“Judicious selection of materials is based on relationships among technical and economic facts either type of which may be relatively unimportant in individual applications. Appraisal of the pertinent facts seldom follows a fixed formula; procedures and practices vary widely in industry”.

As a supplier of a wide range of specialised materials, a question frequently asked of us is “What can I use for…….. ? “.

More often than not the information provided is insufficient and a dialogue ensues before some guidelines can be provided. The purpose of this publication is to provide a ready reference for 5 Considerations that may need to be defined in order to aid material selection. There is a bias towards the practical based on our experience rather than a formal systematic method.

The approach used here is not the only one but it’s simple, logical and has a generic format. The headings used may be re-configured to create a decision tree.

Preliminary design should precede material selection which then is considered integral to both design and manufacturing.

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