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Section 1263

Intermediate Manufacturing Course for Undergraduate Education

Bernard B. Beard, Yeu-Sheng Shiue Christian Brothers University

I. Introduction Successful manufacturing companies in the modern economy manage to automate their production process while maximizing production flexibility. Automation provides high quality and low unit cost, while flexibility enables the rapid product evolution necessary to adapt to changes in technology and customer demand. The integration of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) provides this combination of automation and flexibility. CAD/CAM and computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tools play important roles in modern manufacturing engineering.

Indoctrinating students in the modern production process is crucial. ME 435, the Intermediate Manufacturing course offered by the mechanical engineering department at Christian Brothers University (CBU), addresses this need. First offered in the fall of 1996, the class revolves around the use of computers to integrate the design, analysis, and manufacturing phases of production. Students in ME 435 use the facilities of the Integrated Laboratory for Manufacturing Education (ILME) developed at CBU under a National Science Foundation grant.

Students are first introduced to parametric design methodology, including part and assembly creation and parametrization. The manufacturing module is then introduced, in which students create a manufacturing model, build operation sequences, and manufacture a complex part. Students also learn how to perform structural and thermal analyses using integrated computer tools. Design projects are assigned to student groups in different stages of the class. A final project allows students to apply all techniques including design, analysis, manufacturing, and machining codes. A course outline is provided in Table I.

Pro/ENGINEER is the parametric design tool in this class. Pro/MECHANICA is used for stress and thermal analysis. Pro/MANUFACTURING is used to generate a manufacturing model and to simulate the cutting process trajectory, as well as to generate the CNC code. The hardware portion of the syllabus is structured around a Fadal VMC-15 Vertical Machining Center. Both hardware and software are assets of the ILME.

This class integrates CAD/CAM, design for producibility, numerical-controlled machining, and rapid prototyping into the engineering curriculum, and exposes students to modern concurrent engineering techniques.

The plan of this paper is as follows. Section II discusses the ILME. Section III details the organization and syllabus of ME 435. Section IV presents a discussion of some startup pains as well as a discussion of planned enhancements to the course. Section V gives conclusions.

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Shiue, Y., & Beard, B. B. (1997, June), Intermediate Manufacturing Course For Undergraduate Education Paper presented at 1997 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 10.18260/1-2--6646