Customer Reviews

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, Third Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a student in Materials Science and Engineering, this book has again and again been a priceless resource. It contains data and references which are clearly presented and precisely commented, and I often catch myself looking up the graphs or the appendices to find the solution to a particular problem. The Case Studies are very instructive and sometimes even amusing to read; they always reinforce a point previously made and give the reader a sense of history for the object in question (telephone, hair dryer, etc.). But the book doesn't stop at purely functional design; it also covers aesthetic aspects with the motto: "Good design works; excellent design also gives pleasure." This is a pleasing book.

The graphs and data provide a lot of good information but the book has several typos in key areas which lead to many hours of frustration. Also, I wish the book was offered in hardcover. I appreciate the desire to keep the costs low for the students, but a book like this will be life long resource for working engineers and I don't feel that the book will hold up well over the years with a soft cover.

5 Stars.

Material Selection in Mechanical Design, by Michael Ashby, is a fantastic book on materials and material selection. I would recommend this book to anybody studying or practicing engineering or material science. The insight provided is invaluable.

The text presents a rational, systematic process for selecting materials in new designs or newly modified designs. With this approach, gone are the days of almost randomly selecting a handfull of materials to study based on personal experience (which is woefully limited in all cases) or what materials might "feel" right. This selection process brings us access to a broader range of materials for consideration as well as a previously unseen level of objectivity in our final selection.

This book is well organized and well written, with theory, data tables/charts, and case studies all bundled into one. The presentation is student friendly and the structure/layout is reference friendly.

Also recommended are Michael Ashby's other material science books:

- Engineering Materials 1: An Introduction to Properties, Applications and Design (with DRH Jones)

- Engineering Materials 2: An Introduction to Microstructures, Processing and Design (with DRH Jones)

Ashby's compilation of data and explanation of methodology is excellent and results in a must read for technical persons who will be involved with the selection of materials for design. The numerous material charts included are invaluable when trying to compare, and ultimately decide upon, different materials for a design. Also, the example cases presented compliment and help explain the different approaches to selecting the most suitable material for a given design.

Overall the book is easy to read and a good addition to the office or home.

Very good diagrams to help you select the correct material for your design based on varying criteria. Guides you step by step through the process of design driven material selection.

I just wish it was available in a hard cover edition.

I am a design engineer of 20+ yrs and have designed thousands of components in major water, wastewater, chemical, and petroleum plants in every state in the US. I wish I had a book like this 20yrs ago! An enormously valuable reference for making designs cost-effective.

Very concise book with lots of useful data and tips for material selection. Gives brief insight into the use of various materials as well as general guidelines for choosing. The software that goes along with it is also very useful to narrow down choices for possible materials to be used in a project.

It is a very good one. I would recommend to buy if you could afford the price.

The product was as stated no surprised
arrived in good time, and in good order