Education + Training

Emerald Article: 12 SOME EXPERIMENTS IN PRODUCTION ENGINEERING Members of the Staff of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Leeds College of Technology

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To cite this document: Members of the Staff of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Leeds College of Technology, 1963"12 SOME EXPERIMENTS IN PRODUCTION ENGINEERING", Education + Training, Vol. 5 Iss: 7 pp. 329 - 330 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eb015312 Downloaded on: 24-11-2012 To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

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12

SOME EXPERIMENTS IN PRODUCTION ENGINEERING

Members of the Staff of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Leeds College of Technology (Head: J. Pidduck, M.A., M.I.Mech.E.)

Experiments in Production Engineering at the higher levels should not be confined to machine operations and processes. They should be designed to show the student how machine and tool design is related to speed and accuracy of metal working. The experiments described below are used to provide the data which is the basis for subsequent detailed analysis of the process. These experiments are incorporated in the final years of Higher National Certificate and Diploma courses, and in post-higher courses for full-time and part-time students. It will be noted that in some cases the equipment mentioned in our earlier contribution* is used, and we have found that this leads to useful links between the 'design' and 'production' subjects; in fact students in the first category fitted up and calibrated the press tool dynamometer and, at a later stage, assisted in the experiments. Milling A two-component (tangential and radial) milling dynamometer is shown in Figure 21. The work-piece is mounted in a vice which is secured to a cradle. The cradle is supported on four identical cantilever beams of I section,
* See TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND INDUSTRIAL TRAINING, p 276, June 1963.

which in turn are mounted in brackets secured to the table. Strain gauges are fixed to the beams, one on each top and bottom face, and pairs on each side of the web at the neutral axis. By suitable inter-connection, the top and bottom gauges are used to measure the vertical component, whilst the neutral axis gauges measure the horizontal component. It is desirable to have the mid-point of the depth of cut in line with the neutral axis, but small eccentricities do not have a serious effect. The gauges are connected into two channels of the dynamic strain recording equipment, and it is found that there is little interaction between the forces. Fairly extensive statical calibration was necessary and this is standardised against the built-in electrical calibration facilities. The apparatus is used for the following experiments: (1) Determination of forces in upand down-cut milling; the record enables an analysis of the force build-up to be studied. (2) Illustration of the effect of tooth eccentricity in the milling cutter. (3) Demonstration of arbor deflection. (4) Provision of experimental data for Merchant's analysis.

Press Work A specially designed press tool incorporates the removable punch and die. Punches and dies, each having a particular form of 'shear' are available, and are easily fitted during the course of an experiment. The press tool is generally as shown in Figure 22, and it is seen that strain gauges, suitably mounted on the punch holder, are arranged to pass a signal to the dynamic strain recording equipment, previously calibrated. The record of the forces forms the basis of further graphical and analytical procedures dealing with the effect of 'shear'. In this connection 'shear' refers to the angle or angles ground on the punch and die by means of which the cutting action is varied. Spark Erosion The objective is a study of the erosion rate of different materials used as electrode and workpiece in the spark machining process. The machine available for this experi-

Technical Education, July, 1963

329

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ment is the GKN spark erosion machine. Test-pieces are prepared in a variety of metals - iron, nickel, copper, aluminium, lead and zinc. In each case an electrodein dia. and of suitable length is used with a workpiece1in dia. by 1 in long; these are found adequate for the purpose of this experiment. Some details of the machine are shown in Figure 23, and the data leads to a study of wear ratios for various electrode/workpiece combinations. The main basis of the experiment is the work of Professor Llewelyn-Jones and is concerned with the effects on erosion rates of such physical properties of the metals as: (a) boiling point, (b) atomic weight, (c) specific heat. Analysis of Radial Drill Structure Dial gauges are fixed in the positions shown in Figure 24. A drill of maximum permissible diameter is set to operate at the speeds and feeds recommended by the manufacturer of the machine for drilling mild steel. The drill thrust is recorded on the dynamometer for various positions of the drill along the arm and of the arm up the column. The dial gauge readings are noted simultaneously. A further variation is obtained by introducing two additional holding down clamps, making six in all, thereby illustrating the reduced baseplate deflection. The results obtained enable the students: (a) to compare observed deflections with design calculations; (b) to analyse the structure with reference to the individual components, i.e. arm, column and base; (c) to suggest design modifications. Lathe Spindle Deflection A workpiece of similar diameter to that of the spindle is held in the chuck, and a hydraulic jack is located as illustrated in Figure 25. With dial gauges placed (a) above the jack, (6) at suitable positions between the bearings, the spindle deflection can be recorded under static loading. Replacing the hydraulic jack by a single-point cutting tool, corresponding deflections of the spindle may be noted for dynamic loading. The following points may then be analysed: (a) observed and calculated results for both static and dynamic condition; (6) deflection of bearings; (c) form of deflection. 330

Conclusions These experiments help to produce in the student an analytical approach to some of the really basic problems connected with metal working and machine tool design. This is manifest in much of the project work undertaken in the post-higher years, where students who have specialised in production subjects submit work which includes detailed design features. We find that some of these students exert considerable effort to investigate and use advanced testing methods (e.g. electronic equipment, photoelastic methods, brittle lacquer coatings, etc) in order to illustrate and verify their work.

Technical Education, July, 1963

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