Design for Manufacture (H7104)

15 credits, Level 5

Autumn teaching

What does it take for a design to be described as ‘designed for manufacture?’ This module aims to answer this question and introduce you to the principles, methodologies and techniques of best practice – known in the engineering and product design disciplines as 'design for manufacture.'

The manufacturing sector is the biggest employer of engineers and product designers. Having a basic understanding of design for manufacture is a valuable skill for product design and engineering students.

Through this module, you’ll learn about concepts of industrial engineering, operations management, materials and processes, product design, quality control, sustainability, and CAD, among others. You’ll also gain an understanding of how these factors have an impact on the manufacturing feasibility of a product. Other topics covered include:

  • tolerancing
  • process capability
  • production types
  • product design specification
  • rapid manufacturing
  • cradle-to-cradle design
  • solid 3D modelling
  • industrial (ISO and BS) standards
  • technical drawings
  • cost estimation
  • project planning.

You have the opportunity to engage in a hands-on design project, where you’ll meet new people and/or deepen relationships with your existing classmates. You will gain transferable skills, such as critical thinking, communication, leadership and project management. Working in teams, you work on a project in which you tackle the redesign of a product from brief interpretation to manufacturing specification. Special emphasis is placed on following industrial standards in the design and specification of assembly components.

Teaching

69%: Lecture
31%: Practical (Laboratory)

Assessment

100%: Coursework (Group presentation, Group submission (written))

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 32 hours of contact time and about 118 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses: