Appendix C Information Resources for Lifelong Education

Purpose of Assignment Learn about engineering and manufacturing informational resources for lifelong education, their characteristics (relative strengths and weaknesses) and while doing that learn about more about manufacturing. Learn new sources of info, beyond just œGoogle It. That’s good first step, but everyone can œGoogle It. What are other sources that can help you, set you apart?

Internet search engines, such as Google, enable the user to find information which is related to a specified word(s). Therefore search engines can be helpful when one has a specific need that can be identified with a few key words. Trade magazines and e-zines are usually devoted to a technology, a type of process or business. Therefore they can be helpful when the need is more general such as keeping current in a technology, in job area, in a type of process or business. They have feature articles, news items (new products or business happenings) and listings of events like: conferences, shows, short courses, continuing education courses. They usually have supplier’s ads which can be informational and lists of suppliers arranged by the type of service or product they provide. They may list job openings or have a forum where one can get answers to questions or can network with others. With search engines the user initiates a request. But trade magazines, e-zines, conferences and shows initiate the presentation of information which may spark idea or solution for the user.

Engineering Resources used in this assignment are: Internet technical reports, journal papers, trade magazines and e-zines.. They are described on page C-2. Engineering Resources not included in this assignment include: conferences, shows, combined conferences-shows, webinars (seminars conducted over the Internet, some free some have a fee) and continuing education short courses.

Assignment

On the Internet find and read:

a)a technical topic/report about manufacturing (described below),

b)a Journal paper about manufacturing (described below),

Using a manufacturing trade magazine (described below) for two of the four a thru d items and a manufacturing e-zine (described below), for the other two items.

a)read a feature article,

b)read a short article or news article,

c)find notices of meetings, conferences or seminars; either individual notices or a listing of events

d)find other types of info, such as: editorials, job posting, question/answer forums, supplier ads & links, more

Note 1a, 1b, and 2a are more technical and 2b, 2c 2d are more job/business/career and less technical.

Document Findings Points in [ ]

a) General Format, 1) have a cover sheet containing: descriptive title, author, date, course name and summary paragraph [5], 2) document sources [5], and 3) easy to follow arrangement of discussion section [5]

b)In the discussion section of the report summarize for a colleague in a paragraph the technical topic/report/article you read (1a, 1b, 2a and 2b) [7.5 each, 30pts total]

c)In the discussion section of the report summarize for a colleague in a paragraph a notice from 2c above [7.5]

d)In the discussion section of the report summarize for a colleague in a paragraph one other type of info from 2d above [7.5]

e)Evaluate the characteristics of the various resources by filling in the table below[30]

Characterizing the type of Resource (as inferred by the article you read or your experience with this type of resource)
	Value/Rating 0-10 or NA (not applicable); 0 very low, 10 very high
Characteristic	Tech. Report	Journal	Magazine	Ezine
Ease in finding info wanted for trade magazine assume you or officemate has a subscription
The resource info is scientific
The resource info relates to businesses, processes or jobs
The resource has info such as: notices of meetings, conferences, seminars, events
The resource has info such as: editorials, job posting, forums, supplier ads and links to supplier websites
The source seems reliable

f) In the discussion section of the report summarize for a colleague in a paragraph or more compare finding a supplier in 2d above vs. via a search engine [10]

MEEG653 only, use a common topic through the search, example-carbon nano tubes.

Grading is based on amount of material, relevance, clarity, appropriate technical level

Outstanding: 100% of points
Very Good: 90% of points (expected level)
Good: 80% of points
Marginal: 70% of points
Unacceptable: 0-60%

continued on back

Engineering Resources used in this assignment

Manufacturing Technical Topic/Report Company websites may have good technical topic/reports but they often have a commercial purpose. For this part of the assignment use non company sites such as universities, government and societies (i.e. .org, .gov, .edu but not .com). Pursue something you are curious about. If you need suggestions consider topics such as: 1) general processes: machining, welding, casting, forming, packaging, etc., 2) specific processes: milling, injection molding, composite hand lay-up or resin transfer molding, 3) technologies: quality, statistical process control-SPC (a topic within quality), Deming (a guru within quality who has a big following), automation, rapid prototyping, rapid tooling, machine vision, part identification (i.e. use of bar coding and machine vision), industrial robots, and computer numerical control, or 4) current advances in manufacturing: lean manufacturing, Just-In-Time, life cycle engineering, nano or simulation.

Journal papers are very technical, usually published by technical societies for R&D personnel and academia. They typically have no news or ads just technical papers. An example is ASME’s Journal of Applied Mechanics. Some trade magazines call themselves œJournals such as, Stamping Journal but they don’t fit the classic definition of a journal. Similarly some in the UDel’s Electronic Journals could be called periodicals not journals. For this assignment use papers from either the Journal of Mfg. Sciences and Engr. (ASME) or the Journal of Engr. Manufacturing (from I. of Mech. Engr., the British equivalent of ASME); both are available online under Electronic Journals at UDel’s Library

Trade Magazines specialize in a technology, process or business. They are usually free to qualified subscribers and a good resource of information as they have feature articles, short articles, news articles and advertisements. Back issues of the following manufacturing related trade magazines are available in Spencer 330: Assembly, Plastics Technology, Powder and Bulk Engineering, Fabricator, Stamping Journal, Tube & Pipe Journal, Vision Systems and Packaging Technology & Engineering. Manufacturing Engineering (SME), Mechanical Engineering (ASME), and Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) are monthly magazines of Engineering Societies and are also available in Spencer 330 (my office). The Morris Library also has magazines devoted to packaging and food processing.

E-zine (ezine, electronic magazine) Wikipedia œEzines in concept are reworkings of the popular magazine format of monthly, or weekly topical publications, in an electronic format. The References and Resources section at the end of most chapters in the Course Notes list manufacturing magazines, both hardcopy and e-zine versions. Some ezines are basically company newsletters of limited breath, so please use one the following more robust e-zines: assembly.com, deskeng.com, ptonline.com (Plastics Technology-molding, extrusion, etc.), specialchem4coatings.com, automationworld.com, robotics.org, mmh.com (material handling), devicelink.org (medical devices).