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SECTION 7: Manufacturing processes and techniques
before launching into the manufacture of a solution the idea needs testing and communicating appropriately. There are a few reasons for this:
to share ideas and thoughts with the user
to share ideas and thoughts with the client
to test the functionality and success of an idea.
Although it can be costly and time consuming, in the long run it is an essential part of the design process.
7.1 how can materials and processes be used to make iterative models?
iterative models are an incredibly important part of the design process. it helps the designer to continuously develop and improve the design of a product (preventing mistakes in manufacture). modelling may take place in this order (not exclusive and may vary depending on the product.
sketch modelling
often the fist model you will make
basically a 3d sketch
quick and simple
block modelling
a model made to visualise an accurate scale of the product.
no functional parts
Made from blocks
virtual modelling
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depth and detail
can include animation to show movement/ assembly
make models from:
paper and card
foamboard
bought in components
foamboard
balsa
styrofoam
clay
polymorph
wax
3D printing
wire
corriflute
pvc sheet
*others are available
joining models together
fasteners
nuts and bolts
rivets
adhesive
tape
clips/ pegs
string/ rubber bands
modelling mechanisms
card
lego
meccano
bought in components
foamboard
modelling electronics
breadboard modelling
breadboard/ prototyping board
FOR CHECKING:
INTERFACING WITH THE MICROCONTROLLER
INPUT/ OUTPUT ACTION
FUNCTIONING OF THE FLOWCHART
virtual modelling
CAD
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subtractive manufacture
removing material from a block
Mechanical and structural models
Working out:
forces
gear RATIO
MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
Our Tools
modelling the microcontroller
the microcontroller is responsible for all a devices functions. Ensuring it performs correctly is essential to ensuring a product or device functions correctly.
7.2/7.3 how can materials and processes be used to make final prototypes & commercial products?
this is what to consider when you make a prototype in college (or low level industry)
Why would you create a fully functioning prototype?
To Test and evaluate
To explore development opportunities
Processes
Wastage and subtraction
drilling
what material are you drilling?
how deep is the hole you need?
what is the diameter you need?
is it a through hole or blind hole you need?
what machine are you using (what restrictions does it have?)
how would you secure the work?
twist drill
Spur point bit
flat wood bit
hole saw
Forstner Bit
wood auger
Expansive bit
Adjustable tank cutter
Videos and information on how a range of products are made.
Sawing
How you cut your material
tenon saw
dovetail saw
coping saw
hacksaw/ junior hack saw
piercing saw
crosscut saw
panel saw
rip saw
band saw
circular saw
scroll/hegner saw
jigsaw
power hack saws
Turning
How
Wood turning
Metal turning
Milling
How
Slab cutters
Slotting cutters
Slitting saws
Shaping
Shaping a range of material types
Hand files
Rasps
Surforms
Abrading
Side and face cutters
Adding materials - Additive manufacture
Permanent joining methods - Timber
Timber - T joints
Mortice and tenon
bridle
Timber - carcase/ box joints
dovetail
finger/ comb
halving
dowel
biscuit
Timber - joining panels
tongue and groove
scarf
Check out the great posters from v.ryan (technologystudent.com)
Joining Metals
riveting
A semi-permanent fixing (pop rivets) generally used for joining metal sheets of metal section together.
On a larger scale fabrication, hot/ cold riveting can be used - a permanent process.
remote laser welding
To permanently join pieces of metal* together the process on the right can be used
*
Steel
Aluminium
Copper
Brass
Adhesives
Hot glue gun
Polyurethane resins
silicone adhesive -
highly flexible and high temperature resistance although they lack strength.
PVA -
Great for porous and semi-porous materials as it penetrates the material service as it sets. Work needs to be squeezed for best use.
A quick curing, easy to use adhesive (on many materials). It can create a varied strength joint - good for model making
Superglue - quick curing time. good for joining similar/ dis-similar materials. generally used for DIY fixing.
2-part contact adhesive (epoxy resin) - useful for joining both similar and dis-similar materials. creates a strong bond.
Urea formaldehyde polymer adhesive - high quality waterproof wood glue
Pressure sensitive adhesive -
Sticky tape, masking tape, double-sided tape and other tapes. Quick and easy to use. Can often be easily removed.
solvent based adhesive -
melts the surfaces of 2 polymers to allow them to fuse together (once the solvent has evaporated.
Contact adhesives are rubbers (natural or synthetic) in a solvent solution. Most effective with large surface areas but work when both surfaces have the solvent applied and are allowed to bond to their surface. Once they have begun to dry the surfaces can be joined and the adhesives can bond.
temporary/ semi permanent joining methods
Screws
standardised components (kdf's)
Knock down fittings are generally used for assembling flatpack furniture and are great for speedy assembly of products when wait times for adhesive etc are not appropriate
Nuts/ bolts
CAM lock
Barrel &
screw
Corner block
Self-locking plates
Self tapping screws -
Cut their own thread once a piolet hole has been drilled. They have a coarse, open thread with a tapering diameter and a point.
Not For repeated assembly/ disassembly
Machine screws -
Screwed into a nut or tapped hole with the same thread - meeting ISO manufacturing standards.
For assembly/ disassembly
Screw head types
deforming and reforming processes
polymers
line bending/ strip heating
Injection moulding
Blow moulding
vacuum forming
rotational moulding
multi materials
laser cutting
cnc router
cnc milling machine
3D printing
using moulds and formers
Resin casting
Metals
pewter casting
Sand casting
die casting
gravity die casting
pressing
extrusion
Drilling
Forging
Welding
Brazing
Plating
Polishing
Galvanizing
Turning
Assembling
Casting
Stamping/ blanking
Drawing
Extrusion
Anodizing
timber
Kerfing
forming/ laminating
Steam bending
Measuring
Tolerance
Rule
electronic measurements
jigs, formers & moulds
Vernier Caliper
Micrometer
Dial gauge
Optimising materials, resources and processes
Consider what is actually included in the manufacture of the product - there is more than the obvious and the link between them is absolutely key to getting things right.
QRM - Quick response manufacturing
This process looks at how lead (manufacturing) times across a company can be reduced to increase productivity.
Materials - Transportation - equipment - energy -
people - storage - timescales - levels of production - Marketing
This should all be considered at the design stage
DFMA
This is Ensuring a product has been designed and manufactured in the most efficient manner - it may include:
> Simplification of the design
> reduction in manufacturing costs
> use of standardised components
> Reduction in customised components
> Reduction of assembly stages
> Ensuring materials are compatible
> DEsigning for easy assembly, repair and maintenance
Funcionality and quality would not be comprimised.
Consider:
preperation of materials
processing of materials
assembly stages
sequencing of assembly/ manufacture
timings
7.4 how is manufacturing organised and managed for different scales of production?
Planning comes first.
one off production
Scale
batch production
Continuous flow production
Consider how many of the same product you are manufacturing.
Would you have to manufacture it differently if you were making less/ more? Think about the equipment and tools used, the use of CAM of production lines.
What about QA and QC - would these stages have to be different?
What are the set up costs going to be for different levels of production?
Mass production
In line production
repetitive flow production
Modular or cell production systems
lean manufacturing
> Reduce costs
> eliminate > waste
> increase
> productivity
> maintain high
> levels of qualit
> make profit
Fully automated production
Just-In-time (JIT) manufacturing
J-I-T advantages
> No storage costs
> Equal responsibility
> approach
> no unsold products
> no wasted materials
> reduced movement of
> material internally
> efficient use of equipment
> Appropriately used workers
> efficient manufacture
> no machine changeover
Methods and approaches
J-I-C (Just in case)
This is when a manufacturer approaches with a 'just in case' method - having extra stock, or parts, or spare machines, just in case...
Extra cost
extra space
Extra overheads
Extra insurance etc
bought in components
This is a component manufactured by someone else, which is bought in and used in the manufactur/ assembly of your own product.
Examples include:
Computer hard drives
Car engine parts
Building houses
Advantages:
> No need for production of the > component
> speeds up product manufacture
> tolerances met my component
> manufacturer
> component manufactured by a > specialist
> competative prices offered
> no storage required
Disadvantages:
> need reliable suppliers
> Additional storage required if not well managed
> Ordering/ delivery waiting times
> No control over component manufacture
standardised components
Common components used in many different products:
> Screws
> Nuts
> Bolts
> Washers
> Electronic components
> Hinges
> Locks
> Rivets
Advantages & disadvantages are similar to bought in components
ict and digital technologies
CNC - computer controlled machinery, has increased efficiency, accuracy and ability to manufacture products over the last few decades. Work can be shared instantly and edited within seconds to allow for developed products to be manufactured with quick turn around.
This availability is extending further with the use of augmented design and virtual reality.
rapid prototyping (a form of additative manufacture)
this is a process which creates prodcuts by essentially breaking a digital 3D design down into layers and printing it in a range of materials, from polymet and metal, to concrete and chocolate.
3D printing - printing layers of PLA or ABS from a CAD product
Paper based rp - cutting layers out of paper/ card and sticking them together to mae a 3d model - automated
Stereo lithography - liquid resin is cured by a laser in layers, creating a solid of the desired product
Laser sintering - Powdered polymer, metal or ceramic is fused together with a laser, layer by layer, to create a solid of the desired product.
Soft-fibre printing - this is the layering of a felt type material to print flexible fabric products.
3D printing types:
SLA - stereolithography
MJM - multi-jet modelling
SLS - selective laser sintering
FDM - fused deposition modelling
Additive and digital manufacturing
Additative manufacturing, meaning to add material rather than remove material (subtractive manufacture) is not a new process, however the way we now complete it is. Through the use of the following techniques we are able to manufacture items much quicker, in much more tetail and with much more accuracy:
> 3D printing (see above)
> Rapid prototyping (see above)
> Direct digital manufacturing - this is the process of going straigt from design to manufacture - there is No requirement for the manufacture of tooling, formers or moulds. (although the DDM might be for the manufacture of a former or mould). Many industries are now using this approach, allowing for more/ easier customisation.
stock control, monitoring and purchasing logistics
Being in control of 'how much' is left for manufacture and distribution is key for any company to keep on top of consumer demands, and ICT can help hugely with this. Monitoring stock materials and manufactured products can be made easy with the introduction of ICT and computerised systems. They can be looked at as:
> WHat Materials and components are in stock
> How many products are currently being made
> How many complete products are ready for distribution.
By monitoring, there is less chance of hold ups in manufacture and distribution.
By monitoring with ICT, everything is automated, notifications and automatic updates can be profived. Replacements can even be automatically ordered if stock drops below a certain number.
Advantages
> Lower costs - no manual work to be paid
> Improved efficiency
> Keeps up with demand
> reduces costs can be passed on
> quick system
> presentation, availability and usability of data
DIS Advantages
> Initial set up costs can be high
> human error interference
> Limited user experience
> Software or computer failure
> Data breech
7.5 how is the quality of products controlled through manufacture?
Product success relys on consumers being happy with the product they recieve, whether it is down to its appearance, reliability, quality, cost or safety.
It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to put methods and systems in place to ensure these requiremetns are met. this guarentee is ensured through the use of Quality assurance (QA) methods and Quality control (QC) checks.
Quality assurance
This proactive approcah is completed before, during and after manufacture to ensure the finished product meets any requirements det out. It is an approach which eliminates potential defects in the finished product, at the earliest opportunity. A method for this approach is known as nacerap:
Name of the fault
Appearance of the fault
Cause of the fault
Effect the fault has on the overall product
Repair of the fault or equipment
Action to be taken to repair the fault
Prevention of the fault reoccuring
Examples include using jigs, templates and moulds to ensure accuracy.
Quality control
This is a more reactive approach to ensure that a product has been made to meet requirements, specifications or tolerances.
Quality control checks can come in many forms:
> Visual checks
> Data comparrisons
> Checking of dimensions
> Checking product functionality
> Drop tests/ destructive tests
> Safety checks
> Weight checks
>'other checks available'
Checking of QC systems must also be checked to ensure their reading accuracy.
Total quality management (tqm)
This is an approach to achieve a high and continuous level of quality across a company - is achieved by all areas of a company, (including suppliers and distributers) to meet the same level of specification.
It will include elements of qA / QC and will be continually reviewed to ensure the highest level of accuracy, quality and tolerance is met. Each employee is responsible for the contribution and will be required to be trained/ kept up to date with expectations and standards.
If any faults or issues are discovered, measures must be taken ASAP to ensure that impact is limited and as few products as possible are impacted.
European & British Standards
By meeting standards a manufacturer shows they have agreed to manufacture something in an agreed way and ensures it is compatible with other, similar products. This agreement can be at a british, european or international level and will be indicated by one of the following marks:
BSI - British kitemark
British Standards
Institute
Identifys a product that has met a particular standard
CE - Conformity
European
On commercial products, the letters CE mean that the manufacturer or importer affirms the good's conformity with European health, safety, and environmental protection standards. It is not a quality indicator or a certification mark
ISO - International Standards organisation
This referes to a particular standard that has been met - one of 9000+ and is represented like this (for example)
ISO 45001 - refers to occupational health & safety
Example products that might meet standards for similarity include items such ad screws, nuts, bolts, electronic components.
Other standards cover areas such as safety. An example is BS7272 which ensures all pen tops have holes in them to reduce the rish of choking - something which has been adopted by international pen manufacturers.
Standards
Example product manufacture
Familiarise yourself with the manufacture of as many products as you can. Here are some to get you started:
Making the materials
Before products can be manufactured, materials need processing. Heres how:
Time to test your knowledge. Click on the link below and enter the room ncbdtseven
Access exemplar exam questions for this section here
log into memrise and then click below
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test your section 7 key terms understanding here
Design Technology @ NCB
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