Raw Materials Introduction
Raw materials are the basic materials used in a manufacturing or production process leading to finished goods or end products. Analysis and testing of raw material is essential to determine the purity, identity and quality of the raw materials before they go into the manufacturing process. Low-quality raw materials end up in low quality product that are detrimental for an end-user experience and a business’s reputation.
Types of Raw Materials
Raw materials can be direct or indirect raw materials. Direct raw materials are materials that companies directly use in the manufacturing of a finished product, for example cloth for stitching curtains. Indirect raw materials are not part of the end product but are used in supporting functions and processes. Raw materials are often segregated into three categories-
1. Mined raw materials: these are extracted from the Earth, such as ores, stones, metals, minerals, lime, sand, soil, oil, and coal.
2. Plant-based raw materials: these come from trees or plants, including fruits, nuts, flowers, vegetables, resins, wood, cotton, and latex.
3. Animal-based raw materials: these are extracted from animals such as milk, meat, furs, leather, and wool.
Raw Material Testing
Each type of raw material has its own specific types of testing methodologies topped over by requirement of specific methods or techniques for specific materials. Materials testing techniques are used to ascertain mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of a material. Testing canbe of two types: destructive or non-destructive testing. All raw materials that are used for production processes need to be tested for their physical, chemical and microbiological properties per the usage specifications. Testing raw materials is crucially important for ensuring safety, quality and efficacy of end products.
Destructive testing: The destructive test is meant to test the material strength. In this, the specimen which is under destructive test subjected to the fracture or destruction to assess the properties. The destructive test intends to study the behavior of the raw material under different loading conditions.
Non-destructive testing (NDT): The non-destructive tests are done without altering the original form or composition of the raw material. Usually, NDT is employed for products and is intended to know the internal defects of the material or product.
