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Name of NGM Educator:

Eric Rice, New London Science and Technology Magnet School

Name of Host Company:

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft

Grade Level:

9 - 12th grade

Student Work Types:

• hands-on project

Task Abstract:

Throughout my externship, it was very evident that manufacturing is a very process driven field. Every department at Pratt and Whitney practiced their Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) operating system. The ACE program's goal was evident: to ensure a standard operating system for improving and sustaining quality and productivity throughout all Pratt and Whitney. I learned, and experienced many facets of this ACE program when touring and spending time at many of Pratt and Whitney Middletown's Business Units and Departments. During each experience, I was constantly trying to think of ways to incorporate this program in a modified manner for my high school engineering students.

In a discussion with my externship planner, Bob Piombino, he explained and gave me material about a "Process Control" seminar where his presenter utilized a ping ball launcher as a teaching tool. Right then and there the lights came on in my head; I also have a ping ball launcher project in the Project Lead the Way Pre-Engineering Program Principles of Engineering class that is meant to knowledge of kinematics. I thought, why not add in manufacturing engineering elements and make it a fully integrated team project. From this point I modified the ballistic design project as my manufacturing externship curriculum project.

Task Objectives:

• Students will be able to understand and explain why companies have a need for quality control and will describe what customers and companies refer to when the term quality is used.
• Students will be able to explain the difference between process and product control.
• Students will be able to distinguish between the characteristics of quality in a final product and the control of quality in each step of a process.
• Students will understand how control charts are used in industry and will be able to predict whether a process is out of control, or not by using a control chart.
• Students will use statistics to analyze the ballistic device.

Esssential Understandings/Questions:

How can manufacturing engineering concepts be applied to the ballistic device project and how is similar to what happens in the manufacturing workforce?

Task Description:

Teams will design devices following design process.

• Teams will be required to create Manufacturing Quality Instruction Sheets documenting steps of their ballistic device construction.

• Teams will be responsible for obtaining materials to construct devices. Teams will trade MQI sheets and then construct devices.

• Performance Testing (after completion of final assembly and adjustment)
• Choose at least ten firing angles between 10 and 80 degrees.
• For each firing angle, fire the projectile and record range
• Perform at least three trials for each firing angle
• Record all procedures, tables, data etc. within engineering journals.
• Final Testing
• Must be able to land on the bulls-eye (the target) at a location specified by your instructor on the day of the test (and within the operating range)
• Each team will shoot at target 20 times and collect data. A control chart will be constructed as well as Upper Specification Limit and Lower Specification Limit (USL and LSL).
• Each team will calculate the Cp and Cpk and create a histogram of shot error.

Resources Required:

• Scrap and recycled materials
• Ping pong balls
• Tape Measure
• Excel
• Cardboard 2 ft x 2 ft square for target

Prior Learning Required:

• Physics Knowledge of Kinematics
• Excel use
• Team work skills
• Technical Writing

Educator's Comments: