AQA GCSE ENGINEERING - MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

Retrieval questions with answers on the “Engineering manufacturing processes” topic in AQA GCSE Engineering. Notes are currently unfinished.

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

What is additive manufacturing?

• Manufacturing method where a part is built up by adding material where necessary

Explain the process of sintering

• Mould of the product is made and filled w/metal powder

• High pressure is applied using an industrial press. Powder is heated below melting point causing particles of the metal powder to fuse together

State two advantages of sintering

• Energy efficient - metals are not heated above melting point.

• Metal powders can be mixed, products can be made with lower densities by using air gaps in the structure

Explain two advantages and two disadvantages of rapid prototyping

• ADVANTAGES:

• Time efficient - Parts made in a single operation using CAD.

• Unique designs - Internal features that can’t be made using conventional processes

• DISADVANTAGES:

• Material limitations - differences in properties of prototype and final product.

• Design limitations - unique features may be difficult to create using conventional manufacturing processes

What rapid prototyping process is used in 3D printers?

• Fused deposition modelling

Describe the process of fused deposition modelling

• 3D CAD drawing split into layers

• Base layer of polymer is melted and deposited from printing head

• printing head moves up a layer, deposits next layer

• process continues until full thickness is achieved

List the components used in stereolithography

• moving platform

• resin tank

• computer guided laser

Describe the process of stereolithography

• 3D CAD drawing split into layers

• Movable platform placed in resin tank

• laser draws the base layer, hardening the resin

• platform moves down a layer, completes the next layer

• process continues until desired thickness is achieved

MATERIAL REMOVAL

What is wasting/material removal?

• starting with a material larger than the ideal part and removing unnecessary material

What is cutting used for?

• cutting is used to remove parts of a material or reduce length of a material

How do saws work?

• saws use movement to cut away material.

• They contain lots of teeth that make grooves in the material

• teeth are angled out so the groove is wider than the blade, so the blade is less likely to get stuck

Name the different types of saws and what they cut

• Hacksaw/junior hacksaw - polymers, metals

• Coping saw - timbers, polymers

• Tenon/rip saw - structural timber

• Jigsaw - most types of material and thicknesses

What is shearing? Give examples of equipment that use shearing action

• Shearing is the process of cutting material by applying force from both sides, forcing the material apart

• Guillotines to cut thick sheets, shears or tinsnips to cut thin sheets

How does laser cutting work?

• Cuts thin sheets of polymer or metal using a laser, vaporising the material along the cut line

Define turning and explain how it works

• The use of a lathe to create a part with a circular profile

• workpiece is held by the lathe and rotated at high speeds and the cutting tool is pressed into it, removing material

Explain the difference between cylindrical turning and taper turning

• Cylindrical turning produces a uniform shape along the turned length. The diameter stays the same

• Taper turning produces a shape where the diameter is larger at one end and smaller at the other, resulting in a tapered shape

What is boring?

• Using a tool to produce a hole in a workpiece

• english language revision

Describe what milling machines are, define ‘slot’

• rotating tools that remove thin layers of metal at a time

• used to face a material which results in a flat surface

• slots are grooves in the material

Give an advantage of using milling to make PCBs rather than chemical etching

• milling does not require the use of chemicals that could damage the environment