Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE MFE3208

 
TITLE Digital Manufacturing

 
UM LEVEL 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

 
DESCRIPTION Through this study-unit, those students interested in taking up a career in industry will be provided with lectures providing background to the underlying principles and constraints of different Digital Manufacturing (DM) system elements. Students will in particular be exposed to approaches through which both the physical and information flows taking place in a manufacturing organization can be integrated by means of digital systems.

As a result of the knowledge gained, students will be in a position to seek solutions on how existing factories can be improved and also how to design smart factories of the future. The DM unit will be complimented with practical lectures, which will include hands-on experience of CNC machining. In addition, students will carry out practical sessions/ assignments related to the use of CAD/CAM for automated CNC machining.

Topics covered are:

- Role of Product Models for DM Types of PMs; Neutral Representation of Product Models; Engineering Databases; Time-dependent and independent data; PLM & PDM.
- The roles of Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) in manufacturing – Principles of computer-aided part programming; process planning, post-processing, familiarisation with a commercial CAD/CAM package.
- Manufacturing Information Communication Technology; Open Systems in Manufacturing; ISO-7 layer; MAP; Principles of Computer Networks; Enterprise Wide Integration; The Distributed Enterprise; E-manufacturing.
- Manufacturing Intelligence For Flexible Automation; Knowledge Processing; Intelligent Systems; The Role of AI in Manufacturing; Adaptive Control; Machine Vision; Maintenance Systems.
- Principles of Image Processing (IP); Optics, illumination techniques; applications of IP in manufacturing processes (e.g. automatic visual inspection).
- Use of Digital Factory tools for the analysis, design and simulation of digital manufacturing layouts.
- The Design of FMS and DM Systems; Systems Thinking; Group Technology; IDEFx, CIMOSA concepts; DM System Simulation.

Study-unit Aims:

The overall aim of this study-unit is to introduce students to the multi-faceted role which Information Technology (IT) plays in Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT). By the end of this unit, students would be able to select elements to design a DM system. In addition, students will learn CNC machining that is central to a DM environment. The acquired competence will collectively enable students to create digital manufacturing environments as a means by which to to contribute to high valued added manufacturing.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- describe the underlying principles and constraints of different CIM system elements;
- describe how both the physical and information flows taking place in a manufacturing organization can be integrated by means of digital systems;
- describe how existing factories can be improved;
- describe how factories of the future can be designed.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- apply DM modeling techniques;
- generate CNC machined parts;
- select the right DM system elements for a specific manufacturing organization;
- design a DM system by integrating different digital sub-systems.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

- Roger Hannan, 1997. Computer Integrated Manufacturing from concepts to realisation, Addison-Wesley.
- Groover Mikell P., 2009. Automation, Production Systems and Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Prentice Hall.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Pre-requisite Study-unit: MFE2004

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture, Ind Study, Practical, Project & Tutorial

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM2 Yes 20%
Examination (2 Hours) SEM2 Yes 80%

 
LECTURER/S Jonathan C. Borg (Co-ord.)
Emmanuel Francalanza

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit