A Level engineering help???

[Aaron9890]

I have to use MS word to write a report on how an engineering orthographic drawing would be used by a shop floor machinist. It contains GD&T, surface finishes and Secondar operations.

This is what i have written so far

Engineering drawing for technician’s assessment.

Before making a component, a machinist must use the necessary equipment and must study the drawings that are handed down by an engineering technician. First of all the machinist must select the machines and equipment that he needs to use and create the component in the drawing. On this drawing there are a number of signs and values that a machinist must examine before they can accurately create the component needed. The box at the bottom right of the diagram has a sufficient number of information for the machinist to read. One of the most important values is for dimension; this is seen as a value along the sides of the component. Before a machinist can start work on a component he needs to have the sufficient length and diameter of the material he is using. Another important thing he needs to check is the surface roughness and finishing. This is important as it has to meet customer expectations. The roughness of the component must be at a certain value for a certain component. Some suppliers need components with a rough surface while other components need to have a smooth finish. This is why it is important for a machinist to look at the value on the drawing for surface roughness. The sign for surface roughness is portrayed as a triangle on a diagonal line. General tolerance is a major part of a machinist’s job, it tells the manufacturing staff and machines what degree of accuracy and precision is needed on each area of the part. All dimensions have a tolerance so the machinist has to select a tolerance for each dimension.


What can i add or change in this??

I really need help to make sure i am doing it properly.

I would really appreciate any help, thanks very much.

Regards,

[jboggs]

You generally cannot get help with homework on this site but I will give you my feedback on what you have so far. You have a good start. The first question a machinist will ask himself is not what machines are needed, but what raw material is needed. Is it available? Does he already have something that would work? Then he looks at what processes (like welding) and machines could produce the finished part.

But my strongest suggestion to you is this - paragraphs!! If you want to be taken seriously in the business world you will learn how to structure your writings in paragraphs. By the way - congratulations on spelling, capital letters, and punctuation. I was glad to see that. In this day of texting that all seems to be completely ignored by the younger generations.

[PinkertonD]

Hi Aaron and welcome to the forum and the World of Engineering.

I am not familiar with the age-level associated with "A Level" but I am guessing it is up around 16 or 18 years of age. For that, you should be elaborating more, your run-on paragraph (as JB noted) is full of statements or headings rather than explanations.

You might try breaking the parts of that large paragraph into each group heading and then elaborate a little on the functions and considerations contained therein.

I plus+1, all that JB intoned and I too complement you on at least the Capitalization and Spelling. Text-ing is proving to be a sad indictment for our future use and understanding of the English language. However, our forefathers and we included have also been guilty of some travesties such as "gotten," et al. Don't get me started...

Don't be in a rush to complete the explanation. Try reading it back to yourself each time as if it was the first time you had read it. If you think from that reading you can understand the outlined process, then you have described it well. Good luck and keep up the good work. Asking here for critique to improve your essay shows a great work ethic and a good desire to excel.

[rjm60]

I agree with both previous posts about using more paragraphs to organize your thoughts. In fact, you should be working off an outline. Try making a list of the key points you want to make, then organize them in a way that will logically tell, or explain, your story.

One thing to consider is where the dwg will be used. In large manufacturing companies, the dwg may be just a small part of the manufactoring effort. A manufacturing engineer might create all kinds of planning instructions before a machinist ever sees the dwg.

In smaller shops, the machinist might be responsible for everything needed to make the part on the dwg. This latter scenario is what you're attempting to describe but you might want to make this clear at the beginning of your report (i.e. in the introduction).

Do a google search on how to create an outline and it will help you immensely.

[cmmbob]

Don’t forget a procedure that outlines to the layout technician how he can submit the mistakes he’s almost certainly going to find on most prints these days, so that corrections can be made. Very few…..VERY FEW so-called engineers truly know GD&T.

Most engineers I’ve had the misfortune of working with during my 25+ years in manufacturing are so incompetent it boggles my mind. Many lack any form of common sense and couldn’t engineer their way out of a wet paper bag.

My whole point in saying this is that unless some form of method is put in place for engineers to DEMONSTRATE proficiency in their field, the brain-drain will continue. Some countries still require an apprenticeship be served. Imagine of you people had to DEMONSTRATE your competence.

I’ve worked with some truly outstanding engineers over the years, but most of them are long retired now. Many were replace with inexperienced dimwits who do nothing but climb into positions of authority and reward incompetence.

[jboggs]

Come on now Bob, tell us what you really think!

Honestly though, welcome to the forum.

I think most of us on this forum would like to see some sort of standardized apprenticeship program for engineers in manufacturing. In fact I think they have something like that in Germany, maybe other places too. The closest we have in the US is EIT certification as a pre-cursor to full PE registration, on a state by state basis. But 95% of engineers in manufacturing don't have a PE. In fact, many don't even know what it is. (After I got mine a co-worker asked me what PE stood for. "Poor Excuse?", he said.) It isn't needed, or valued, in manufacturing. In fact, the PE licensing bureaus and system structure act like they don't even know the whole field of manufacturing even exists. Try finding any continuing education programs for the field of Machine Design for example. Zip, zero, nada.

I have always counciled young engineers to look at their new career as the BEGINNING of their real education. Unfortunately the schools haven't done a good job of instilling that frame of mind in their graduates.

[PinkertonD]

I have always counciled young engineers to look at their new career as the BEGINNING of their real education.

I had decided not to get involved in this one, but Bob, ya got me started damn it.

I worked some time many years back in Australia and the UK and Engineers straight out of College were regarded as coffee-getting-fodder for their first two years. They could be fired almost on a whim and at any time.

I have to say it was a great leveling experience for them to realize that all the book-lernin they had done at University counted for squat in the real world. They had to learn and learn fast or they were out looking for work selling hot dogs on street corners.

While I do not agree with the generalizations CMMBob makes, his comments do carry some validity, but I really don't think that Engineering is in such dire straits as he portrays. I have met a swathe of incompetents in all fields of endeavors, for as long as I have been meeting people in all fields of endeavors. We (Humans) are an imperfect creation.

[cmmbob]

O.K. to be fair, generalizing is.....generally a poor idea.

As an example, I'll use the Six Sigma (one of the latest "jingle" words in industry).

A large customer of the last place I worked decided to show us how well "Six Sigma" works, so they sent a team in to show us how it's done.

They selected a big running part that they were having a high number of warranty claims against. Too many of these parts were leaking out in the field, so they determined that the flange "lean" was causing the problem.

They designed and had built, a failry expensive checking gauge. It cost around $100,000 initially, and because they demanded 100% inspection of that part across this new guage, they paid us an extra $1 per part.

During the design phase of the guage, I advised them that if it weren't built a certain way, it would not capture the data they wanted. They built it exactly as I advised them not to, and it did not work, even though they thought it was still giving them the data they needed. Keep in mind, this was a group of <spit> Engineers with many years of experience.

So.........we gathered data for over 1 year. We sent them the data being collected by a DataMyte unit..........and nobody bothered to look at it (I learned from a close friend [real engineer] who worked for that customer).

Another six months passed, then out of the blue, they were suddenly congratulating themselves for a job well done, and even had a congratulatory dinner to celebrate their success.

Right now that product is still being ran, but the glorious gauge they built is rusting away in a cold warehouse.

Just WITF made those morons think they accomplished ANYTHING ? The ONLY thing they did was blow a wad of money, and waste a considerable amount of time that I was forced to spend coordinating things.

So am I knocking Six Sigma ? Heck no. It is a wonderful tool if it is applied and administered properly. These guys were clueless, and some of them have been promoted since.

How about design tolerances for components ? I have personally seen MANY MANY time where parts were FAR from the design specifications, and yet they worked just fine. I have also seen EngiNOTS who, upon discovery that a dimension did not meet design specifications, they insisted that it be "fixed" at great cost. I'm even talking about moving the location of a part number 1mm over, that had been in the same spot for over 20 years. THAT IS STUPID.

The things I mention are merely a grain of sand on a beach based on my experiences. This is why I am so outraged with the over-all level of engineering expertise in America.

[Android]

G'Day Aaron9890
If your doing A level you must me UK based ...well done that man.

As such a machinist a few things I would do with regard to any drawing.....

1.Drawing and job card/planning sheet detailing operations to be carried out are at the same issue.
2.The material should be issued with the drawing and job card...check its is of the right grade/spec and size sufficient to do the job as specified on the drawing.
3.Surface finish will be specified on the drawing as will the tolerances allowed for the different features of the component and can be varied to suit by the machinist during manufacture using differing speeds and feeds.
4.The operator will have to decide on the order the features are produced unless the planning sheet is very detailed, this will vary dependant on experience.
5. The drawing will also give the machinist clues as to the most important features and their relation to one another though the datums and tolerancing used, this will affect the oder of prouction and surfaces used to hold the component while machineing.
6. The machinist will inspect the component with regard to the drawing as its being produced and at the end before submitting for official approval...usualy

keep in touch
Andy P
Toolmaker / Machinist
Cobham Aviation Services

[Android]

G'Day CmmBob
can we assume mate you come from Aussie.....they are all pretty well balanced there .....a chip on both shoulders ;-)

[Matthijs Heerschap]

now you get an A on your report