Conventional vs Digital Fabrication

Conventional Manufacturing Processes

• Fabrication is the process of creating component parts for products or structures, or constructing items from standardized parts.
• Synonyms for fabrication include manufacturing, production, forming, framing, and making.
• Manufacturing is the process of converting raw materials into finished products for consumers.
• Raw materials are materials found in nature.
• The manufacturing process is the process of making a product.

Digital Fabrication

• Digital fabrication uses computer-aided designs (CAD) programmed into computer numerical control (CNC) and 3D-printing technologies to automate the fabrication process.
• This automation reduces lead times, costs, and material usage while improving accuracy and quality.
• Common digital fabrication technologies include CNC machining and 3D printing.

Digital Fabrication Workflow

• Digital fabrication is a design and manufacturing workflow where digital data drives manufacturing equipment for various part geometries.
• This data usually comes from CAD software and is then transferred to CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) software.
• Digital fabrication uses digital data to drive manufacturing equipment, enabling more flexible and efficient fabrication processes than conventional methods.

Modern Product Development Process

• The modern product development process involves several stages: idea generation and concept development, market research, business planning, prototyping, crowdfunding, design and production, and marketing and distribution strategy.
• Students completing the course will be able to develop prototypes (virtual and physical), design using CAD/CAM tools, and use conventional machines, CNC, and 3D printing technologies for production.

Manufacturing Process and 5 M's

• The manufacturing process interacts with various factors, often grouped as the "5 M's": men, methods, machinery, material, and money.
• Men (personnel) affect the process.
• Methods include procedures, processes, and planning.
• Machinery includes the tools, equipment, and machinery used.
• Material includes raw materials and resources needed for production.
• Money covers the financial aspects of the process.

Manufacturing Process Classifications

• Manufacturing processes are categorized into material removal, constant material process, and material adding processes.
• Material Removal Machining further divides into conventional and non-conventional machining methods.
• Materials constant process includes metal forming processes, which can be further classified into forging, rolling, extrusion, and sheet metal operations.
• Material adding processes include material joining processes involving permanent or temporary joints like welding, riveting, brazing, soldering, and using adhesives.

Casting Process

• Casting involves pouring molten material into a cavity of the desired shape to solidify.
• The cavity (mold) is made in a suitable material, and the solidified product is removed from the mold after cooling.
• Frying pans, machine bases, automobile engines, carburetors, and gun barrels are examples of cast products.

Machining Processes

• Machining processes involve removing unwanted material to give a workpiece a desired shape.
• Manual processes or machines like machining tools and cutting tools can be used for this.
• Machining enables the manufacturing of components with tight tolerances unattainable by other methods.
• Drilling, turning, milling, and grinding are examples of metal cutting processes to form component shapes.

Machining - Lathe

• Lathes use various attachments and accessories for specialized machining tasks. Typical lathe components include a headstock, chuck, toolpost, compound rest, and tailstock.
• Turning, a basic lathe operation, reduces the diameter of a workpiece by removing excess material.
• Facing is an operation to finish the end face or end surface of a workpiece.
• Knurling creates a textured pattern on a surface.
• Grooving creates a groove in the surface of a cylinder.

Parting and Chamfering

• Parting involves cutting a workpiece into two pieces.
• Chamfering bevels sharp edges of a workpiece to prevent injuries or for aesthetic appeal.
• These are both operations typically performed with specialized tools on a lathe.

Taper Turning

• Taper turning creates a gradually changing diameter along a workpiece, forming a conical shape.
• Taper angle and conicity are measured and controlled during this process using special tools on a lathe.

Thread Cutting

• Thread cutting creates a helical grove on a cylindrical workpiece, with standardized "V" or squared shapes.
• This process employs a single point tool on a lathe, using a precise cutting action, to form the thread profile.

Forming Processes

• Forming processes permanently deform a material without removing any material, to create the desired shape of a component.
• Examples include rolling, forging, drawing, and extrusion.
• Rolled metal products are produced by applying pressure between rolls to shape it.
• Forming uses techniques such as compression, tension, and shear to change a material's shape.

Powder Metallurgy

• Powder metallurgy joins fine powders of materials, pressing them into the desired shape and then heating them to bond the powders and create the desired properties.
• Products made via this method have dimensional precision and usually require no additional processing, ranging from small components to larger parts.
• Typical products include ballpoint pen tips and components for electric bulbs, and other precision parts.

Joining Processes

• Joining processes attach two or more pieces to make a single component or structure.
• Processes include welding (permanent), brazing (semi-permanent), soldering (semi-permanent), and using temporary joints like nuts, bolts, and screws, and adhesives.

Allied Activities

• Allied activities include measurement, assembly, and property changing to complete the manufacturing process.
• Measurement ensures the product meets design specifications by measuring sizes, smoothness, and other features.
• Assembly involves combining the constituent parts of a product to create the final product.
• Property changing alters material properties (e.g., hardening or softening) to make shaping and manufacturing easier.

Production Types

• Production is classified as job shop, batch, or mass production based on the volume of production and types of products.
• Job shop is for low-volume, special builds;
• Batch production is used for medium-volume outputs; and
• Mass production is highly repetitive large-scale manufacturing.

Selection of Manufacturing Processes

• The choice of manufacturing process depends on the volume of production, expected quality of product, technical viability, and cost-effectiveness.

Explore the differences between conventional manufacturing processes and digital fabrication techniques. This quiz covers key concepts, technologies and workflows involved in the fabrication of products. Test your knowledge on fabrication methods and their applications in the industrial landscape.