Glossary Terms

Nondestructive method of inspection for determining the existence and extent of surface cracks and similar imperfections in ferromagnetic materials. Finely divided magnetic particles, applied to the magnetized part, are attracted to and outline the pattern of any magnetic-leakage fields created by discontinuities.

Cast iron made by prolonged annealing of white cast iron in which decarburization and/or graphitization take place to eliminate some or all of the cementite. The graphite is in the form of temper carbon. There are ferritic and perlitic malleable cast irons.

Workholder for turning that fits inside hollow workpieces. Types available include expanding, pin and threaded.

Arm or basic object-transferring device. Hands or gripping devices vary according to application, as do arm design and number of joints (axes or degrees of freedom). See degrees of freedom; effectuating device.

Management method, normally computer-aided, for cost-effective control of manufacturing support functions, such as inventory, production equipment and personnel. MRP was the initial, somewhat limited method; MRP-II implies a more sophisticated system.

Nickel in the amount of 18.5 percent is the principal alloying element in the maraging steels. Other alloying elements are cobalt, molybdenum, aluminum and titanium. With a maximum carbon content of 0.030 percent, these steels are essentially carbon-free. They utilize the soft, ductile, iron-nickel martensite, which can be age-hardened by additions of other alloying elements.

1. Hardening procedure in which an austenitized ferrous workpiece is quenched in a medium whose temperature is maintained substantially at the Ms temperature (temperature at which martensite starts to form from austenite) of the workpiece. It is held in the medium until its temperature is uniform throughout—but not long enough to permit bainite to form—and then cooled in air.

Formed during rapid cooling of austenite at the temperature rate higher than 500º F (260º C) per second. Such rapid cooling causes restructuring of crystalline lattice of gamma iron into crystalline lattice of alpha iron in which carbon is fully dissolved.

Rapid quenching of carbon steel in the austenite state causes a new structure—martensite—to form. Martensite is extremely hard. See austenite; austenitizing; martensite.

Form containing safety, regulatory, physical and other pertinent information regarding a chemical.

Methods, equipment and systems for conveying materials to various machines and processing areas and for transferring finished parts to assembly, packaging and shipping areas.

Properties of a material that reveal its elastic and inelastic behavior when force is applied, thereby indicating its suitability for mechanical applications; for example, modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, elongation, hardness and fatigue limit.