Session 2263

Introducing Fundamental Manufacturing Processes and ManufacturingOrganizational and Production Systems by Way of Laboratory Activities

Harry Hess, Norman Asper and Joseph FlynnTrenton State College

The rebirth of manufacturing in the United States will not justaccidentally happen. Engineering programs must help stimulate the rebirthby educating students in the importance and fundamentals of manufacturingprocesses, organization and production systems. These concepts continueto ga].n increasing importance for aiding engineers to help reindustrializethe United States for the twenty-first century. At Trenton State College,in the Department of Engineering, these concepts are being introduced andtaught most effectively via the hands-on approach. The department believesthat by placing a strong commitment on practical learning experiences, itis better able to teach and reinforce theoretical concepts.

An example of this belief is the engineering department’s sophomorelevel production Systems and Methods course. Numerous course concepts aretaught in conjunction wit~aboratory activities which require students todevelop and present manufacturing processes, organizational and productionsystems solutions utilizing the department’s CNC, CAD, plus the polymer andmetallic manufacturing facilities.

A few of the laboratory enhanced Production Systems and Methods courseconcepts are included in the following list: reverse engi~ring productdesign and manufacturing, manufacturing costs concepts (direct materialsand labor plus overhead) and control, breakeven calculations, routing, flowprocess charting, Gantt charting, network diagraming, bill of materialsdevelopment, manufacturing completion probability analysis and packagingdesign. Additional concepts such as the design and analysis of polymer andmetallic welded fabrications and castings, CNC milling, lathe turning andthe set-up and analysis of polymer molding (injection, compression, thermo-forming and extrusion blow) experiments are also studied by way of variouslaboratory activities. All of these concepts are taught in a uniquefacility housing laboratory size equipment.

FACILITYTwo large materials manufacturing laboratories, one testing room and a

lecture area are utilized for the course. One laboratory houses all of theneeded polymer production equipment. The equipment includes a polymerwelder, a thermoformer, an injection molder, a compression molder and anextrusion blow molder.

A second laboratory provides space for all of the needed metallicproduction equipment. These items include lathes, manualband saws, drill presses, heat treating ovens and a green

mills, CNC mills,sand foundry.

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The testing room contains hardness, tens.il.e, ~.mpact, compression andflexural testing devices for performj.ng quality assurance checks onpolymers, composites and metals. All of the course lectures, demonstra–tions and lab activity sessions are conducted in these facilities. Thereis a maximum course student capacity of twenty–four.

COURSE STRUCTUREEach student receives three credits for the course which meets five

hours per week for fourteen weeks. Approximately two hours per week aredevoted to lecture/demonstration while the remaining three hours are usedby the student to work on laboratory activities. The following narrativeexplains the structure and content of four of the six laboratory enhancedactl.vity assignments utilized during the course.

LAB 1: REVERSE ENGINEERING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING DESIGNACTIVITY ASSIGNMENT

One specific laboratory example in the course is a problem solvingreverse engineer~.ng product development and manufacturing design activj.tythat entails the designing of the manufacturing processes sequence andsystems of production for each part of a commercial product. It ispresented in the following manner. Student groups organj.ze a company andselect a commercially mass produced product, (five parts minimum) with allaccompanying packaging. As a result of the instructor’s lectures anddemonstrations , each group must develop an exploded drawing of the product,design a detailed route sheet (includes all processing, storage, transport–ation, inspections, delays, and combined activities) for each manufacturedand purchased part, develop a flow process chart for the manufacturing andpackaging of the product, produce a parts list plus a product structuretree and indented bill of materials, develop a production lot size andbreakeven chart containing all direct and indirect costs plus the Gantt andnetwork charts for the productj.on of the product.

As a culmination of every individual group’s effort, each must presentthe results of its group’s manufacturing and design activity laboratoryexperience to the class by way of oral and written (includes drawings,sketches, route sheets, bills of materials, parts lists, network and Ganttcharts, flow process charts and breakeven charts) reports. The design workis accomplished outsj.de of the class, but the remainder of the project iscompleted during the course laboratory sessl.ons. Each group of students isevaluated on how well it completes the laboratory actj.vity by comparing thegroup’s results with the original product and production design criteria.

LAB 2: POLYMER AND METALLIC WELDING ASSIGNMENTThe student is given lectures concerning various polymer and metallic

welding fabrication techniques. A presentation is provided concerningmetallic welding joint design. Each student 1.s required to completemetallic butt joint and double-fillet lap joint design calculations fordetermining the allowable working stress, recommended metal thickness andweld size for each joint type i.n service under speci.f~c environmentalconditions .

This is followed by a hands-on lab to teach the student the correctset-up and operation of polymer hot air and shielded metal arc weldingequipment. Now , the student must produce numerous fillet welded polymertee joints and then analyze each to determine the percent of the acceptableand unacceptable welded areas.

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Each student also produces a metallic double-fillet lap joint. T h ejoint is tensile tested (See Figure 1) and the joint’s strength, load,allowable stress, load limit of the unwelded stock and maximum joint designload are calculated. Also, the condition and location of the weld breakmust be analyzed. The student must then prepare a lab report thatillustrates and explains all processing calculations, conclusions andrecommendations.

Figure 1. WELD JOINT TENSILE TESTSETUP

Figure 2. BLOW MOLDER, BOTTLEPRODUCT AND MOLD

LAB 3: POLYMER MANUFACTURING ASSIGNMENTLectures/demonstrations concerning plastics injection, compression,

extrusion/blow and thermoforming processing and materials are presented.The student is taught how to calculate projected mold surface area, clampforces, molding pressures and material flow temperatures for compressionand injection molding.

Processing sheet depth of draw ratio, part area to sheet area ratio,sheet thinning and forming temperature calculations for thermoforming aretaught. Also, extrusion blow molding (See Figure 2) product shrinkage,neck to body diameter ratio, mold clamp pressure and blow air pressurecalculations are presented.

At the conclusion of the lectures/demonstrations, the student mustproduce a lab report explaining terminology related to each polymermanufacturing process. Also, completed calculations with logicalconclusions and processing recommendations concerning all of the abovementioned processing variables and adjustments are placed in the report.. .

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ILAB 4: WAX MACHINING ASSIGNMENT

The student is taught by way of demonstrations how to operate CNCmills. Appropriate numerical control programminq is taught along with themachining feed, speed, depth of cut and machining time calculation deter-minations. Now the student is requiredallow him/her to CNC mill initials into(See Figure 3)

After successfully milling, thestudent must submit the product and alab report. The report contains anaccount of programming and operatingproblems encountered. Also, calcula-tions with logical conclusions concern-ing machining speeds, feeds, depths ofcuts, production times and estimatedproduct costs at various productiontimes are included in the report. Thestudent is also required to determinepulses, inches, and millimeters perrevolution for all drive screws in themill and conclude how replacing theseitems along with CNC program changescan influence part production times.

Figure 3.CNC MILL SETUP WITHRESULTING WAX MILLEDPRODUCTS

to complete a program that willa rectangular piece of wax.

CONCLUSIONParticipation in problem solving activities such as the examples

given, the student can more readily learn and apply the theoreticalconcepts stressed in the Production Systems and Methods course. Thetheoretical concepts are reinforced and made applicable to actualindustrial manufacturing.

Some additional concepts taught in the course would be a variety ofthe following: corporate organizational structures, production controlsystem modeling, forms of industrial ownership, law in engineering,budgets, cost estimates, manufacturing engineering, loading, scheduling,parts list development, production cost analysis and material handling.

Each laboratory experience or activity is utilized as a tool forteaching and reinforcing student understanding of the course objectives.The unique hands-on, practical laboratory learning method found mosteffective in the course is designed to assist each student to applyselected production systems and methods in a real world environment.

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HARRY L. HESS - Dr. Hess is a professor of Engineering Science atTrenton State College, Trenton, New Jersey, where his teaching and researchinterests are CAD, Facility Design, and Manufacturing Processes. He hasconducted numerous CAD and manufacturing processes seminars.

NORMAN ASPER - Dr. Asper is a professor of Engineering Science atTrenton State College where he teaches Engineering Materials Science,Materials Processes, Manufacturing, and Production Systems & Methods.Research projects: electric, solar/electric and human powered vehicles.

JOSEPH FLYNN – Dr. Flynn is a professor of Engineering Science atTrenton State College where his teaching and research interests areProduction Operations & Materials Management, Quality Control & Ergonomics,and Human Factors Engineering.

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