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Unit information: Principles of Design for Manufacture of Composites in 2022/23

Please note: you are viewing unit and programme information for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.

Unit name Principles of Design for Manufacture of Composites
Unit code AENGM0041
Credit points 10
Level of study M/7
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Professor. Barton
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

None

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

None

Units you may not take alongside this one

None

School/department School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering
Faculty Faculty of Engineering

Unit Information

The goal of design for manufacture is to produce a product which is easily and economically manufactured. This is a particular challenge for fibre-reinforced composites as the material and structure are created at the same time during manufacture. Considerations such as health and safety, practicality, knowledge management and sustainability must be borne in mind along with the features and potential issues of different manufacturing methods.

Commonly used manufacturing methods including hand layup, resin transfer moulding and automated fibre placement will be discussed in detail, including potential defects both avoidable and inherent in the manufacturing processes. Manufacturability analysis will be considered for comparison of different options. Tolerancing, variability and defects will be discussed in the context of realistic Design for Manufacture decision making.

Students will have the opportunity to try out some of these challenges hands-on in the laboratory, including a student-led session for testing ideas relevant to their summative assessments.

The course will include an overview of Design for X and how different challenges, such as cost and sustainability, can impact on Design for Manufacture.

In discussing human factors such as methods employed in hand layup and how knowledge transfer between people can affect the manufacturing process, we will consider how to ethically carry out research involving people, such as questionnaires, and how to quantify opinion and free text data which may first appear qualitative.

Your learning on this unit

On successful completion of the unit students will be able to:

  1. Identify and understand the key issues and methods in Design for Manufacture of advanced composite structures
  2. Apply the basic principles for Design for Manufacturing to distinguish clearly between competing design options (whether conceptual, manufacturability, sizing, preliminary analysis) for advanced composite parts
  3. Apply advanced principles for Design for Manufacturing in order to select the preferred options related to a range of “Design for X” issues in composite parts design and manufacturing.

How you will learn

The unit taught content comprises 33 hours of lectures, exercises, discussion sessions and hands-on work in the laboratory, delivered over 11 x 3-hour weekly sessions. In addition, 11 hours (11 x 1 hour) weekly open office sessions are scheduled for support on the coursework assignments and general questions about the topic. The formative and summative coursework is designed to enhance your understanding of the lecture material and integrate the skills developed in the laboratory class to support the development of workable design for manufacturing solutions.

How you will be assessed

The unit is assessed using two formative assessments and one summative assessment, the latter contributing 100% of the final grade. The formative assessments support the summative assessments, with the intention to provide feedback to help you formulate a workable design for manufacturing procedure. Feedback will be given on the formative assessments. Full details on the assessments will be given in class, with time for discussion and questions.

Formative assessment 1 (F1): choose a composite part/product, perhaps related to your research project or made at your sponsoring company (please check for any confidentiality issues), and outline how the part and/or process might be modified using a DfM approach. Narrated powerpoint < 5 minutes.

Formative assessment 2 (F2): plan how you might obtain useful feedback on your changes, and who from. Written document < 2 sides of A4.

Summative assessment (S1): a written report and accompanying video discussing design for manufacture for a composite part of the student’s choice.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. AENGM0041).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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