Reference no: EM133154214 , Length: 1500 Words

Assignment

Introduction
The format and requirements for this first TMA are described here in some detail. Later TMAs will have similar requirements but the fine detail will not be repeated. You should refer back to the rubric here if you need reminding how your later TMAs should be presented.

The quality of presentation of your work is not separately assessed in T805 but you should present your answers in a clear, easy-to-follow format. Include your name, personal identifier (PI) and the assignment number in a header or footer to each page of your TMA. Make sure you number your answer to each separate assignment question clearly and subdivide your answers with numbered section headings where these are appropriate to the particular question.

Some questions include guidance on the number of words to use. These are a guide to the breadth and depth required in your answer. The number of words includes those in headings, tables, annotation to diagrams and illustrations, and figure captions. It excludes your list of references.

Include a count of the words you have written with your answer to any question where a word count is given.

There are no specific penalties for breaching these guidelines but you are unlikely to receive a high grade for your work if you do. Consider using tables and annotated diagrams to present complex information efficiently. Refer to ‘Presenting your TMAs' in the ‘T805 Assessment guide' for further details on how to present your work.

You should contact your tutor in advance to discuss any aspect of an assignment about which you are unsure. They will be happy to answer specific questions and provide more general support, but do not expect them to comment on drafts of your assignments. Contact your tutor again as soon as you
receive your script if there is any aspect of the marking or feedback that you would like to follow up.

Remember that when you cite your sources of information, including the Manupedia, you must also include a properly formatted reference to its origin using the Cite Them Right (CTR) version of Harvard.

Question 1
Managing references efficiently is a valuable skill for every postgraduate student. It involves locating, reviewing and storing references in such a way that they can be easily retrieved for use in the future.

In Activity A0.5 you considered which of three or more approaches you would prefer to use to manage the information you will collect and use during the module. Summarise how each approach works, including any others you have considered. Write one or two sentences about each approach. Add a further sentence or two about each of the three approaches critically appraising its usefulness to you as a potential user. Make sure what you write includes answers to the following questions.

a. What are the distinctive features of each approach?
b. What advantages and disadvantages are there to each of the approaches for you?
c. Which approach will you be using through the remainder of the module?

Question 2
You have so far modified or created a number of Manupedia entries in your personal workspace.

Starting in Activity A0.2 and ending with Activity A0.7 you updated the Manupedia entry for shot blasting by adding new information and a reference.
In Activity A1.10 you created a new entry for EPS moulding.
In Activity A2.1 you updated the Manupedia entry for sand casting.
In Activity A2.2 you added information on controlled mould filling to a casting process. In Activity A2.3 you created a new entry for a single crystal casting process.

a. Provide the web address for each of the pages you created in your personal workspace.
b. List the different sources of information you used for your new EPS moulding entry and comment on how reliable you feel each to be. Write no more than 50 words. Cite your sources carefully and add references to the end of the question as before.
c. Outline what you have learned from these information literacy activities and explain how that should help you locate reliable process information more efficiently in the future. Write no more than 150 words.

Question 3
Domestic bathrooms are fitted with an array of different products ranging from taps and other plumbing items, such as baths, shower cubicles, toilet bowls and radiators, to towel rails, clothes hooks, mirrors and so on. A wide range of processes from all of the major process categories are used in the manufacture of such bathroom fixtures and fittings.

From the activities and the information you have collected in your personal workspace, propose a way in which each of the following could be involved in the manufacture of fixtures or fittings for a domestic bathroom:

1. EPS moulding
2. sand casting
3. controlled mould filling.

Propose in each case how the process could be used in the manufacture of a particular fixture or fitting. Explain the characteristics of the process that would make it suitable for the use you have identified and outline its limitations for this particular application. Pay particular attention to the size and shape of the product and the time involved in its manufacture. For each example, suggest one element from the product design specification (PDS - see ‘Introducing manufacturing') for the relevant product that clearly justifies using the process you have selected.

It is important that you are prepared to use your imagination and speculate rather than look up how processes are currently used or how products are currently made. Marks will be awarded for how well you relate the size, shape and performance of the product to the process. You may choose a similar or different product for each of the three processes in the list.

Write no more than 600 words. Cite your sources carefully and add references to the end of your answer.

Question 4
The purpose of this question is to make you aware of what you have to do for the end-of-module assessment (EMA) and to start preparing for it.

Read the EMA guidance carefully. Choose a product that you think will be suitable for your EMA and write down some thoughts about its requirements in the form of a simple product design specification, concentrating on the functional performance, environmental constraints, manufacturing requirements and market requirements. Include quantitative data wherever possible. This need not be a firm commitment to the final product you will use for your EMA but it will allow your tutor to suggest how to focus your efforts. The following questions will help you organise your ideas. Write no more than 250 words in total.

How can you describe the main components of the product by using the shape hierarchy in ‘Introducing manufacturing'?
What range of materials could meet the engineering performance requirements in the PDS?
Where are the existing or potential markets for the product and how large are they? And how does the size of the market relate to how you would organise manufacturing of your product differently for different markets (see ‘Scales of production and process choice' in ‘Introducing manufacturing')?

Include a sketch or rough drawing of your chosen product that clearly shows its size and physical dimensions, to help focus your thoughts on the requirements of the manufacturing process, for later assignments.

You should identify the information you will need to find, and precisely what questions you will need to answer, to produce your EMA. You must be as specific as possible about what you don't yet know, but you are not expected to produce a manufacturing brief for this TMA.

Question 5
In Activity A0.8 you started to collect evidence of your progress towards achieving the module learning outcomes.

Add as much additional information as possible to the table you created for Activity A0.8 to cover your progress through ‘Introducing manufacturing' and to the end of Section 6 of ‘Casting', including Activities A2.1 to A2.3. Bear in mind that you have only just started the module and you will not yet have fully achieved any of the learning outcomes. You will also not start to develop certain learning outcomes until later. Take particular care to fill in the comments column for those outcomes where you have made some progress.

Activities

Activity A0.1 Starting a learning log

You need to allow about 90 minutes to complete this activity - 60 minutes to work through the relevant sections of the Computing Guide if they are unfamiliar to you, and 30 minutes to add material to your log.

If you don't already keep a learning journal or some other account of what you are learning and how, I recommend you start to do so now. Keeping track of your learning can make a significant contribution to a personal portfolio. You can use the portfolio when applying for jobs, or for career development. If you plan to apply for registration as a professional engineer or to upgrade your registration, a log of your learning achievements will be invaluable.

Activity

On T805 you are provided with a learning log that you can access from the Resources section of the module website.

To find out how to use the learning log, go to the section of the Computing Guide that covers your Module blog. Be aware that the T805 Learning log allows just you and your tutor to see and comment on your content.

Follow the instructions in the Computing Guide to create several log entries, add tags, and comment on at least one entry. Add at least two posts containing different words. Add some identical tags to several entries and add some tags that are unique to an entry. Test the search tools.

Each post has a text editor toolbar - which may not look identical to the screenshots in the Computing Guide. The guide also has a Text editor section with guidance. Look at the toolbar section to help you get the most out of your postings.

Notice how wherever tags appear - with individual entries or in the tag cloud that appears to the right of the learning log window - you can search for tags simply by clicking on them.

Background
A record of your learning will help you compile material for your TMAs and EMA. I have also prepared some notes on good practice with your learning log.

The T805 learning log on the module website allows you to develop your ideas and record outputs from activities. You can draw information from your log as and when needed to complete the assignments.

If you have already used the OU blog tool, you can import entries from your previous log into the T805 learning log. Similarly you will be able to export your log entries at the end of the
module. Instructions for importing and exporting are also in the Computing Guide.

You might want to get into the habit of having your learning log open in a separate window or browser tab while studying, so that you can make entries at any time while you are studying.

Activity A0.2 Exploring the Manupedia

Topics 2 to 7 focus on the principles behind different ways of processing materials. How the principles governing processes are understood and modelled changes little with time. But processes and
industrial practices evolve constantly. Detailed information about specific processes is presented in the Manupedia.

You will not just be using the information provided in the Manupedia but you will also be contributing to it and improving it. By exploring how manufacturers develop and operate processes you will build up a more complete picture of the manufacturing world than by concentrating exclusively on scientific principles.

This activity is presented as a series of separate steps to introduce you to the Manupedia. It will let you try out the tools that you will use throughout the module to work with the Manupedia information. These tools may be new to you or you may already be familiar with some or all of them. Whichever is the case, the process of working with the Manupedia itself will be one you have not met before so here you can go through it step by step.

Each step consists of one or more tasks for you to undertake with the Manupedia. Many of the tasks are illustrated by screenshots taken from screens that are similar to the ones you will see for yourself.

Working on-screen while following detailed instructions
Activities A0.2 and A0.7 involve using your computer while following some detailed written
instructions. If at all possible, you will find it easiest if you have both these instructions and the
Manupedia open in separate windows alongside each other. If not, you may find it helpful to print

out the instructions by clicking on 'View as single page' below the contents list on the left of this screen, and then printing directly from your browser. The only disadvantage to doing so is that you will have a hard copy of all the activities.

The steps that make up the whole activity are designed to help you:

access the process information that is provided copy selected items into your personal workspace start to annotate and develop process descriptions.

Navigating the Manupedia: finding your way around

You will need about an hour to complete all the steps for Activity A0.2.

This is the first of a series of steps that will help you approach the task of working with the Manupedia with confidence.

You may find links to the Manupedia anywhere within the text you are working on. But there is a fixed link near the top of the resources area.

Activity

1. Create a new window or new tab and open the module website.
2. Make sure you know where the link to the Manupedia is and click on it to go there.

3. Now you can see the front page of the Manupedia. The processes are grouped together under headings that correspond to the processing sections of the module. Try browsing under the various headings for a minute so that you can see how to move around within the Manupedia using the in-built links.

View larger image
Figure 2 Processes grouped together under headings

4. Once you have looked at a few Manupedia pages, move to the next step of this activity.

Navigating the Manupedia: returning home

When browsing the Manupedia you can quickly find yourself a long way from your starting point. You can always jump back to the front page using the breadcrumb trail near the top-left of the browser window.

You can click on any item in the breadcrumb trail to go straight there but note that some intermediate items may be missing - it isn't a record of all the links you have followed.

Activity

1. Use the breadcrumb trail to return to the front page of the Manupedia then move to the next step.

View larger image
Figure 3 Manupedia navigation

Finding a process and reviewing its information

For this exercise, I am going to concentrate on one process, shot blasting. It is a well- established surface engineering process. To get the process details showing on the screen you could browse to it but sometimes that won't be straightforward and you have a search facility you can use instead (under 'Search this wiki', top-left).

Activity

1. Type 'shot' into the search box followed by Return or click on the arrow.

View larger image
Figure 4 Search box in Manupedia

2. The search will return a result for every page of the Manupedia where the word
'shot' appears but one of those results will have the process name - shot blasting in this case - as its title. Now click on that to see the entry for shot blasting.

View larger image
Figure 5 Search box results

3. Take a minute to see how the information is organised on the page. The same layout is used for every process.
First there is a brief description of the process and what it does and that is followed by a graphical representation of the process operation. In this case, the graphics show different configurations of shot blasting machines. In other cases, there may be a 'strip cartoon' representation of a multistage process or different variants of the process itself.
Next comes technical performance information about the process, organised under three headings - manufacture, materials and design, naturally.
Finally there are references to other, related processes and relevant sources of information.

View larger image
Figure 6 View of the process and its information

4. Click on the left-most item in the bread-crumb trail to go back to the main website with the study planner showing ready for the next step.

Opening your personal workspace

You have your own personal T805 online workspace where you will edit and present - for assessment, among other purposes - versions of Manupedia processes that you will have researched. Just as with the Manupedia itself, you will see links to your workspace at appropriate points in your study but there is a fixed link in Resources.

Your personal workspace is exclusive to you. Only you and your tutor(s) can see what you do there.

Activity

1. Go to 'Resources' and click on the link to go to your T805 personal workspace now.

View larger image
Figure 7 T805 Personal workspace in 'Resources'

Importing a process to work on

If this is your first visit to your personal workspace, you will see that the front page includes some information about how it works. There is also one additional page already in your
workspace called 'My Manupedia'. Follow this link to arrive at the area where you will do any Manupedia-related activities.

What you will do next is to copy the shot blasting entry from the main Manupedia into your personal workspace so that you can work on it. You are going to do this using the import pages facility that you will find among a number of boxes at the bottom of the screen.

Activity

1. Click on 'Import pages' now.

View larger image
Figure 8 ‘Import pages' facility

2. You are now presented with a list of all the wikis you can currently access. This
may be just those for T805 or it could be a lot more. If the list is long, you may have to wait a few seconds for all the items to appear and you will have to scroll until you find the section for T805. There you will find the Manupedia listed.
Now click on the button to 'Import from Manupedia'.

View larger image
Figure 9 ‘Import from Manupedia' button

3. This next screen is a long list of all the processes in the Manupedia, organised hierarchically. You can select any or all of them using the check boxes. Try selecting and deselecting a few entries just to get the idea. For this exercise you just need the shot blasting page.

Find shot blasting in the list and select it. Make sure you uncheck any other box you may have checked.

Depending on your browser, you may be able to use the browser itself to search for the right entry rather than having to scroll through the list.

View larger image
Figure 10 Selecting processes using check boxes

4. Now scroll right to the bottom of the page and click on the 'Import pages' button.

Cloning a process entry to your personal workspace

This next screen gives you some control over how you import this entry to your workspace. At the top, the import information lists the page(s) you have chosen. Next is the 'Page links' section which determines the target location for the imported page(s) in your workspace.

Activity

1. Click on the drop-down menu and choose the page where you want the new entry to appear. I suggest you put it straight into 'My Manupedia'.

View larger image
Figure 11 Drop-down menu

2. You can now confirm your selections by clicking on 'Import pages'. The subsequent screen shows the progress of the import and then confirms whether it succeeded. If not, you'll have to go back and start again.
3. Click on 'Continue' to be taken to My Manupedia in your personal workspace.

Activity

1. Click on the Edit tab to open the editor window.
2. Just to try out the basic editor, edit one of the words in the first line of the general description. I suggest changing the word 'direction' to 'projection' to give a greater sense of the force of the process.

a. Move your cursor over the word you want to change and double-click to select the whole word.
b. Type the new word 'projection'.
c. Check that the text says what you expect.
d. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on 'Save changes'.

3. You'll see the page now includes your new word along with the note icon from the note you added earlier. Notice that the page header lists you as having made the latest edit to the page, with the date and time.
Click on the History tab to see how this appears there. Notice that the most recent change is listed at the top.

View larger image
Figure 19 History tab view

4. Click on changes to see the previous version of the page on the left and the new version on the right. The word you deleted is shown on the left in red with a little '-' next to it and what you replaced it with is on the right highlighted in green with a
little '+'.
5. Go back to the history view by clicking on the link just above the two pages. Now click on changes for the previous edit where you added a note. Notice that it says that no text has changed but annotation has been added. In this way, your tutor can see all the work you have done on any page.

Additional information
The editor window is standard across many activities in the module website. If this is not your first module, you will probably have used it to create forum messages. There are many controls in the text editor and there is a whole section of the online Computing Guide devoted to it.

If the text editor window appears rather small on your screen, you can expand it by dragging the bottom right-hand corner - although this doesn't work with Internet Explorer. If you are planning more than just a simple change of wording on a page, expand the toolbar by clicking on the
'Toolbar Toggle' icon at the top-left corner of the editor window. That provides two more rows of tools.

Further information
There is a lot more detail on using wikis in the online Computing Guide, which you can look at if you need help. There is scope to add any amount of text to your personalised Manupedia entries, along with graphics, animations and links to external material.

What is expected of you during the module will be relatively modest on this technical level. You should find most of what you need to do for T805 straightforward once you have mastered these few basics. If you would like to go further, however, there will be plenty of help available.

Activity A0.3 Information literacy in the learning outcomes

You should spend no more than 10 minutes on this activity.

This activity and Activities A0.4 and A0.5 are designed to help you get to grips with the OU Library and to locate and retrieve information.

When it comes to doing your own searches later you can also call on news articles and manufacturers' publicity to find what you need to know.

Activity

Scan the module learning outcomes and think about how information literacy is part of these outcomes.

Background
The OU Library has an information literacy skills framework that has four separate elements:

1. understanding the information landscape
2. planning and carrying out a search
3. critically evaluating information
4. managing and communicating information.

It is the second and third of these that are the focus for your use of information. The fourth item plays an important but lesser part. Your understanding of the literature landscape will come out of the experience you will gain on this and other modules.

Activity A0.4 Searching and managing references

You need to allow around one hour for this activity.

The Postgraduate skills for STEM website is a shared resource to support you through all your studies. There is a permanent link to it on the 'Library resources' page. The website covers
much more than you need just for this module.

If you are confident that you have the basic skills to find information in the published literature, you can move straight on to this activity. If not, read the background information below.

Activity

Work through the ‘Advanced search techniques' activity. You don't need to memorise the detail but it is useful to be aware that sophisticated ways exist for refining search terms. This will prove useful as you progress towards your qualification.

Now work through the ‘Constructing bibliographies and bibliographic software' activity and make sure you understand how you can manage your own references.

Background
If working with information through the OU Library is new to you, go to the Postgraduate skills for STEM website now and look at the ‘Are you ready for postgraduate study?' diagnostic quiz to gauge the level of your skills. You can use the quiz to decide if you need to spend some more time working through any of the other materials before continuing with the activity.

Activity A0.5 Managing your references

You should spend about 20 minutes on this activity.

You will spend a good proportion of your study time on this module locating and retrieving
information. So you need to plan carefully how you are going to keep track of what you find.

Activity

You have three options for managing references that are supported by the OU:

1. place them in your learning log as you find them and add tags so that you can locate them again
2. create one or more bibliography pages in your personal workspace
3. set up an account with one of the bibliographic management services that are referred to in the OU Library materials.

For each of the three options, write down some advantages and disadvantages from your personal perspective so that you can decide which is the best for you. Include one or two more do-it-yourself approaches that you might also consider.

Enter your thoughts in the response box on this page and/or save them in your learning log. If you use the box on this page, you can come back here and retrieve them later. I'll ask you to summarise your thinking in what you write for TMA 01.

Background There are other tools for handling information but you will be able to get technical support from the University for those listed. So choosing one of these has a distinct advantage. If you decide to switch from one to another later in the module, you should not find it difficult if you have recorded your references carefully and consistently.

Activity A0.6 Locating relevant information

You should allow 45 minutes for this activity.

Having reviewed your learning outcomes and thought about how to manage your references, you now get the chance to find information about the process you have already been working with.

This activity introduces you to databases that you will find a fruitful source of high quality
information. You will find some specific information about the process you looked at in the
Manupedia in Activity A0.2. You will need this for Activity A0.7, which connects your information gathering to the Manupedia.

Activity

Work through the Introduction to Library Search activity to find out how to use the search tool to find relevant information on your topic.

Activity A0.7 Updating the Manupedia

You should allow about 40 minutes for this activity.

At the end of this activity you will have produced a revised Manupedia entry in your personal workspace.

Before you start make sure you know how to retrieve the bibliographic information you have saved for the reference or references you found in Activity A0.6.

Activity

1. Look through the article or articles you retrieved in Activity A0.6. Identify one item of information that you feel represents some innovation or recent development of the process you have been looking at. Make a note of what it says.
2. Navigate to your personal Manupedia entry that you amended previously.
3. Next you are going to incorporate your new-found piece of information in the Manupedia entry.

a. Look through the process details and identify a suitable place to enter your new information. You need to use your judgement as to whether it is additional information, in which case it can just be added in an appropriate fashion. Or it might require a change to the information currently presented.
b. Edit the entry to incorporate the new information, and then add a citation to the source of the information (click on the Edit tab, make your changes, scroll to the bottom, and click on Save changes). If you are not sure about how to use citations, just add (author surname, date) for now after your inserted or altered text.
c. Check that your changes have been saved accurately.

4. Finally you need to add a full reference for the change.

a. Find the bibliographic reference you have saved and copy it to the clipboard. Depending on which reference manager you are using, you may need to select the reference you want from your list and then create a bibliography from that reference.
b. Go to your wiki page and scroll to the bottom. Click on 'Add new section', title the new section 'References' and click the 'Add' button. Now paste the formatted reference into the new section, then scroll to the bottom of the page and save the changes.
c. Check that your new section displays as you expect.

Activity A0.8 Consolidating your learning

You should spend about 40 minutes on this activity.

This activity links with other activities that involve the module learning outcomes. It is the start of a process that will form part of your assessment.

Activity

Create a table like Table A0.1 in a suitable document or location. You can copy Table A0.1 and paste it into a new page in your personal workspace.

Fill in as many of the empty spaces as you can to the best of your ability and make sure you save your work.

Bear in mind the learning outcome focus that you identified in Activity A0.3 but think
whether you have also learnt something relating to any of the other learning outcomes.
Maybe you came across something new in your literature search that gave you an insight into that part of the manufacturing world.

Attachment:- Activities.rar