ME 283 – Modern Manufacturing Laboratory (1 Credit Hour)

Course Description: Operational experience with manual and computer-controlled machining operations. Interaction with machinists and technology students in the design and fabrication of a machined part. Specific components include

• Engineering part sketching and blueprint reading,
• Use of measurement instruments,
• Manual lathe operation,
• Manual milling and drilling operations,
• Computer numerical control lathe, and
• Coordinate measuring machine

Course Instructors: This course is typically taught by the following instructors:

• Dr. Y. Kevin Chou (Coordinate with Shelton State Community College)

Sample Syllabus: A sample syllabus indicative of that typically used in the course can be found here.

Pre-Requisite Skills: Students entering this course are expected to have mastered the following skills:

• DR133 - Basic Engineering Skills
• Perform geometric constructions, orthographic views, auxiliaries, sections, pictorials, and dimensioning
• Execute freehand sketches and computer-aided drawing
• Use AutoCad software to produce two-dimensional engineering drawings such as multiviews, sections, and auxiliaries, as well as isometric and oblique pictorials and dimensional drawings

Co-Requisite Skills: Students taking this course are expected to be enrolled (or to have taken) courses that teach students the following skills:

• ESM 250 - Mechanics of Materials I
• Recognize and analyze situations of uniaxial & biaxial stress/strain
• Compute stress and strain for pure tension/compression, bending, and pure torsion of round and rectangular cross-section members
• Describe material properties (modulus of elasticity, Poisson's ratio, yield strength) for steel and aluminum
• MTE 271 - Engineering Materials I: Structure and Properties
• Recognize basic structure of ceramics, alloys, composites, metals, and polymers
• Describe relationships between the structure of materials and their mechanical, electrical, magnetic, thermal, and chemical properties
• ME 383 - Modern Manufacturing Practices
• Describe the relationships between product design, material selections, manufacturing processes and systems, and environmental impact
• Specify form accuracy, dimensional tolerances, surface finish of manufactured parts and describe principles of related measurements
• Extract elasticity modulus, yield strength, tensile strength, elongation percentage, and fracture energy from tension test results (stress-strain curve); distinguish between brittle and ductile material behavior
• Explain hardness and methods to measure hardness and describe tribological properties and wear mechanisms
• Define solidification process, and describe nucleation and grain growth during metal casting
• Apply level arm rule to determine composition of two phase solution upon solidification
• Describe casting techniques; classify different casting processes and their applications
• Describe casting mold design principles; draw an engineering sketch of casting molds and specify components
• Describe metal forming process, and explain mechanics of plastic deformation
• Specify material structures and properties changed by metal deformation processes
• Classify various metal deformation processes and their applications; describe hot, cold, isothermal and thermomechanical working processes
• Specify principles on design aspects of metal forming processes
• Describe mechanics of metal cutting and chip formation
• Identify basic components of a machining process and specify process parameters and variables
• Calculate material removal rate, specific cutting energy, surface finish with a given set of process parameters
• Design cutting experiments to evaluate machinability of workpiece materials and tool performance
• Describe multipoint machining operations such as milling, drilling, and broaching, etc.; specify process parameters, applications and limitations
• Characterize the basis of joining processes; classify and describe different joining processes: mechanical joining, solid state welding, and liquid state joining
• Characterize metallurgical bonds resulting from welding, and describe properties critical to weld quality
• Describe and explain several competitive aspects in manufacturing systems; characterize elements needed in manufacturing systems

Course Objectives: Students who successfully complete this course can be expected to:

• Identify and practice shop safety issues (p)
• Draw engineering sketches and read blueprint of parts for manufacturing (k)
• Make measurements with shop instruments such as caliper, micrometer, and gages, etc. for length, diameter, and others dimensions, as appropriate (k)
• Operate manual lathe to perform various cutting functions, turning, tapping, reaming, chamfering, facing, etc. (p)
• Operate milling and drilling machines (p)
• Apply tolerances during the fabrication and assembly of parts (e)
• Identify computer numerical control lathes and their programming features (p)
• Describe the principles and functions of coordinate measuring machines (p)

Sample Examinations: Examples of Examinations given in this course can be found here.

Downstream Users: This course serves as a pre-requisite to the following courses at The University of Alabama:

• ME ??? - ???