Hands-on Activity Machine-Free Manufacturing

Learning Objectives

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Describe the differences between the manufacturing methods of milling, extrusion, injection molding, and forging.
• Understand vocabulary related to manufacturing and machining.
• Think and problem solve how to best use machines given design requirements.

Educational Standards

Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards.

All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN), a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org).

In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g., by state; within source by type; e.g., science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc.

NGSS: Next Generation Science Standards - Science

Materials List

Each group will need:

• three sets of station materials for each station (see details for each station below)
• Engineering Design Worksheet (1 per student)
• Manufacturing Research Worksheet (1 per student)
• Materials Research Worksheet (1 per student)
• Lab Worksheet (1 per student)
• Teacher Rubric (1 per student)

Milling Station Materials:

• pieces of paper in various colors and thicknesses (at least 2 pieces of paper needed for each rotation)
• 1 blender (available online on Amazon)
• 1 tub (to catch water)
• 1 piece of screen material to lay the pulp across (e.g., window screen or screen door)
• water (varying amounts)
• various food coloring colors
• cotton balls
• plant material

Extrusion Station Materials:

• parchment paper or waterproof tablecloth
• 1 icing bag (available at Amazon) (needed for each rotation)
• 1 2-oz container of Play-Doh (available at Amazon) (needed for each rotation)
• 1 ruler

Injection Molding Station Materials (per rotation):

• parchment paper or waterproof table cloth
• 1 icing bag (available at Amazon) (needed for each rotation)
• 1 2-oz container of Play-Doh (available at Amazon) (needed for each rotation)
• 1 designed ice cube tray (such as this honeycomb pattern tray available at Walmart)

Forging Station Materials:

• a 1’ sheet of aluminum foil per person (this is all they get!)

For the entire class to share:

• hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
• pen or pencil
• response cards or paper for students to write down answers
• laptop or computer with projector to display Teacher Presentation to students.

Worksheets and Attachments

Pre-Req Knowledge

• Students should be familiar with materials such as metals, polymers, and composites.
• Students should be familiar with the steps of the engineering design process.

Introduction/Motivation

Have you ever wondered how an electrical wire is created? The kind of wire with metal in the middle and plastic on the outside? Have you ever wondered how swords were made back during the Renaissance period? What about those cool keychains you have on your keys or backpack? How do you think they were made?

Today we are going to explore different processes that are part of manufacturing. We are going to talk about material mixer milling, extrusion, injection molding, and forging. We are also going to talk about different kinds of materials and how they are used and made.

After we talk about different manufacturing processes and try some of them out, you will be making your own creature (real or not), a habitat, and a meal. You will give your creature a name, and a story, and tell how it was made during a presentation that will be conducted at the end of the activity.

Procedure

Background

You should be familiar with the following manufacturing processes, and how they appear in our everyday lives. You should also have an understanding of material properties and how materials change when they undergo different manufacturing processes.

• Milling is a cutting process that removes material from the surface of the work piece. Milling is extensively used in the manufacture of surgical tools and medical implants.
• Material mixer milling is a process in which soft, hard, brittle, and fibrous materials are pulverized in dry and/or wet modes. Mixer mills are often used in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and food industries for producing fine powders and blending materials.
• Extrusion is the process of forming something by forcing or pushing it out, especially through a small opening. Examples of extrusion include pasta, pipes, windowpanes, gears, many snack foods, aluminum cans, railings, shower stalls, and windshield wipers.
• Injection molding is a complex manufacturing process that injects and sets plastic into the shape of a metal mold. Injection molding is used for making water and soda bottles, small rigid parts (especially with small details), and larger items such as storage bins and tubs, detergent bottles, and flexible plastic materials.
• Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer. Examples of forging include engine valves, couplings, bolts, screws, and other fasteners, cutting tools, wear parts, high-strength wires, dies, high-strength fasteners, farming equipment, farming structures, and building structures.

Engineering Design Process: The engineering design process (EDP) is a process used to teach and apply concepts and skills in an integrated manner. The EDP encourages open-ended problem solving and learning from failure.

Before the Activity

• Gather materials and set up each station. Ensure that there are enough materials at each station for all groups to complete one rotation and have an extra set of materials for the EDP.
• Make copies of the Engineering Design Worksheet (1 per student).
• Make copies of the Manufacturing Research Worksheet (1 per student).
• Make copies of the Materials Research Worksheet (1 per student).
• Make copies of the Lab Worksheet (1 per student).
• Make copies of the Teacher Rubric (1 per student).

During the Activity

Introduction and Research (Days 1-2)

1. Read through the Introduction / Motivation section.
2. Show the Teacher Presentation to the class.
3. (Slide 2) Ask students the Pre-Activity Questions from the Pre-Activity Assessment and take a few minutes to have students share their answers to each question.
4. (Slide 3) Hand out the Materials Research Worksheet (1 per student).
5. Give students time to conduct research via the internet and fill out the Materials Research Worksheet (or assign as homework).
6. (Slide 4) Hand out the Manufacturing Research Worksheet (1 per student).
7. (Slide 5) Give students time to conduct research via the internet and fill out the Manufacturing Research Worksheet (or assign as homework).
8. (Slide 6) Introduce the four manufacturing processes in the activity.
9. (Slides 7-18) Give students information on each of the manufacturing processes. Have them record their answers to questions on Slides 9, 12, 15, and 18 on their Manufacturing Research Worksheet.
10. (Slide 19) Explain the engineering design process and go through the EDP figure in the Teacher Presentation.
11. Hand out the Engineering Design Worksheet (1 per student).
12. (Slide 20) Explain the engineering challenge to create a creature with a habitat and food item.
13. Hand out the Lab Worksheet (1 per student).
14. (Slide 21) Explain how the lab stations will work. Tell students that they should use a small section of the screen at the material mixer milling station so that there is enough room on the screen for all groups to use it. Instructions from the Lab Worksheet are reprinted below; have students follow along with their Lab Worksheets as you explain the stations.
15. Because the material mixer mill station takes the longest to dry, have one group immediately start at the mixer mill station while the rest of the groups work on their Engineering Design Worksheet.
16. Then, instruct groups to rotate through stations until all groups have visited each station (not including the forging station), answered the reflection questions on the Lab Worksheet, and completed their Engineering Design Worksheet.

Material Mixer Milling Station Instructions

1. Take one piece of paper and cut it into 12 strips.
2. Place the paper strips into the blender.
3. Add in optional colored paper strips or food coloring.
4. Blend the paper for 3 seconds. Record observations of the blended paper below.

   

5. Close the lid and blend the paper for 3 more seconds. Record your observations of the blended paper below.
6. Close the lid and blend the paper for a final 4 seconds.
7. Record your observations of the blended paper below. What does your paper look like? Is there a temperature difference? What does the paper feel like?
8. Add enough water to just cover the paper. Don’t add too much or you will create paper soup instead of paper pulp!
9. Blend the paper mixture until smooth.
10. Place the grate or screen over a bucket. Put the paper pulp on the screen and press the paper pulp flat, draining the excess water (into the bucket below).
11. Use paper towels to absorb the extra moisture.
12. Leave the paper pulp on the screen to dry (approximately 1 to 2 days).
13. Clean up the station and materials.

Extrusion Station Instructions

1. Place parchment paper or a tablecloth on the table or lab station countertop.
2. Put Play-Doh into the piping bag.
3. Starting from the back of the dough ball, gently squeeze the Play-Doh into a shape or line.
4. Have everyone in the group repeat this process.
5. Clean the station by making sure all extruded Play-Doh is put back into the Play-Doh container.

Injection Molding Station Instructions

1. Make sure the mold is lying flat on the table or desktop.
2. Put Play-Doh in the piping bag.
3. Place the tip of the piping bag into the mold.
4. Squeeze enough material to fill up the mold, and remove the tip of the piping bag from the mold.
5. Let everyone in the group repeat this process, and if more Play-Doh is needed, use enough for everyone to fill one mold.
6. After everyone has gone, take a piece of parchment paper and lay it over the top of the filled molds.
7. Smooth the tops of the molds to flatten out the undersides of all the items molded.
8. Carefully pop out the new items molded onto the parchment paper.
9. Clean up the station before moving on to the next.

Forging Station Instructions (Students visit this station during Day 3’s Engineering Design Process part of the activity)

1. Give each student a one-foot piece of aluminum foil.
2. Tell students they can create any creature they want with the foil, BUT they can only use their hands or tools—no other materials. 

   

Engineering Design Process (Day 3)

1. Have students refer to their Engineering Design Worksheet to create a creature, habitat, and food of their own.
2. Give students the following constraints for their creature:

1. The creature creation must have a habitat made using one of the four manufacturing processes.
2. The creature creation must have a food made from one of the four manufacturing processes.
3. Together, the creature, habitat, and food must be made from three out of the four manufacturing processes they learned about in the last two days. It can be small or large, flat or three-dimensional, real or a completely made-up creature!

3. Have students sketch out their ideas before building.
4. Give students time to visit each station and build their creatures, food, and habitat.
5. At the end of the building period, have students review their creatures, food, and habitat. Ask them to consider whether anything needs to be changed.
6. Give students time to change or improve their creatures, food, and/or habitat.
7. Have students create a PowerPoint presentation with information about their creature, the creature’s habitat, and the creature’s food. Hand out copies of the Teacher Rubric to assist students as they prepare their presentations. Presentations should include:

• The material(s) chosen.
• The manufacturing processes used.
• What worked and what didn’t work.
• How their design changed from their original idea to their final product.
• What they would change if they could do the whole activity over again.

8. Have students present their PowerPoint presentations to the class or hand it in as an assignment.

Vocabulary/Definitions

extrusion: The process of forming something by forcing or pushing it out, especially through a small opening.

forging: A manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces; the blows are delivered with a hammer. Examples of forging include engine valves, couplings, bolts, screws, and other fasteners, cutting tools, wear parts, high-strength wires, dies, high-strength fasteners, farming equipment, farming structures, and building structures.

injection molding: A complex manufacturing process that injects and sets plastic into the shape of a metal mold. Injection molding is used for making water and soda bottles, small rigid parts (especially with small details), and larger items such as storage bins and tubs, detergent bottles, and flexible plastic materials.

manufacturing: The creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation.

material mixer milling: A process by which a device, often a structure, machine or kitchen appliance, breaks solid materials into smaller pieces by grinding, crushing, or cutting.

milling: A cutting process that removes material from the surface of the work piece. Milling is extensively used in the manufacture of surgical tools and medical implants.

Assessment

Pre-Activity Assessment

Pre-Activity Questions: Ask students the following questions and have them write down their answers on a piece of paper. The questions are shown on Slide 2 of the Teacher Presentation.

• What is easier to melt: Plastic or metal, and explain why in one sentence. (Answer: Plastic has a lower melting temperature than metal, so plastic will metal more “easily.”)
• What materials are used to make wire? List all materials you think can go in a wire in bullet point form.  (Potential answers: various metals and alloys, including iron, steel, brass, bronze, copper, aluminum, zinc, gold, silver, and platinum, plastic)
• Can you name a manufacturing process? If so, what does that process make? (Answers will vary. Potential answers: material mixer milling makes powder, extrusion makes long strands of things like wire, injection molding makes many plastic parts, forging can make many metal things like large parts of metal for boats and barges and smaller things like swords!)

Activity Embedded (Formative) Assessment

Engineering Design Worksheet: Students will need to write down observations as they progress through the lab on the Engineering Design Worksheet. As long as they are not left blank, or completely incorrect, then the questions should be counted as correct.

Post-Activity (Summative) Assessment

Lab Worksheet: As students complete each section of the Lab Worksheet, they record responses to reflection questions. Review students’ work using the Lab Worksheet Answer Key.  

Class Presentation: Student groups present their creature, its habitat, and its food. Use the Teacher Rubric to score student presentations. They should include the following:

• The material(s) chosen.
• The manufacturing processes used.
• What worked and what didn’t work.
• How their design changed from their original idea to their final product.
• What they would change if they could do the whole activity over again.

Safety Issues

• The blender could overheat and should require adult supervision to ensure a hand or homework doesn’t get shredded.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Watch the amount of water being added at the material mixer milling station. You want the paper pulp to be not too wet or so dry that it crumbles. You may want to figure out the appropriate ratio of water to paper based on the level of humidity in your area.

Activity Extensions

If you own a 3D printer: Have students design molds for the injection molding process, or extruders for the extrusion portion. 3D print the equipment, and test it out to make sure they created accurate parts that are used in real-life manufacturing applications.

Activity Scaling

• For lower grades, do not have students use the blender on their own, and do not allow students to use the blender unsupervised.
• For older or advanced students, have a design the students need to make, using all of the processes used in manufacturing, and have the creature parts labeled with what manufacturing process was used to make it. For example, forging for the aluminum foil body of animal, material mixer mill created the colors and head of the creature, extrusion for tree that the creature lives in, and injection molding for the food the creature eats.
• For more advanced students: Organize a field trip to a local manufacturing site, with questions required to be asked by the students and answered by the field trip guide. For example, “What process in the manufacturing of the items is crucial? Do you do a quality check of the items produced, and if so, what does the testing look like?”

References

Copyright

Contributors

Supporting Program

Acknowledgements

This curriculum was developed under National Science Foundation RET grant no. 1855147— Research Experience for Teachers in Advanced Design and Manufacturing at the University of Houston. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Special thanks to Dr. Zhu and Dr. Robles.