Material selection
When selecting materials collectively known all steps in the design process of a component, which serve an all points of view (structural requirements, functionality, visual appearance, corrosion resistance select suitable material etc.) from which the component is eventually manufactured.
The basis for each selection of a material are material standards (e.g. DIN standards ) and material data sheets (mostly from the manufacturer or from approval companies), which can be further restricted by customer specifications. Nowadays, the selection is sensibly made using material databases .
economic aspects
Although factors such as structural requirements, functionality or corrosion resistance are objectively the more important, nowadays they often have to take a back seat to the visual appearance, as this is very important for marketing . Costs are also often a reason that a material that is only suitable to a limited extent is selected. In this context, for example, the term acountancy induced corrosion ("corrosion caused by accounting") has developed, which refers to the fact that corrosion damage occurs later in operation that could have been avoided if a more expensive material had been selected. This raises the question of the relationship between acquisition and maintenance costs, also known as life-cycle costs . In the area of corrosion in particular, but also with other factors, the question of costs is an important point, since better suitability for steels , for example, is often associated with a higher content of alloying elements, which has an enormous influence on costs, especially with today's raw material prices .
Technical aspects
The most suitable material from a technical point of view is the one that has the best combination of properties . From a technical point of view, there are almost no upper limits to the possible component costs. The aim of the developer but it must be to design a high quality at the lowest cost possible component. The availability of materials must also be taken into account. If a material is not available, even a lower price is of no use. In the modern economy the technical aspects are mostly of secondary importance. The economic, often short-term-oriented aspects are usually in the foreground, which means that a lower purchase price is often more important than the service life .