Blow molding (also known as blow moulding or blow forming) is a manufacturing process by which hollow plastic parts are formed. In general, there are three main types of blow molding: extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, and stretch blow molding. The blow molding process begins with melting down the plastic and forming it into a parison or preform. The parison is a tube-like piece of plastic with a hole in one end in which compressed air can pass through. The parison is then clamped into a mold and air is pumped into it. The air pressure then pushes the plastic out to match the mold. Once the plastic has cooled and hardened the mold opens up and the part is ejected.

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Rotational molding, also known as rotomolding, rotocasting or spin casting, is a molding process for creating many kinds of mostly hollow items, typically of plastic. A heated hollow mold is filled with a charge or shot weight of material, it is then slowly rotated (usually around two perpendicular axes) causing the softened material to disperse and stick to the walls of the mold. In order to maintain even thickness throughout the part, the mold continues to rotate at all times during the heating phase and to avoid sagging or deformation also during the cooling phase. The process was applied to plastics in the 1940s but in the early years was little used because it was a slow process restricted to a small number of plastics. Over the past two decades, improvements in process control and developments with plastic powders have resulted in a significant increase in usage.

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Polymers are materials composed of long molecular chains that are well-accepted for a wide variety of applications. This unit explores these materials in terms of their chemical composition, associated properties and processes of manufacture from petrochemicals. The unit also shows a range of products in which polymers are used and explains why they are chosen in preference to many conventional materials.
This particular section focuses on design in polymers, specifically the manufacturing and process methods including fabrication, rotationally moulding, vacuum forming, blow moulding and injection moulding.

[Description and screenshot taken from the OU page for this course. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

Before you start it will be helpful to have an understanding of solute partitioning and the formation of dendrites. The TLP on Solidification of Alloys covers these topics.

On completion of this tutorial you should:
• Understand the meaning of the Biot number, how it affects the temperature profile in a casting, and the resulting microstructure.
• Be able to explain the formation of the microstructure observed in a cast ingot.

• Be familiar with some common methods of casting, their advantages and disadvantages, and be able to choose a suitable process for manufacturing a variety of metallic components.

Questions and links to further reading and websites are also included.

Description and screenshot taken from the DoITPoMS page for this TLP. (c) University of Cambridge used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

After studying this unit you will be able to:
• Explain the difference between industrial and engineering design with reference to familiar products; and for specific products explain whether it is the product’s form or its function that enhances its value in the marketplace.
• Understand the concept of a product design specification (PDS), and be able to indicate some to the factors which should be included in producing one.

• Describe the role of marketing in developing the PDS for a product.
• Classify products simply in terms of their basic shape.
• Describe the difference between the hot and cold working of metals and give the advantages of each.
• Indicate which types of manufacturing process are suited to producing different shapes of product.
• Indicate which processes are likely to be used for producing a particular product using a specific material or class of material.
• Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the different classes of manufacturing processes.
• Outline the concept of surface engineering for improving the properties of a component.

The unit looks at the manufacturing process, casting, forming, cutting, joining, making the gearwheel, and surface engineering.

The unit takes on average 20 hours to complete.

[Description and screenshot taken from the OU page for this course. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

It looks at the terms for classifying forming processes and the characteristic values and basic laws of metal forming including flow stress, plastic strain, plastic flow under combined stresses, flow curves, average flow stress and energy considerations. This lecture is a necessary prerequisite to understand the more specific treatment of metal forming subjects such as forging, impact extrusion and sheet metal forming in the subsequent TALAT lectures 3401 to 3805.

A general background in production engineering and machine tools is assumed.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

The lecture introduces terms, definitions and brazeable alloys and looks at the brazing process and different brazing methods – torch brazing, flux-dip brazing, furnace brazing, and vacuum and controlled atmosphere brazing. The properties of brazed joints and quality control testing methods are also detailed.

Basic knowledge of aluminium alloys designation system, surface treatment and corrosion behaviour is assumed.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

The lecture includes examples of aluminium forgings and covers classification of forms for die forgings, tolerances for aluminium forgings, design rules, dimensional precision of die forgings and designing for material flow and grain structure.

A general understanding of metallurgy and deformation processes is assumed.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

This guide aims to provide specialist knowledge across a range of manufacturing technologies to enable the correct process selection to be made from the breadth of possibilities and also to provide technological and economic data on a range of important manufacturing processes. Manufacturing PRocess Information MAps (PRIMAs) give detailed data on the characteristics and capabilities of each process in a standard format under general headings including: material suitability, design considerations, quality issues, general economics and process fundamentals and variations. A distinctive feature is the inclusion of process tolerance capability charts for processing key material types.
This guide is largely based on the manufacturing process selection and costing text published by the authors (1). In this guide the reader is introduced to a systematic approach to process selection supported by a sample of ten PRIMAs only. Space does not permit the inclusion of all the available PRIMAs and the method for detailed costing of component designs given in reference (1). A computer based (PC) version of the authors’ component costing method is available for educational purposes only from the SEED website at http://www.cad.strath.ac.uk/~bill/seed.htm. Topics covered by this guide include a process selection strategy and PRIMA selection. Sample PRIMAs and a case study are included.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The manufacturing phase follows the detail design phase, within the ‘Design Activity Model’ (reference 1) shown in Figure 1. However, manufacturing considerations need to be addressed from the outset of the project and it is essential that students be made aware of this distinction. Design educators must include manufacturing considerations as an essential part of the curriculum, and emphasise the need to integrate design and manufacture. Students should be asked to consider manufacture as well as form, fit and function, and be able to compare costs (reference 2) of alternative manufacturing methods, including assembly. These are too often considered later in the product development stage when expensive modifications may be required to alleviate quality or production problems.

Students should also understand that, in practice, many companies have traditionally had separate lines of management, at operational level, for product design and process or manufacturing system design. More progressive companies are implementing project teams which include design, manufacturing and other disciplines from the outset of the project.

The report provides an introduction, topic definition, educational objectives and chapters on when taught and how, manufacturing considerations, manufacturing processes, manufacturing costs, manufacturing information, and influence of automated manufacturing systems. Also provided are references, suggested further reading and figures.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this report. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This course introduces the fundamentals of machine tool and computer tool use. Students work with a variety of machine tools including the bandsaw, milling machine, and lathe. Instruction is given on MATLAB®, MAPLE®, XESS™, and CAD. Emphasis is on problem solving, not programming or algorithmic development. Assignments are project-oriented relating to mechanical engineering topics. The course revolves around students building and ‘racing’ their own Stirling engines, which is covered in greater detail in the projects section.

This course was co-created by Prof. Douglas Hart and Dr. Kevin Otto.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course introduces you to modern manufacturing with four areas of emphasis: manufacturing processes, equipment/control, systems, and design for manufacturing. The course exposes you to integration of engineering and management disciplines for determining manufacturing rate, cost, quality and flexibility. Topics include process physics, equipment design and automation/control, quality, design for manufacturing, industrial management, and systems design and operation.

Class objectives are: internalize the attributes along which the success or failure of a manufacturing process, machine, or system will be measured: quality, cost, rate and flexibility; provide exposure to a range of current industrial processes and practices used to manufacture products in high and low volumes; apply physics to understand the factors that control the rate of production and influence the quality, cost and flexibility of processes; understand the impact of manufacturing constraints on product design and process planning; apply an understanding of variation to the factors that control the production rate and influence the quality, cost and flexibility of processes and systems; understand the role of control in processes and systems, especially in view of the presence of noise (variation); and provide exposure to a range of manufacturing system constraints.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course introduces you to modern manufacturing with four areas of emphasis: manufacturing processes, equipment/control, systems, and design for manufacturing. The course exposes you to integration of design, engineering, and management disciplines and practices for analysis and design of manufacturing enterprises. Emphasis is on the physics and stochastic nature of manufacturing processes and systems, and their effects on quality, rate, cost, and flexibility.

Topics include process physics and control, equipment design and automation/control, quality, design for manufacturing, industrial management, and systems design and operation. The group project requires design and fabrication of parts using mass-production and assembly methods to produce a product in quantity.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The book is over 200 pages long, although some of the later sections are incomplete or draft, and is available as a PDF, postscript or LaTeX file.

Physical metallurgy encompasses the relationships between the composition, structure, processing history and properties of metallic materials. The seminar from which these images are taken seminar introduces metallurgy in a particularly “physical” way. The students do blacksmithing, metal casting, machining, and welding, using both traditional and modern methods. The seminar meets once per week for an evening laboratory session, and once per week for discussion of issues in materials science and engineering that tie in to the laboratory work. Students begin by completing some specified projects and progress to designing and fabricating one forged and one cast piece.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

Product Design and Development is a project-based course that covers modern tools and methods for product design and development. The cornerstone is a project in which teams of management, engineering, and industrial design students conceive, design and prototype a physical product. Class sessions are conducted in workshop mode and employ cases and hands-on exercises to reinforce the key ideas. Topics include identifying customer needs, concept generation, product architecture, industrial design, and design-for-manufacturing.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The course provides students with an opportunity to design, optimize, manufacture, and validate a physical system component. The projects from the course are included here. This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

This course provides students with an opportunity to conceive, design and implement a product, using rapid prototyping methods and computer-aid tools. The first of two phases challenges each student team to meet a set of design requirements and constraints for a structural component. A course of iteration, fabrication, and validation completes this manual design cycle. During the second phase, each team conducts design optimization using structural analysis software, with their phase one prototype as a baseline.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]