Overview
This course examines the principles, capabilities, and limitations of major manufacturing processes and their relationships to material properties, product geometry, quality, cost, productivity, safety, and sustainability. Topics include primary shaping, casting, forming, machining, joining, powder processing, additive manufacturing, polymer processing, composites, heat treatment, and surface engineering.
Students apply process-selection methods to engineering components and evaluate manufacturing systems using dimensional inspection, process capability, defect analysis, machining calculations, weld and casting assessment, and additive-manufacturing trials. Emphasis is placed on design for manufacturability and assembly, cycle-time and cost estimation, energy use, environmental impact, and technically justified process planning.
Learning Outcomes
- Explain the operating principles, capabilities, and limitations of primary shaping, forming, machining, joining, powder, additive, polymer, composite, and finishing processes.
- Evaluate the effects of material properties, microstructure, geometry, tolerances, and surface requirements on manufacturing-process behaviour.
- Select appropriate materials, processes, tooling, and process sequences for engineering components using technical, economic, safety, quality, and sustainability criteria.
- Calculate machining parameters, cutting forces or power requirements, cycle times, material utilisation, and estimated manufacturing costs.
- Diagnose common casting, forming, machining, joining, additive-manufacturing, and surface-treatment defects using appropriate inspection and quality-control methods.
- Interpret dimensional tolerances, surface-finish specifications, control charts, and process-capability measures in manufacturing contexts.
- Design engineering components and assemblies for manufacturability, inspectability, maintainability, and efficient assembly.
- Conduct practical manufacturing investigations and communicate findings using engineering drawings, measurements, calculations, and evidence-based technical reports.
- Justify manufacturing-process selections by integrating productivity, energy consumption, environmental impact, occupational safety, and lifecycle considerations.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Lab | 3 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | Second term |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Process selection and design-for-manufacture assignment | 15.00% |
| Assignment | Manufacturing cost, cycle-time, and sustainability analysis | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Practical laboratory reports (4 × 5%) | 20.00% |
| Test | Mid-semester test | 15.00% |
| Quiz | Online process and materials quizzes (5 × 1%) | 5.00% |
| Exam | Final examination | 30.00% |
Prerequisites
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.
