Metallurgist gets to the bottom of breakage
Dan Kiedrowski is senior materials engineer at Metallurgical Associates Inc., a Waukesha firm that does materials testing and figures out why some products break under the strain of use. Kiedrowski earned a bachelor's degree in material sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He did a one-year internship at Metallurgical Associates before he was hired by the company, directly out of college, in 2008. Kiedrowski studied chemical engineering before switching majors to material sciences. "What really drew me into this field was the hands-on kind of engineering," he said. "It's a lot of fun because there are so many things you can do with this education. It keeps things real fresh."
What does he do?
Kiedrowski's job is to identify how and why something fails, using tools such as microscopic and chemical analysis, hardness testing, heat treatment evaluation, corrosion and defect analysis, and checking the integrity of welds.
Besides metals, he does failure-analysis testing on products made from ceramics, plastics, carbon-fiber and other materials.
It's like being a forensic scientist at a crime scene, figuring out what happened when the victim can't speak for himself. And the work isn't repetitive as the company tests a wide range of products, from beverage containers to armor plating used on military vehicles.
The company asks three critical questions: How did a product fail? Why did it fail? And what could be done to keep it from failing again?
How does he do it?
Sometimes damaged products arrive at the company so mangled it's nearly impossible to tell what went wrong, yet Kiedrowski still finds useful clues to pin down the failure.
Through testing he can tell whether a manufacturer cut corners that led to a product's demise.
He gets prototypes that have been purposely abused to test their durability.
It's hands-on work, sometimes on big products such as gas turbines and mining equipment.
"You have to be willing to get a little bit dirty," Kiedrowski said.
Why does he like it?
It's challenging to keep up with the variety of materials and manufacturing methods used in the marketplace. And sometimes there's a need to complete testing in a hurry.
When an automotive manufacturer in Michigan encountered a rash of connecting-rod-bolt failures in test engines that reached the equivalent of 30,000 miles, engine production was immediately stopped while an investigation was launched.
It turned out that thread "laps" - seams in the bolt threads from defective manufacturing - were the cause of the fractures. But the automotive manufacturer had no idea how many defective lots of connecting rod bolts were assembled into engines before the discovery. Further complicating things, only one in every 200 to 300 bolts was defective.
In three days, Metallurgical Associates was able to help the company identify the production dates of engines with the potentially defective bolts. Several thousand engines already had been installed in vehicles that had left the assembly plant, but the manufacturer was able to divert them from dealerships and retrofit them with replacement bolts at a fraction of the cost of a nationwide recall and harm to the vehicle's public image.
- By Rick Barrett
Compensation: The average annual salary in Wisconsin for materials engineers - which includes metallurgists - was $64,070 in 2009, according to the state Department of Workforce Development. The average U.S. salary was $85,860 a year in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To get in: Most positions for materials engineers require a four-year bachelor's degree.
Outlook: Employment of materials engineers is expected to grow less than 1% through 2018, with the state projecting an average of 10 job openings a year. Nationally, employment for materials engineers is expected to grow up to 13%, according to the Occupational Network Database.
This is the latest in a monthly feature on careers in a dynamic economy.
- Jul 27, 2015 | Coding school teaches the languages of computers
- Jun 22, 2015 | Social media strategist loves life as a quick-change artist
- May 27, 2015 | Gunsmith's shop does rebluing, restorations of firearms
- Apr 27, 2015 | Surveying the field for outdoor opportunities
- Mar 23, 2015 | Love of languages translates into fast-growing career
- Feb 23, 2015 | A brush with pet grooming led to Vanity Fur
- Jan 26, 2015 | Consultant finds sustainable career in green buildings
- Dec 22, 2014 | Carving opportunities from a love of skiing
- Nov 24, 2014 | Choir director's career a musical journey
- Oct 27, 2014 | David Seebach's love of magic never disappeared
- Sep 29, 2014 | Oil boom thins the ranks of loggers in Wisconsin
- Aug 25, 2014 | With aging population, need for more geriatricians grows
- Jul 21, 2014 | Genealogist digs deep to unearth family roots
- Jun 23, 2014 | Shallow Jewelers owner knows gems and his customers
- May 27, 2014 | High wire act: Heights, high voltage, inclement weather combine to create a dangerous career
- Apr 21, 2014 | Geneticist works with the building blocks of life
Recent national business updates from the Associated Press