Curriculum Development In Aerospace Manufacturing

Abstract

This paper describes a new course being developed in aerospace manufacturing technology. The course was offered for the first time in the Spring of 1996 as a senior/graduate level elective for Aerospace and Ocean Engineering (AOE), Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), and Mechanical Engineering (ME) students. We are developing the course in response to industry requests that aerospace engineering students learn about manufacturing. The purpose of the course is threefold. First, it serves as an introduction to manufacturing for AOE students. Second, it permits ISE students and ME students to extend their knowledge of manufacturing into an industry specific area. Finally, it brings together students with design and manufacturing interests into a common, focused course to discuss interrelated issues. The course was to begin by focusing on the product -- a design of a specific aircraft. (More will be said about this later.) Next, various manufacturing processes and technologies were introduced and discussed with respect to individual components and subsystems of the aircraft. Industry is helping us to develop case studies illustrating the manufacturing processing sequences associated with particular components. The lectures then focuses on manufacturing cost analysis and cost drivers in aerospace manufacturing. This was followed by a discussion of the manufacturing environment as an integrated system. Finally, concepts in design for producibility were addressed in light of the materials already presented. Laboratory demonstrations, field trips, and a term project served to reinforce class material and provided the students with some hands-on experiences.