risk of failure

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    Nylon 12, Tsunamis and Lean Supply Chains

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    The March 31st explosion at Evonik Industries in Marl, Germany is likely to have the same effect on worldwide automotive production as last year’s Tsunami and reactor accidents in Japan. The loss to society will be the sum of the costs of the damages at the plant that was destroyed, as well as the lost wages of workers who will NOT be building autos due to this accident, and the increased price paid by buyers who must pay the price demanded because they need to replace their car. Plus the cost of a gazillion PPAP’s and material trials for the substitution / replacement of Nylon 12, knowing the automotive industy’s love of and addiction to documentation. Instead of minimizing stock at each and every inventory in the supply chain discretely, perhaps it is time for the “businessmen” to do some supply chain contingency planning to assure that adequate stocks are distributed throughout the supply chain to mitigate the possibility of a single source failure.

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    Dimensional Contraction of 17-4 PH Stainless Steel

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    Here are three reasons to NOT use 17-4 PH in the Condition A state:
    •The structure is untempered martensite. This means low fracture toughness.
    •The structure is untempered martensite. This means low ductility.
    •Without age hardening, this material is more susceptible to stress corrosion cracking.
    17-4 PH properties must be fully developed by age hardening in order to reduce risk of failure and take full advantage of the material’s capabilities.