The way the material is processed influences it`s properties.

There are various types

of processes that create/remove stresses whilst creating dislocations, different
structures and different grain sizes. [1]
Metals being a polycrystalline material is made of millions of tiny crystals or grains,
each having their orientation and boundaries. Where these grains meet forms a
grain boundaries. [1]
Processes such as; rolling, forging, hot rolling, cold rolling, extruding, or work
hardening create defects within the material crystals called dislocations.
Dislocations are imperfections in the material where one layer of atoms stops short.
The lettuce of the material continues rejoining the adjacent layers together. Where
this happens the structure of the lettuce is in tension form intermolecular forces.
[1,2]

Figure 1 Dislocations [2]

Dislocations move through the material, (Refer to Figure 1), anything preventing the
material from letting the dislocations flow through it makes the material stiffer,
stronger but less ductile. This could be achieved by crating as many dislocations as
possible and making the grain size smaller since grain boundaries prevent
dislocations from moving through the material. [2]

Figure 2 - Metal being Cold-Rolled [2]

In the process of cold rolling the metal is fed between to rollers applying heavy
pressure which compress and flatten it making it`s grains more elongated and full of
dislocations. (Refer to Figure 2) Through this permanent deformation the material
becomes stronger and brittle due the rise in dislocation density. [2]

Figure 3 The Annealing Process [2]

If the metal is required to be more ductile, it can be annealed. (Refer to Figure 3)
Annealing is heating up the material to a high temperature and keeping it at that
temperature till it re-crystallises. The previous grains are melted and new smaller
grains grow. The metal loses all the stress and tension from the dislocations and
becomes a softer ductile metal at a consequence of loosing it`s strength. This
happens because the new crystals despite being small are free from dislocations.
[2]
Other processes also affect the properties of the metal. Casting conditions such as
temperature and time, affects the grain size. The longer it takes for the metal to
solidify the larger the grain. [1]
The use of fibres to reinforce polymers such as GFRP (glass fibre reinforced plastic)
tends to display anisotropy when injection moulded. [1]
The effects of processing on the properties of the materials do not hinder the use of
the material; they merely define limits that the engineer has to work with. [1]
The properties of natural materials (such as timber & stone) are defined by the
material itself whilst in metallic materials these properties can be modified
permanently through various steps of processing. Having said that, natural
materials can be broken down and recombined to create new composite materials
having new properties such as; chip-board, concrete, plywood, cement and so on.
[1]

References:
[1]

J.A Charles, F.A.A Crane, J.A.G Furness. 1997. Selection and use of
Engineering Materials, Third Edition; Butterworth Heinemann publishing
(Pages 183-193).

[2]

Grain Structure. [Accessed on 24th November 2013 at 7:23pm]. [Online].

Available from World Wide Web: < http://www.thewarren.org/ALevelRevision/engineering/grainstructure.htm >.