General Aims
The course provides an introduction to materials
and process engineering in terms of a synthesis of activities
and learning experiences. While the main thrust of the
course is founded in practical and physical activities, it is
also designed to develop extensively the affective and cognitive
areas by virtue of integrative, inductive and holistic
influences. Additionally the course has educational
validity and application with respect to all pupils, independent
of academic abilities while simultaneously serving to complement
and develop such abilities.
The general aims of the course are to :
-
make an essential contribution to general
educational development;
-
link observation and action with ingenuity
and creativity and with problem-solving and higher level
responses;
-
develop work-related disciplines;
-
provide insights into engineering technology
at a variety of levels;
-
provide a basis for career decision-making
and further studies.
Course Structure and Examination
The complete course carries 400 marks and is
divided into two main sections.:
-
Techniques and Design which
incorporates all of the practical work and is allocated 300
marks; 200 marks for a practical examination and 100 marks
for project work;
-
Materials and Technology which is the
related technical and technological comprehension, examined
by written examination, carrying 100 marks.
N.B. - THE GRADING OF RESULTS IS TO BE
BASED ON THE AGGREGATE OF THE MARKS OBTAINED IN THE TWO MAIN
SECTIONS.
Techniques & Design
Health and Safety
Safe handling, use and storage of all
materials, tools and equipment used in the school workshop.
Personal protection : protective wear; control of dust and
fumes.
Fire hazards : type, location and use of fire extinguishers.
Benchwork
Use of standard marking-out, measuring and
gauging equipment according to systematic planned procedures.
Simple exercises in setting-up and marking-out using surface
plate, surface gauge and vee-blocks.
Rapid methods of cutting waste sections from bar and sheet
materials - metallics, plastics and, where appropriate, wood.
Preparation and finishing of material profiles using saws,
shears, chisels, files and drills.
Drilling
Use of
manual and power operated drills. Use of column drilling
machine for drilling, reaming and countersinking operations.
Work-holding by means of machine vice, hand vice, simple clamps
and vee-blocks.
Selection of suitable drilling speeds and feeds.
Hot and
Cold Forming of Materials
Straight edge bending of sheet
materials using folders and formers; formation of straight
beaded (safe) edge, wired edge, lap and grooved seam by use of
appropriate sheet metalworking tools.
Beaten metalworking techniques; simple hollowing and planishing
operations.
Bending, twisting and scrolling of bar and rod sections.
Hot metal forming operations including drawing-down, angular
bending, eyes and U-bends.
Bending, pressing and casting of plastics.
Fitting and
Assembly
Cold riveting of light gauge steel and aluminium,
use of pop rivets, countersunk and snap-head rivets.
Internal and external screw thread formation using hand stocks
and dies, identification of screw threads.
Soft soldering of tinplate, mild steel, copper and brass, butt,
lap and 'sweated' joints; use of flame heating, soldering bit
and electric soldering iron. Simple brazing exercises.
Selection and use of fluxes.
Fitting and assembly of parts using pins, rivets, screwed
fasteners, soldering, brazing and adhesives.
Heat
Treatments
Annealing and normalising of metals.
Hardening and tempering of small tools made from cast steel.
Case-hardening using a patented compound. Use of water,
oil and brine as quenching media.
Decorative finishing of
materials
Improvement and variation of metal surfaces by
polishing, knurling, mottling, hammering and punching; simple
repousse; etching and engraving.
Removal of, and protection from, oxidation; application of
paints and lacquers; plastics dip coating and enamelling of
metals; blending of material colours, lines and forms.
Lathework
General construction of centre lathe; movement
and arrangements of main parts.
Work-holding by means of self-centring chuck; use of topslide,
saddle and tailstock; parallel tuning and surfacing; taper
turning using topslide; chamfering, centring, drilling and
knurling.
Holding and setting of tools ; round-nose, side cutting and
knurling tools.
Materials & Technology
Health and Safety
Correct procedures and precautions relating to :
- the organisation and use of workshop, tool and equipment;
- related materials and processes;
- personal health and safety.
Communications and Planning
Interpretation and preparation of freehand working
drawings, design details and diagrammatic illustrations.
Planning of methods, procedures and sequences of work.
Basic exercises in research and planning for design purposes.
Materials Technology
Physical, mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of
materials; solid, liquid and gas state materials.
Outline knowledge of the production of iron; production of steel
by any modern method. Properties and applications of ;
plain carbon steels; high speed steel and stainless steel;
common non-ferrous metals and alloys.
Properties, applications and sources of plastics.
Thermosets and thermoplastics in common usage.
Identification of plastics.
Standard methods and fabrication processes using metallic
materials and plastics; use of wood as alternative structural
and finishing material.
Selection of finishes applied to materials for decorative and
aesthetic purposes.
Effects of oxidation in metals; protective coatings.
Purpose of heat-treating metals; annealing. Effects of
normalising, annealing, hardening and tempering plain carbon
steels; case-hardening mild steel; effects of different cooling
and quenching methods.
Tools Technology
Design features and selection of tools for:
benchwork including measuring and gauging; hot and cold forming;
cutting and joining.
Design of cutting tools : rake and clearance angles; effects of
variations in cutting angle; factors affecting cutting action;
functions of cutting fluids.
Machine Tool
Technology
Important features of drilling
machine and centre lath. Methods of holding work for
drilling and turning. Work-holding methods. Basic
drilling and turning processes. Selection and calculation
of cutting speeds and feeds.
Assemblies and
Mechanisms
Principles of joining by means of
soft and hard soldering; brazing; heat sources and fluxes.
Joining by means of rivets, screw fasteners and adhesives; screw
thread forms, specifications and mechanisms.
Construction, operation and design features of simple systems
and mechanisms