Foundations of Metallurgy

Course Date: COMING SOON
Duration: TBC
Delivery Mode: In person
Cost: £500.00 (Indicative)

Explore the world of metallic properties and applications with hands-on learning.

Dive deeper into the world of metals and gain practical skills you can use in your career with this CPD course in metallurgy. We'll provide a solid foundation in understanding the critical relationships between a metal's structure, its properties, and the processing methods used to achieve those properties for the most important industrial metals.

This course goes beyond theory: you'll gain hands-on experience with the terminology and test methods used to assess key metal properties, ensuring you not only understand the concepts but can also apply them in real-world settings.

What will I learn?

The course is designed into four main areas:

Introduction to Metallurgy

  • Overview of metallurgy and its importance in engineering
  • The basic properties and alloys in engineering requirements. This aspect can be tailored to the attendees’ industries, where possible.

Metallic Forming Processes

  • Introduction to metallic bulk forming processes: Casting, Forging, Rolling, Extrusion, and Drawing
  • Advantages and limitations of different forming techniques
  • Hot Vs Cold Forming and the resultant properties / microstructure

Property manipulation and enhancement

  • Phase diagrams: understanding the importance of phase diagrams in material selection and processing
  • Alloying: introduction to alloys and solid solutions

Mechanical Properties of Metals [Hands-on practical]

  • Tensile Testing: Stress-Strain Curve, Yield Strength, Ultimate Strength, Ductility
  • Hardness Testing: Brinell, Rockwell, Vickers Hardness Tests
  • Microscopy and interpretation
  • Factors affecting mechanical properties: Microstructure, Alloying Elements, Heat Treatment

Entry criteria

This course has no formal entry requirements and is intended for anyone requiring an overall understanding of the practicalities of metallic materials and processing features. It is especially relevant to buyers and suppliers of metal / heat treatment services, design engineers and metallic forensic engineers. It will also be a useful introduction to the subject for graduate engineers.

Course dates and duration

2026 dates to be confirmed.

Delivery mode

This course will be delivered using a mixture of teaching methods from lectures, discussions, and practical sessions. All course materials will be provided through our Virtual Learning Environment.

Cost

Indicative cost based on 2025 rate is £500 per person.

Additional information

How will I be assessed?

This course has no formal assessments, but checkpoint quizzes are provided electronically as formative assessment for each topic.

Register your interest

To be kept informed when new dates for this course are released, email Marketing@napier.ac.uk.