Manufacturing Courses
Theoretical and experimental studies in subjects of interest to graduate students in manufacturing engineering. (Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.) See the supplement section of the for descriptions of courses to be offered in this academic year.
MFE 500. Current Topics in Manufacturing Seminar
0 credits
This seminar identifies the typical problems involved in a variety of manufacturing operations, and generic approaches for applying advanced technologies to implement operations. Topical areas of application and development such as intelligent materials processing, automated assembly, MRP and JIT scheduling, vision recognition systems, high-speed computer networks, distributed computer control of manufacturing processes and flexible manufacturing systems may be covered. This seminar is coordinated with the undergraduate program in manufacturing engineering. Required for all full-time students.
MFE 510/ME 542. Control and Monitoring of Manufacturing Processes
Covers a broad range of topics centered on control and monitoring functions for manufacturing, including process control, feedback systems, data collection and analysis, scheduling, machine-computer interfacing and distributed control. Typical applications are considered with lab work.
MFE 511. Application of Industrial Robotics
(Concurrent with ME 4815) This course introduces the student to the field of industrial automation. Topics covered include robot specification and selection, control and drive methods, part presentation, economic justification, safety, implementation, product design and programming languages. The course combines the use of lecture, project work and laboratories that utilize industrial robots. Theory and application of robotic systems will be emphasized.
MFE 520/MTE520/ME 543. Design and Analysis of Manufacturing Processes
The first half of the course covers the axiomatic design method, applied to simultaneous product and process design for concurrent engineering, with the emphasis on process and manufacturing tool design. Basic design principles as well as qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis of designs are developed. The second half of the course addresses methods of engineering analysis of manufacturing processes, to support machine tool and process design. Basic types of engineering analysis are applied to manufacturing situations, including elasticity, plasticity, heat transfer, mechanics and cost analysis. Special attention will be given to the mechanics of machining (traditional, nontraditional and grinding) and the production of surfaces. Students, work in groups on a series of projects.
MFE 530/ME 544. Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
An overview of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). As the CIM concept attempts to integrate all of the business and engineering functions of a firm, this course builds on the knowledge of computer-aided design, computeraided manufacturing, concurrent engineering, management of information systems and operations management to demonstrate the strategic importance of integration. Emphasis is placed on CAD/CAM integration. Topics include, part design specification and manufacturing quality, feature-based computer- aided design, setup planning and production line analysis, tooling and fixture design, and manufacturing information systems. This course includes a group term project. (Prerequisites: Background on manufacturing and CAD/CAM, e.g., ME 1800, ES 1310, ME 3820).
MFE 540. Design for Manufacturability
The problems of cost determination and evaluation of processing alternatives in the design-manufacturing interface are discussed. Approaches for introducing manufacturing capability knowledge into the product design process are covered. An emphasis is placed on part and process simplification, and analysis of alternative manufacturing methods based on such parameters as: anticipated volume, product life cycle, lead time, customer requirements, and quality yield. Lean manufacturing and Six-Sigma concepts and their influence on design quality are included as well.
MFE 598. Directed Research
3 to 6 credits
MFE 599. Thesis Research
Maximum 3 credits
MFE/MTE 5822. Solidification Processes
processes based on liquid-solid transformations. Fundamentals are developed and applied to commercial processes. The topics covered include qualitative treatment of casting processes, sand casting, die casting, investment casting, semisolid forming, various welding processes, laser welding, rapid solidification, spray forming, compocasting and other emerging technologies which utilize liquid-solid transformations. Library and laboratory work will be included. (Suggested preparation: an understanding of heat transfer, fluid flow, solid state diffusion and microscopy [ES 2001, ES 3003, ES 3004, ME 3811, ME 4840] or equivalent.)
MFE/MTE/ME 5841. Surface Metrology
This course emphasizes research applications of advanced surface metrology, including the measurement and analysis of surface roughness. Surface metrology can be important in a wide variety of situations including adhesion, friction, catalysis, heat transfer, mass transfer, scattering, biological growth, wear and wetting. These situations impact practically all the engineering disciplines and sciences. The course begins by considering basic principles and conventional analyses, and methods. Measurement and analysis methods are critically reviewed for utility. Students learn advanced methods for differentiating surface textures that are suspected of being different because of their performance or manufacture. Students will also learn methods for making correlations between surface textures and behavioral and manufacturing parameters. The results of applying these methods can be used to support the design and manufacture of surface textures, and to address issues in quality assurance. Examples of research from a broad range of applications are presented, including, food science, pavements, friction, adhesion, machining and grinding. Students do a major project of their choosing, which can involve either an in-depth literature review, or surface measurement and analysis. The facilities of WPI's Surface Metrology Laboratory are available for making measurements for selected projects. Software for advanced analysis methods is also available for use in the course. No previous knowledge of surface metrology is required. Students should have some background in engineering, math or science.
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