Materials · Materials Selection
Materials Selection with Ashby Charts
Beginner 2 weeks 12-18 hours
Pick the best material for a real product using performance indices and Ashby-style charts built from free materials property data.
Major
Materials
Focus area
Materials Selection
Total hours
12-18 hours
What you'll need
- Software only - Python or Excel, free materials databases (MatWeb)
Steps
- Pick a product, like a bike frame, phone case, or ladder.
- Define what the part must do and derive a performance index, like stiffness per weight.
- Collect property data for 15 or more candidate materials.
- Build Ashby-style charts in Python or Excel.
- Shortlist the top materials and weigh cost and manufacturability.
- Write a recommendation and document it for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Ashby chart
- performance index calculation
- shortlist table
- final recommendation
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Selected a material for [product] by building Ashby-style charts from [X] candidate materials
Derived a performance index and narrowed candidates to a final choice balancing cost, weight, and strength
Quantified results with [insert your result, such as hardness change, strength, efficiency, or error vs published values] and summarized findings in a technical report
Skills you'll show off
Materials selectionperformance indicesdata visualizationengineering trade-offstechnical writing