Methods whose primary historical significance is processing or forming a material itself: heat treatment, surface finishing and additive processes that change a material's structure or build it up layer by layer. Belongs here: annealing and sintering as heat-based structural treatments, electroplating as a surface-finishing process, smelting as ore-to-metal extraction, and additive manufacturing as a layer-built forming method. Does not belong here: shaping methods that work a metal into a final mechanical form, grouped under Mechanical Engineering, or coating methods specific to corrosion protection of a finished metal part, grouped under Metallurgical Engineering.
Facts
Comparison
Main Engineering Branch Field Founding Era Browse By
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Engineering
WikipediaIntroduction, traditional disciplinesQuote, Introduction, traditional disciplines
The traditional disciplines of engineering are civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical.
2. Wikipedia: Materials science
WikipediaIntroduction, mid-20th-century recognitionQuote, Introduction, mid-20th-century recognition
Beginning in the 1940s, materials science began to be more widely recognized as a specific and distinct field.
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