Design and production technologies – Module 1

Learning objectives

This course aims to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for the study of technological processes and manufacturing systems for components and industrial products. The primary objective of the course is to develop skills that allow the student to understand the production process of a mechanical component within an industrial context starting from the information present in the mechanical drawing of the part.

For this purpose, it is essential to acquire knowledge relating to the following points:
– information contained in the technical drawing in terms of part geometry, materials, surface qualities and shape and position tolerances;
– problems relating to obtaining a certain precision during processing and knowledge of the metrological instruments necessary for qualification;
– foundry and plastic deformation understood as primary forming processes;
– processing for chip removal on machine tools.

For this purpose it is necessary to develop the following skills:
– study of the primary forming process of a component;
– determination of the starting raw material (in terms of dimensions, material and primary production process) for the processing of a component;
– identification of the flow of operations necessary for the creation of the component;
– calculation of the forces exerted during the cutting process and the powers absorbed by the machine tools.

Course content

The course is divided into 2 modules, “Design” and “Production Technologies”, of 6 CFU each.

The Production Technologies module aims to study technological processes and manufacturing systems for industrial parts and products, according to a systematic and coherent approach to the modeling of such processes, in order to interpret the laws and mechanisms on which they are based, to analyze their possibilities and their limits in relation to the functionality and production needs of specific components, to systematically design and plan the transformation process, to integrate product and process design through the use of a computer. Process modeling will be oriented to the analysis and prediction of the influence of the choice of variables on the results. The treatment of the subject will be sufficiently analytical for a basic university course, adequately descriptive for students who do not have specific prior knowledge of technological processes. A methodology will be adopted that includes theoretical lessons and exercises, during which the study and discussion of industrial cases will be addressed collectively and in a guided manner.

Bibliography

PDFs of the slides shown during lectures and exercises, and all the material used to support them, are made available to students on SM Teams.

In addition to the shared material, the student can personally explore some topics covered during the module by referring to the following texts:
– Marco Santochi, Francesco Giusti, Mechanical technology and manufacturing studies, (2000) second edition, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana.
– Carlo Gaggia, Sergio Gaggia, Mechanical Technology vol. 3, (1982), Zanichelli.
– Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid, Mechanical Technology, (2008) fifth edition, Pearson Ed.

Teaching methods and tools

The course is assigned 6 credits for a total of 48 hours divided into 42 hours of lessons and 6 hours of practice. The lesson hours are distributed as follows on the main topics of the course:
– Tolerances, metrology and mechanical elements: 8 hours
– Materials: 6 hours
– Foundry: 8 hours
– Plastic deformation: 8 hours
– Chip removal and machine tools: 12 hours

The lessons follow the chronology necessary to complete a sequence of operations exactly as in a work cycle. This practical approach has the function of providing a guideline during the preparation of the tests in order to focus the students' efforts in creating the skills necessary to achieve the educational objectives.

The hours of practice, which require attendance of lessons or independent study of reference texts, are complementary to them and dedicated to providing, through live viewing and direct use, a practical experience aimed at developing the skills verified during the exam.

Assessment methods and criteria

Common rules between the two modules of the course:
– The exam, overall, consists of a written test that includes both modules of the Design and Production Technologies course.
– The two modules of the Design and Production Technologies course are not separable and the related exams must be taken in the same exam session
– To pass the written test, a minimum score of 16/30 is required for both modules.
– No intermediate tests are carried out
– All students who do not pass the written test may view their paper, by making an appointment with the teacher.

The written test of the Production Technologies module, lasting a maximum of 2 hours, consists of:
– 10 short answer or multiple choice questions worth a total of 15 points.
– a numerical and/or technical/practical exercise worth a total of 15 points in which the candidate's aptitude to provide quantitative results to the questions asked is tested.

Additional info

Introduction
General information and classification of technological processes. Definition of a morphological model of the technological process of transformation of the state of the material: analysis of the flows of material, energy and information. Relationships and implications between the product and the process: the function of product design and process design and planning. Criteria for the choice of the process. Introduction to the fundamentals of the behavior and characterization of the properties of materials. References to the tests for the characterization of mechanical properties and to the stress/strain diagrams. Materials. Recalls relating to the structure of materials and their classification: metallic, ferrous and non-ferrous materials, polymeric, ceramic, composite.

Primary production processes
Foundry processes. General principles relating to the melting, cooling and solidification of metals; types and classification of melting processes: sand casting, with a lost model, die casting. The forming and pouring of castings; problems and principles for the sizing of the main risers and the pouring channels. Melting systems. Plastic deformation processes. Types and classification of plastic deformation processes: rolling, drawing, extrusion, shearing, bending, drawing. The main systems for plastic deformation processes: types, functionality and field of use.

Secondary production processes
Technological processes with mass reduction. Material removal processes. Fundamental principles; mechanics of metal cutting and formation mechanisms and morphology of the chip. The geometry of tools: the variables of the chip removal process; cutting speed, wear and tool life; study and measurement of cutting force and power. The machinability of metals. Determination of optimal cutting conditions. Turning, milling, drilling, boring. Types and classification of machine tools.