology’. Longman, London. Michaelis, R.R. (1992) Gold: art, science and technology, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 17(3), 193. Singer, C., Holmyard, E.J., Hall, A.R. and Williams, T.I. (eds) (1954-1978) A History qf Technology (7 Tylecoate, R.F. (1992) A History of Metallurgy, 2nd edition. The Institute of Materials, London. volumes plus annual supplements). Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Vacuum cleaners

Forty, A. (1 986) Objects ofDesire: Design and Society since 1750, Thames and Hudson, London, p. 174 et seq.