Introduction to production technologies

Question 1

What is the economic definition of manufacturing?

Answer 1

Manufacturing is the transformation of materials into items of greater value by means of one or more processing and/or assembly operations. The key point is that manufacturing adds value to the material by changing its shape or properties, or by combining it with other materials that have been similarly altered.

Question 2

What is the technological definition of manufacturing?

Answer 2

Technologically, manufacturing is the application of physical and chemical processes to alter the geometry, properties, and/or appearance of a given starting material to make parts or products; manufacturing also includes assembly of multiple parts to make products. The processes to accomplish manufacturing involve a combination of machinery, tools, power, and labour.

Question 3

What are some examples of capital goods?

Answer 3

Capital goods are those purchased by companies to produce goods and /or provide services. Examples of capital goods include aircraft, computers, communication equipment, medical apparatus, trucks and buses and railroad locomotives.

Question 4

What quantity of products are produced in the ranges: low production, medium production and high production.

Answer 4

Low production 1 -100
Medium production 100 - 1000
High Production 10,000 to millions

Question 5

What is soft product variety?

Answer 5

Soft product variety occurs when there are only small differences among products, such as the differences among car models made on the same production line.

Question 6

What is hard product variety

Answer 6

Hard product variety occurs when the products differ substantially, and there are few common parts, if any. The difference between a car and a truck exemplifies hard variety.

Question 7

What is a processing operations?

Answer 7

A processing operation transforms a work material from one state of completion to a more advanced state that is closer to the final desired product. It adds value by changing the geometry, properties, or appearance of the starting material.

Question 8

What is an assembly operation?

Answer 8

An assembly operation joins two or more components to create a new entity, called an assembly, subassembly, or some other term that refers to the joining process(e.g., a welded assembly is called a weldment).

Question 9

What are the three categories of processing operations?

Answer 9

• Shaping Operations
• Property Enhancing Operations
• Surface Processing Operations

Question 10

What are the four shaping operations?

Answer 10

• Solidification processes
• Particulate processing
• Deformation processes
• Material removal processes

Question 11

What is a solidification shaping process?

Answer 11

The process in which the starting material is a heated liquid or semifluid that cools and solidifies to form the part geometry

Question 12

What is a particulate shaping process?

Answer 12

The process in which the starting material is a powder, and the powders are formed and heated into the desired geometry

Question 13

What is a deformation shaping processes?

Answer 13

The process in which the starting material is a ductile solid (commonly metal) that is deformed to shape the part.

Question 14

What is the material removal process?

Answer 14

The process in which the starting material is a solid (ductile or brittle), from which material is removed so that the resulting part has the desired geometry

Question 15

What are the most common property enhancing processes?

Answer 15

Heat treatments and sintering.

Question 16

What are the three main surface processes?

Answer 16

• Cleaning
• Surface treatments
• Coating and thin film deposition

Question 17

What do cleaning surface treatments involve?

Answer 17

Cleaning includes both chemical and mechanical processes to remove dirt, oil, and other contaminants from the surface.

Question 18

What do Surface Treatments involve?

Answer 18

Surface treatments include mechanical working such as shot peening and sand blasting, and physical processes such as diffusion and ion implantation.

Question 19

What do coating and thin film deposition surface treatments involve?

Answer 19

Coating and thin film deposition processes apply a coating of material to the exterior surface of the work part. Common coating processes include electroplating, anodizing of aluminium, organic coating (call it painting), and porcelain enameling. Thin film deposition processes include physical vapor deposition and chemical vapor deposition to form extremely thin coatings of various substances.

Question 20

What are some examples of permanent joining processes?

Answer 20

Permanent joining processes include welding, brazing, soldering, and adhesive bonding. Other mechanical assembly techniques form a more permanent connection; these include rivets, press fitting, and expansion fits.

Question 21

What are examples of assembling mechanisms that can be disassembled?

Answer 21

The use of screws, bolts, and other threaded fasteners are important traditional methods in this category.