MSE 5090: Case Studies in Material Selection

Week 1 - What is a Case Study?

1. Learning Objectives
2. Reading assignment
3. Discussion questions
4. Week 1 assignment
5. Reference Material
6. Tips

	Distinguish between an engineering case study and a technical paper
	Identify the stages and iterative structure of the design process
	Identify the role of the materials engineer in design
	Describe the concept of best practices and how they are used
	Describe the materials selection process

What is Engineering design?

 The essence of quality is attention to detail. The ASM textbook describes the components of a detailed design exercise as performed in industry today. Each detail tends to be addressed mainly in large organizations and either expensive or high quantity products. However, even in small companies each of the topics described in the text needs to be addressed even if informally. It is better to be aware that a choice is being made implicitly than not to be aware of the need to choose at all. That is why so many small companies today are hiring design executives from large firms.

This weeks lecture describes a way of thinking that is probably foreign to most of you , but which is the dominant paradigm for industry and government. Most of what you learn in the University is relevant for novel concept development in research or in startup entrepenurial firms. That applies to about 10-at most 20% of the world of engineering. Most of you will be working in medium to large size organizations. For these organizations the attention to all aspects of a product or service is the essence of competitive advantage or even survival. It is certainly relevant to getting ahead in industry. Even in entrepenurial firms the startup technologist loses control early on precisely because of a lack of knowledge about the matters discussed in the ASM book.

In summary , what you will be learning in this course is the engineering part of materials science and engineering. Its what makes the world go around and forms the basis for the value  materials engineers add to the organizations they are members of . Both ABET and the faculty believe that students need to learn more materials engineering in response to changing economic and market conditions. The framework for this knowledge is centered around the design function. This function is based upon the  concept of an  industrial /economic ecosystem , and  how the entire chain is no stronger than its weakest link . In the early lectures we provide background in the concepts of what an effective design is  and where a materials engineer fits in.

Later in the course we will look at the Ashby chart selection approach as an example of one aspect of one phase of the design process. The design process, as described in the book, is iterative and goes through similar stages for each phase of the design(from concept to  production). The ASM book is likely to be a good reference for you for most of your careers. I hope the above comments help you appreciate the text and the material, which is a little bit less straighforward than most of the deductive input -> equation -> output paradigm which has characterized most of your undergraduate education.
 
 

	ASM pages 1 - 31 and 243 - 246
	On Writing Engineering Cases
	How to Write a Case Study

Discussion Questions:
 

	Who is the audience for an engineering case study?
	Who is the audience for a technical paper?
	Which is more relevant to a beginning engineer? Why?
	Which is more relevant to an engineering manager? Why?
	Distinguish between design and analysis.
	What are your career goals and how will this course help you reach those goals?
	When do you need systematic design procedures such as those described in the text

1. Do you expect to be doing the same type of work at age 35 that you will do after graduation?
2. What type of work do you want to be doing at age 35?
3. What type of work do you expect to be doing at age 35?
4. What are your financial expectations at age 35?
5. How do you expect to have job security or financial security 7-10 years after graduation and beyond?
6. Do you have a business plan for your career? If not , do you plan to rely on the kindness of others?
7. What do you think the foundations of career security are?
8. What skills do you think you will need either start a company or take a responsible position in an existing company? When do you expect to get these skills?
9. Do you know how to begin outlining a plan for your career?

 Problem 2. 3 Topics Analysis (Due 9/4/98)
Subject: Week 1 - 2.Topic Proposals
The purpose of this assignment is to help you select a case study topic that you can complete successfully.
 
 

1. Narrow your semester case study topic choices to three.
2. Describe how each topic fits within the product realization process (ASM pg. 7.)
3. Briefly describe what role or point of view you would be taking for each of the three.
4. Identify the audience for each of the topics.
5. Describe your approach to completing a case study on each of the topics.
6. Assess how much work is involved for you to get up to speed on each topic.
7. Identify what questions or issues need to be resolved before you can begin your case study. In this regard, the only stupid question is the one you don't  or won't ask.

	Deiter, G., ASM Handbook, Volume 20 Materials Selection and Design, ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 1997. On reserve at the Marriott Library
	Johnston, R., "Understanding the Internet, Version 2.0: Finding the Materials Community," Journal of Materials, January, 1998, 57 - 59. On reserve at the Marriott Library

Tips: HOW TO WRITE GOOD
 

1.	Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2.	Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3.	And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4.	It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5.	Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)
6.	Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7.	Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
8.	Be more or less specific.
9.	Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
10.	No sentence fragments.
11.	Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12.	Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13.	Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14.	One should never generalize.
15.	Comparison are as bad as clichés.
16.	Don't use no double negatives.
17.	Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18.	One word sentences? Eliminate.
19.	Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20.	The passive voice is to be avoided.
21.	Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22.	Never use a big word with a diminutive one will suffice.
23.	Kill all exclamation points!!!
24.	Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25.	Profanity is for dopes.
26.	Understatement is the always the absolute best way to put forth earthshaking ideas.
27.	Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
28.	Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
29.	If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it effectively.
30.	Puns are for children, not for groan readers.
31.	Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
32.	Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
33.	Who needs rhetorical questions?
34.	Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
And	finally...
35.	Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

 

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 Last update 8-27-98