ASTM A108, Heat Treatments, Metallurgy Background 3

[LouisToys]

I'm a materials engineer who has spent the first 5 years out of school focusing on Plastics Engineering. I've now taken a new job where I also need to get involved with specifying products out of metal and I'm finding I'm very weak on the technical side here.

Anyone have a good recommendation for a book to read to start my education of the metallurgy field? Or a seminar offered to go over the basics?

Some of the questions I'm being asked...
"We currently spec ASTM A108 Steel for an axle we use. Do we need to include a tensile strength in addition to that spec or does specifying this grade of steel take care of that?"
"Do we need to specify the specific heat treatment for A108 Steel? Or does it imply a certain heat treatmet?"

Any advice to start my path towards becoming a Metallurgist would be appreciated.

 

[metengr]

LouisToys;
Go to the ASM International web site and navigate your way to Material Information and on to books/publications. There is one book in particular titled "Metallurgy for the non-Metallurgist" to perhaps re-introduce you into metallurgy. There are other great reference books as well.

http://asmcommunity.asminternational.org/portal/site/

http://www/MatInformation/BooksCDs/

 

[TVP]

I'm going to give you two recommendations. One, see if your employer will obtain the ASM HANDBOOK series for you. It is authoritative information on everything related to metals. If purchasing all of the printed volumes at once is too expensive, have them consider a yearly online subscription-- it is only ~ $200/year I think for a member. Two, if questions like this come up regarding specific standards, e.g., ASTM A 108, SAE J403, ISO 898-1, etc., it is necessary that you have the actual standards. There are potential shortcuts like having the ASM HANDBOOKS, looking at someone else's version (notice I did not say have someone else give you a copy, which is a copyright violation), etc., but if you plan to reference these standards on drawings and other technical documents, it is necessary to legally obtain them. If someone complains about the cost, tell them that is the cost of doing business in the organized world.