January_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8 2 3 *Member of ASM International TECHNOLOGY TRENDS ARE DISCIPLINE AGNOSTIC An in-depth understanding of technology trends not only keeps materials engineers relevant, but also puts them in the driver’s seat when it comes to formulating strategies and executing projects. Satyam S. Sahay, FASM,* John Deere Technology Center India, Pune T he portrait of a traditional ma- terials engineer revolves around the classic materials tetrahedron (Fig. 1) and its associated attributes. This is also true in an industrial envi- ronment, where materials engineering competencies are often associated with processing methods (e.g., steelmaking, foundry, forging, rolling, and heat treat- ing), structure characterization methods (e.g., microscopy, crystallography, and spectroscopy), properties determined through testing (e.g., tensile strength, fa- tigue, creep, impact, and electrical or thermal attributes), or specific applica- tions knowledge (e.g., wear and hot fa- tigue for power; fatigue, corrosion, and wear for agriculture; and lightweighting and fuel efficiency for transportation). In addition to leveraging the inter- actions between various elements of this tetrahedron, materials engineers must develop new materials as well as aid in component design while optimiz- ing selection of the materials, process, and supply chain. They are often tasked with fixing problems (failure analysis) attributed to poor materials, process choices, or quality issues. However, the perception of what a “materials engi- neer” is and does has not changed for over a century. Outdated perceptions of materials engineers often arise during interactions with engineering students and young professionals. As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the materials and manufacturing industry to attract and retain students or young materials engineers in this discipline. It is now more important than ever to view materials engineering in the context of current technology trends (Table 1). TECHNOLOGY TRENDS AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING Some of today’s technology trends include data analytics, artificial intel- ligence (machine learning and deep learning), blockchain, digital thread and digital twins, Internet of Things (IoT) or Industry 4.0, additive manufacturing, electric vehicles, and autonomous ve- hicles. This article contextualizes some of these trends with regard to materials engineering. Data analytics. Data analytics has significantly evolved over the past few years in terms of explosive growth in data generation, access to data over the cloud, and associated toolsets. This presents unprecedented opportuni- ties for leveraging analytics toolsets for the materials and manufacturing sec- tor. Analytics, along with mathemat- ical modeling methods, have been in vogue for the past few decades in var- ied forms and usage within materials engineering. Data has been used to im- prove productivity through set-point optimization, leading to shorter cycle times, charge load optimization, find- ing gaps in scheduling, as well as recipe rationalization. Fig. 1 — The conventional portrait of a materials engineer evolves around the materials tetrahe- dron and related activities. CAREERS IN MATERIALS ENGINEERING