RECENT ASSIGNMENT

Question 1 (75 marks, Limit response to 5 pages including figures and tables)
A car-wheel company currently uses sand casting for their car wheel. Each wheel casting requires a sand mould to be produced. The company has recently secured a long-term large contract, and now requires a significant increase in its productivity to meet the requirements Of the contract.
The Company Board has approached you as a Manufacturing Engineer to provide two options for them to review upon in a report that will cover:
1. An overview Of current casting technologies, market size, and future trends.
2. The current sand casting processes used, including their advantages and limitations.
3. Provide the two casting processes options for the production Of large quantity car wheel, with process description and machine.
4. And analyse these options to select one as the preferred option. Provide a brief cost analysis with respect to sand casting, including fixed and variable costs, and provide financial outlook for the new investment.

Fig 1. A generic cast car wheel.
Question 2 (75 marks, Limit response to 5 pages including figures and tables)
A composites manufacturing company is seeking to expand its business to the wind turbine blades market, and currently researching a manufacturing process to produce 50-metre long wind blades.
As a Manufacturing Engineer Of this company, you are required to provide a report to the Company Board detailing the following:
1. Provide an overview Of the market for composite wind blades, including manufacturing methods, current challenges, and future trend.
2. Provide processing options for manufacturing this 50-metre long wind blade viable for manufacturing these long composite structures with good quality.
3. Provide some material options (resins, fibres, architecture), process, machine/equipment, and Other secondary finishing operations to be performed to obtain the market acceptable wind blades.
4. Provide the advantages and disadvantages Of the selected process, and justify your process, also providing an outlook Of future direction , such as 70-meter long blade.

Fig 2. A composite wind-blade assembly.