The Selection and Justification of Various Procedural Processes in Production - Report Example

PROPOSAL 2 Name Institution Instructor Date Introduction The proposed project involves selection and justification of various procedural processes in production that will led to the achievement of the manufacture of a specified multi-tool with the required features and properties. In this particular project, the material that will initially be considered to machining and other manufacturing processes is expected to be a metal block having that is cuboid in it shape. This block of metal is then expected to be reduced to a multi-tool with an approximate thickness of 15 mm. Selection and specification of operating parameters for primary processes The selection and specification of the parameters for consideration in primary process that are expected to obtain the multi-tool in this project involve the consideration of the desired features and properties of the finished product. The expected fabrication of the tool can be achieved through various techniques depending of the ease nature of the materials used and the application of the tool after its fabrication. There are many similarities with regard to fabrication of carbon steel and stainless steel among other common metals (Jarmai and Farkas, 2008). However, there are differences to the extent that different yield strengths may be experienced in the process of machining. In the process of primary fabrication, operations for the multi-tool fabrication properties for the material to be used are also expected to be considered. In this case, stainless steel is expected to be used. It is clear through previous analyses that certain types of stainless steel with certain properties are not suitable for certain applications. Therefore, it is important to carry a suitability analysis to identify the kind of materials that are suitable for the available machining and fabrication applications. Some of the operations that are expected to be carried out on the block materials to obtain the desired multi-tool in accordance with the desired features and dimensions include; Drilling This process is expected to employ the use of a drilling machine as the main equipment with the use of several drilling bits depending on the specification and dimensions of drilling holes required. Nearly all stainless steels possess a feature known as strain characteristic and therefore when they come into contact with drilling bits during penetration into the material, the material is likely to harden and will therefore require more pressure and sped from the drilling machine to continue with the drilling process. Therefore, this process will require the use of drilling bits that are generally made from monolithic carbide and tough steel. The operation may occasionally require the application of cutting oils or soluble oils. For the features of the multi-tool that are thick and requires drilling such as the hole for the key ring, the point angle for the drilling bit to be used is expected to be between 120 and 135 degrees. However, for the thon sections of the tool, it will be important to lower the stresses experienced on the surface and this will call for an increase of the drilling angle to 140 degrees. Cutting There are other feature of the multi-tool that will require cutting of the block material for them to be achieved according to the specifications and dimensions. In the case of this project, it is important to note that all the operations that are involved in the cutting of the stainless steel material would be expected to follow certain guidelines to maintain its corrosion assistance ability. These guidelines are as follows Contamination by ferrous particles or materials should not be allowed Since the edges obtained through mechanical cutting will for a passive film that will be naturally resistant to corrosion, nitric acid treatment would be appropriate to enhance the formation of such edges. Since the cutting edges obtained through thermal cutting be influenced with regard to metallurgical structure and chemical composition, it would be necessary to get rid of the surface layers affected to minimize corrosion. The cutting operation in this project will be necessary in order to obtain the blank shapes that describe the features of the multi-tool such as the adjustable and positioning wrenches. Cutting operations will also be necessary to trim the tool to the desired size specification. The cutting techniques expected to be employed in this project include thermal cutting and mechanical cutting. This is because these two cutting techniques are the ones that are frequently adopted for cutting operations involving materials of this nature (Jarmai and Farkas, 2008). The cutting techniques are appropriate and compatible with stainless steel material. However, due to differences that exist with regard to toughness, strength and work hardening rate as well as other details in the metal cutting process may be subjected to modification. Sawing Certain sections of the multi-tool will require sawing operation in this proposed project. The cutting of stainless steel can be achieved by the use of hand operated or mechanized hacksaws. Steel blades for high speed are appropriate and therefore recommended for most types of sawing involving stainless steel as a material. There are difficulties encountered in the sawing operation involving austenitic grades of stainless steel. The cutting operation is expected to initiate the grade under consideration without allowing for the riding action of the saw on the work piece. The use of an emulsion of soluble oil could be employed to act as a cutting fluid during the operation. The general random cuttings on the work piece will require the use of hand hacksaw with the blade having wavy set of teeth. Selection and specification of operating parameters for secondary processes The multi-tool fabrication projects aims at achieving certain specified dimensions with regard to the available features. The targeted features of the multi-tool include knife, flat head screw driver, ruler, adjustable wrench as well as positioning wrench. Others include a hole for key ring, direct recognizer compass, double-staggered filling as well as openers for bottles and cans. This particular manufacturing and fabrication project intends to adopt the use of stainless steel as general material. The stainless steel in this case special properties that make it appropriate for this project and it is thus important to consider the machinability concept of this material. These include the durability of the tool itself to prevent wear and tear as well as the consideration of the forces and stresses experienced by the tool material in the course of its operation. These include effects and magnitudes of the cutting and pressing forces on the surface of the multi-tool material. Special features and properties of stainless steel material are able to influence various factors that are considered in fabrication and machining operations. Stainless steel material generally contains a high content of alloys and this makes it more difficult to machine yet enhances the durability of the multi-tool fabricated. Some of the properties that influence the choice of stainless steel as a material for the project includes its work harden consideration, low thermal conductivity, tendency to be sticky, high level of toughness as well as low chip-breaking feature (Bhatnagar and Srivatsan, 2009). Material Properties for multi-tool A description of material properties for the proposed multi-tool involves the conduction of various analyses and inspection coupled with the use of available data and information. The analysis involved the adoption of material analysis tests such as spectroscopy, hardness test, bend test and metallography. The expected material properties for the multi-tool include Chemical properties The chemical properties are determined through the performance of spectroscopy through Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) is a method that is used in the determination of chemical composition of a variety of materials and alloys in the field of engineering fabrication and machining. The adopting of this test for this particular proposed project is because it is economical, rapid, and reliable and offers an accurate reflection of the chemical composition for most materials. The testing is able to accommodate material samples efficiently and without compromising the quality. The conduction of the test demonstrates that the expected material properties and composition for the multi-tool (Jarmai and Farkas, 2008). Material properties likely to be important There are several other material properties, which could be considered important for this particular fabrication and machining project. These could be conclusively determined through normal spectrographic technics other than the chemical analysis technique. These involve quantitative analysis that plays a very significant role in offering a clear understanding of existing material properties. There is also the performance of additional material analysis to provide a more elaborate description of materials properties and composition. In the case of the material for use in the fabrication of a multi-tool in this project, additional analysis may be appropriate for use in the determination of the composition of low carbon as well as other variants. The material properties under consideration here include the physical properties among others (Brink and Swift, 2009). Description of material composition The material composition of the material used in this project is also an essential consideration. This is because different tool applications require specific composition of materials. In this case, the material used is stainless steel, which possesses specific material composition as demonstrated through conduction of various tests on the multi-tool model for this project. The material composition in terms of the elements present and their percentage by weight is as illustrated below. Elements in the material Percentage weight composition Fe 85.83 Cr 12.56 Si 0.42 Mn 0.35 C 0.33 Ni 0.14 Grade specification Grade specification is also an important exercise in this project of multi-tool fabrication. This is because there are several grades of stainless steel that are available in the market and they all have varying applications. 304L and 304 grades of steel are also known as 1.4307 and 1.4301 types of steel respectively. 304 grade of stainless steel is the one that is widely used and which more versatile and whose composition is 8% nickel and 18% chromium. This grade of stainless steel is austenitic and can be subjected to deep drawing. This grade is also adopted in the fabrication of this model of multi-tool because of its dominance and wide application in various industries (Lee and Suh, 2006). Microstructure Microstructural analysis and description is an important exercise in a fabrication project such as this one since it allows for the selection of appropriate materials for the required application. This project uses austenitic stainless steel which may go through changes it its microstructure due to both long term and short term temperature exposure. There are precipitates in the microstructures of stainless steel that are formed during working of the steel such as intermetallic phases whose formation is normally accompanied by carbide dissolution. The precipitations of intermetallic phases are of great importance due to their influence as well contribution to mechanical properties due to their effects with regard to corrosive properties. The microstructure of the material to be expected for this model of multi-tool was determined through testing procedures (Bhatnagar and Srivatsan, 2009). Hardening mechanism used for the current model multi-tool The hardening mechanism that has a higher likelihood of being adopted for use in the model of multi-tool in this project involves work hardening process. This process is one that consists of progressive build up that may cause deformation of offer resistance to further work. One of the outcomes of this mechanism of hardening is that the tensile strength and other properties are increased with the increase in cold working (Brink and Swift, 2009). This only takes place in the process of cold working. However, the process of hot working for steel involves a continual self-annealing of steal. Work hardening takes place in the lines of defects in the atomic lattice, which brings about plastic deformation. Description of provided prototype materials The prototype materials provided with regard to the carrying out of the multi-tool fabrication project would be classified into four different categories. These categories include budget materials 1 and 2 as well as premium materials 1 and 2. The initial composition of the prototype materials is indicated below with the composition of the elements present being represented in terms of percentage weight. Budget material 1 Mn C Fe 0.5 0.2 balance Budget material 2 Si C Cr Mn Ni Mo Fe 0.3 0.4 2,0 1.5 1.1 0.2 balance Premium material 1 C Si Mn Ni Cr Fe 0.08 2.0 9.0 19.0 balance Premium material 2 V Al Ti 4.0 6.0 balance Main hardening mechanisms This project aims at achieving an exploitation several hardening mechanisms for the for prototype material available for the multi-tool model. The exploitation will also include consideration of ways of achieving hardening mechanisms during the manufacturing process. For budget material 1, the main hardening mechanism that the project aims to exploit is the radiation hardening mechanism. This would involve a mechanism where alloys of Fe, C and Mn are used to influence the effect of radiation on mechanical and sub structural properties of the prototype material. For the budget material 2, the main hardening mechanism to be exploited is the grain boundary hardening mechanism. This one is concerned with the grain size properties where the grain boundaries are likely to offer a stoppage to the motion of dislocation and cause strengthening of the material during manufacturing. Precipitation hardening mechanism will be exploited for premium material 2. This is because the mechanism is one of the most potent procedures used in raising creep strength of the prototype material (Lee and Suh, 2006). Design process route Flow chart for design process route The above process that is expected to be employed based on justification with regard to certain design consideration issues. The programing and drafting stage is one of the most cost effective initiatives since it is expected to minimize wastage in the stages that follow throughout the design process. The operating conditions necessary for this state just like in other stages in the design process include adequate of material as well as appropriate tools and equipment. With regard to achievability, the cutting and fabrication processes involved in the design flow are possible with selected material, which is stainless steel. The availability of the machine shop in this design process route is one of the most effective alternatives since it really saves on the expenditure of unnecessary costs that would have been incurred in its absence (Lee and Suh, 2006). The fabrication process which involves a series of operations is expected to create the microstructure change that is desirable by incorporating processes like appropriate hardening mechanisms. The achievement of dimensional accuracy and minimization of defects is expected to be achieved at the stages of fabrication and final finishing of the multi-tool with regard to desirable features. The surface finishing at the assembly point will ensure that the surface condition matches the required specifications. The issues of controllability and integration are important to the extent that they will largely be considered in the management systems (Brink and Swift, 2009). Ideal tests to prove the achievement of target properties Various tests would be ideally carried out in order to indicate whether the targeted and desirable properties were met or not. These tests would include the hardness test performed with use of a Vickers’ hardness tester equipment to ascertain the attainment of the targeted hardness. The other one will involve the bend test performed on Instron 30 KN instrument to determine the peak load and maximum extension of the desired multi-tool. The metallography test performed on Struers’ Rotopol equipment would prove the achievement of targeted microstructural composition at cross section and surface areas (Jarmai and Farkas, 2008). Individual reflection The project and the team performance were largely successful considering that the project was performed to completion and within the specified frame of time. Several outcomes were also realised as expected following the performance of the project. All these achievements were possible due to the willingness by the team members to focus their attention towards the completion of the project and attainment of encouraging results. Having mentioned all that, there were also some negative aspects experienced as far the, performance of the team members was concerned. This included the lack of commitment towards the correction of some of the mistakes and shortcomings that were identified while working on the first project as a team. The issues hear was lack of proper coordination and cooperation among team members during and after the performance of the project. This proved to be challenging in the second project where confusions proved to be inevitable regarding the exact roles and responsibilities for every team member. Concerning the proposal, my individual reflection would be that we were not confident with all sections as a team. There were other sections where our confidence was least such provision of the actual information regarding the model under consideration. This was the case since the model was a new one and therefore if became challenging the team to obtain adequate and precise information that would be useful in the project. In general, the project was useful to all the team members since all of us had a learning experience whether good or bad. References Bhatnagar, N., & Srivatsan, T. S. (2009). Processing and fabrication of advanced materials, XVII. New Delhi, I.K. International Pub. House. Brink, C. G & Swift, P. (2009). Engineering fabrication: sheet metal work. Cape Town, Pearson Education South Africa. Jarmai, K., & Farkas, J. (2008). Design, fabrication and economy of welded structures: international conference proceedings 2008 Miskolc, Hungary, April 24-26, Lee, D. G., & Suh, N. P. (2006). Axiomatic design and fabrication of composite structures applications in robots, machine tools and automobiles. New York, Oxford University Press. Read More