Manufacturing Design thread in a manufacturing engineering curriculum

The planning and implementation of a Manufacturing Design thread in the Manufacturing Engineering curriculum at Miami University is described. Courses in Engineering Materials, Manufacturing Processes, and Advanced Manufacturing Processes are linked through both design projects and student skills. This thread gives students an in-depth study of materials and processes in the context of manufacturing and design. As students progress through these courses, they build their understanding of both quality and product/process design iteration, and their capabilities in both the level of project sophistication and process complexity. This work is part of a multi-year plan to integrate design throughout the engineering curriculum. Integrated design in a course thread will satisfy, in part, ABET design requirements. The linkage is embodied in a Project Development Cycle. Materials and Manufacturing Processes courses are linked by design projects involving material and process selection for a multicomponent product. To build student familiarity with design concurrency, student teams from each course meet to share material and process recommendations. Students manufacture product components in the Manufacturing Processes course. Subsequently, they plan and implement their automated assembly in Advanced Manufacturing Processes. Results and reflections from these initial implementations are described along with plans for future course offerings.