1. General information on material selection

1.1 Design procedure and choice of materials

The starting point for industrial product design is an innovative idea or a market need. The final stage consists of all the specifications required to make the product a reality (center column of figure 1 ).

From the outset, it is imperative to precisely define the need to be met (in the form of a statement such as "we need to make a part that fulfils such and such a function"). The classic treatises on design [2] insist on the need to specify the function independently of any solution fulfilling that function, the purpose of this precaution being to avoid limitations...