Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 3/e (published by Wiley)

MPGroover 2007

42 MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING
Review Questions
42.1

Define manufacturing engineering.

Answer. Manufacturing engineering is a technical staff department responsible for planning the
manufacturing processes for a product and its components.

42.2

What are the principal activities in manufacturing engineering?

Answer. Principal activities of manufacturing engineering are (1) process planning, (2) technical
problem solving and continuous improvement, and (3) advising the product designers in design for
manufacturability.

42.3

Identify some of the details and decisions that are included within the scope of process planning.
Answer. Table 42.1 lists the following details and decisions in process planning: (1) the processes
required and the sequence in which they are performed; (2) equipment selection; (3) tools, dies,
molds, fixtures, and gages that will be needed; (4) cutting tools and cutting conditions for
machining operations; (5) methods for manual operations (e.g., assembly) and manual portions of
machine cycles (e.g., loading and unloading a production machine); (6) time standards for each
operation; (7) estimates of production costs; (8) moving materials and work-in-progress in the
factory; and (9) plant layout and facilities design. Not all of these details and decisions are the
exclusive responsibility of the manufacturing engineering department.

42.4

What is a route sheet?

Answer. A route sheet is a listing of the production operations and their sequence required to make
a given part. It also lists the equipment and special tooling that is required.

42.5

What is the difference between a basic process and a secondary process?

Answer. A basic process establishes the starting geometry of the work material; e.g., casting, rolled
sheet metal, drawn metal bar. Secondary processes are used to refine the starting geometry and
transform the material into final shape and size; machining and sheet metal pressworking are
common secondary processes.

42.6

What is a precedence constraint in process planning?

Answer. A precedence constraint is a limitation on the order in which processing or assembly
operations can be performed on a given workpart; for example, a hole must be drilled before it can
be tapped.

42.7

In the make or buy decision, why is it that purchasing a component from a vendor may cost more
than producing the component internally, even though the quoted price from the vendor is lower
than the internal price?
Answer. Because purchasing the component may cause idle equipment and staff in the factory that
the company must still pay for.

42.8

Identify some of the important factors that should enter into the make or buy decision.
Answer. The factors in the make or buy decision include (1) cost, (2) whether the process is
available internally, (3) production quantity, (4) Product life, (5) whether or not the component is a
standard commercially available hardware item, (6) supplier reliability, and (7) possible need for
alternative sources.

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students enrolled in courses for which the textbook has been adopted. Any other reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted
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Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 3/e (published by Wiley)

42.9

MPGroover 2007

Name three of the general principles and guidelines in design for manufacturability?
Answer. Table 42.5 lists the following DFM principles and guidelines: (1) Minimize number of
components. (2) Use standard commercially available components. (3) Use common parts across
product lines. (4) Design for ease of part fabrication. (5) Design parts with tolerances that are within
process capability. (6) Design the product to be foolproof during assembly. (7) Minimize flexible
components. (8) Design for ease of assembly. (9) Use modular design. (10) Shape parts and
products for ease of packaging. (11) Eliminate or reduce adjustment required.

42.10

What is concurrent engineering and what are its important components?

Answer. Concurrent engineering is an approach used by companies to reduce the time to bring a
new product to market. It includes (1) design for manufacturability, (2) design for quality, (3) design
for life cycle, and (4) design for cost. It also includes certain organizational changes that attempt to
bring different functions in the company together during product design to consider all possible
aspects of the product.

42.11

Identify some of the enabling technologies for concurrent engineering?

Answer. Enabling technologies mentioned in the text are CAD/CAM, electronic mail, the Internet,
and rapid prototyping.

42.12

What is meant by the term design for life cycle?

Answer. Design for life cycle means that factors relating to the product after it has been
manufactured should be taken into consideration in design. These factors include ease of
installation, reliability, maintainability, serviceability, upgradeability, and disposability.

Multiple Choice Quiz

There is a total of 19 correct answers in the following multiple-choice questions (some questions have
multiple answers that are correct). To attain a perfect score on the quiz, all correct answers must be given.
Each correct answer is worth 1 point. Each omitted answer or wrong answer reduces the score by 1 point,
and each additional answer beyond the correct number of answers reduces the score by 1 point. Percentage
score on the quiz is based on the total number of correct answers.
42.1

The manufacturing engineering department in an organization is best described as which one of the
following: (a) branch of the sales department, (b) concurrent engineers, (c) management, (d)
product designers, (e) production supervisors, or (f) technical staff function?
Answer. (f).

42.2

Which of the following are the usual responsibilities of the manufacturing engineering department
(four best answers): (a) advising on design for manufacturability, (b) facilities planning, (c)
marketing the product, (d) plant management, (e) process improvement, (f) process planning, (g)
product design, (h) solving technical problems in the production departments, and (i) supervision of
production workers?
Answer. (a), (e), (f), and (h).

42.3

Which of the following are considered basic processes, as opposed to secondary processes (four
correct answers): (a) annealing, (b) anodizing, (c) drilling, (d) electroplating, (e) forward hot
extrusion to produce aluminum bar stock, (f) impression die forging, (g) rolling of sheet steel, (h)
sand casting, (i) sheet metal stamping, (j) spot welding, (k) surface grinding of hardened steel, (l)
tempering of martensitic steel, and (m) turning?
Answer. (e), (f), (g), and (h).

Excerpts from this work may be reproduced by instructors for distribution on a not-for-profit basis for testing or instructional purposes only to
students enrolled in courses for which the textbook has been adopted. Any other reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted
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Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 3/e (published by Wiley)

42.4

MPGroover 2007

Which of the following would be considered secondary processes, as opposed to basic processes
(four correct answers): (a) annealing, (b) arc welding, (c) drilling, (d) electroplating, (e) extrusion to
produce steel automotive components, (f) impression die forging, (g) painting, (h) plastic injection
molding, (i) rolling of sheet steel, (j) sand casting, (k) sheet metal stamping, (l) sintering of pressed
ceramic powders, and (m) ultrasonic machining?
Answer. (c), (e), (k), and (m).

42.5

Which of the following are operations to enhance physical properties (three correct answers): (a)
annealing, (b) anodizing, (c) die casting, (d) drilling, (e) electroplating, (f) rolling of nickel alloys,
(g) sheet metal drawing, (h) sintering of pressed ceramic powders, (i) surface grinding of hardened
steel, (j) tempering of martensitic steel, (k) turning, and (l) ultrasonic cleaning?
Answer. (a), (h), and (j).

42.6

A route sheet is a document whose principal function is which of the following (one best answer):
(a) continuous improvement, (b) design for manufacturability, (c) provides authorization for
material handlers to move the part, (d) quality inspection procedure, (e) specifies the process plan,
or (f) specifies the detailed method for a given operation?
Answer. (e).

42.7

In a make-or-buy situation, the decision should always be to purchase the component if the vendors
quoted price is less than the in-house estimated cost of the component: (a) true or (b) false?
Answer. (b).

42.8

Which one of the following types of computer-aided process planning relies on parts classification
and coding in group technology: (a) generative CAPP, (b) retrieval CAPP, (c) traditional process
planning, or (d) none of the preceding?
Answer. (b).

Excerpts from this work may be reproduced by instructors for distribution on a not-for-profit basis for testing or instructional purposes only to
students enrolled in courses for which the textbook has been adopted. Any other reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted
by Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without the permission of the copyright owner is unlawful.

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