Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 5e (published by Wiley) MPGroover 2012

39 MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING
Review Questions
39.1 Define manufacturing engineering.
Answer. Manufacturing engineering is a technical staff department responsible for planning the
manufacturing processes for a product and its components.
39.2 What are the principal activities in manufacturing engineering?
Answer. Principal activities in manufacturing engineering are (1) process planning, (2) technical
problem solving and continuous improvement, and (3) advising the product designers in design for
manufacturability.
39.3 Identify some of the details and decisions that are included within the scope of process planning.
Answer. Table 39.1 lists the following details and decisions in process planning: (1) the processes
required and the sequence in which they are performed; (2) equipment selection; (3) tools, dies,
molds, fixtures, and gages that will be needed; (4) cutting tools and cutting conditions for
machining operations; (5) methods for manual operations (e.g., assembly) and manual portions of
machine cycles (e.g., loading and unloading a production machine); (6) time standards for each
operation; and (7) estimates of production costs. Not all of these details and decisions are the
exclusive responsibility of the manufacturing engineering department.
39.4 What is a route sheet?
Answer. A route sheet is a listing of the production operations and their sequence required to make
a given part. It also lists the equipment and special tooling that is required.
39.5 What is the difference between a basic process and a secondary process?
Answer. A basic process establishes the starting geometry of the work material; e.g., casting, rolled
sheet metal, drawn metal bar. Secondary processes are used to refine the starting geometry and
transform the material into final shape and size; machining and sheet metal pressworking are
common secondary processes.
39.6 What is a precedence constraint in process planning?
Answer. A precedence constraint is a limitation on the order in which processing or assembly
operations can be performed on a given workpart; for example, a hole must be drilled before it can
be tapped.
39.7 In the make or buy decision, why is it that purchasing a component from a vendor may cost more
than producing the component internally, even though the quoted price from the vendor is lower
than the internal price?
Answer. Because purchasing the component may cause idle equipment and staff in the factory that
the company must still pay for.
39.8 Identify some important factors that should enter into the make or buy decision.
Answer. The factors in the make or buy decision include (1) cost, (2) whether the process is
available internally, (3) production quantity, (4) product life, (5) whether or not the component is a
standard commercially available hardware item, (6) supplier reliability, and (7) possible need for
alternative sources.

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Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 5e (published by Wiley) MPGroover 2012

39.9 Name three of the general principles and guidelines in design for manufacturability.
Answer. Table 39.5 lists the following DFM principles and guidelines: (1) Minimize number of
components. (2) Use standard commercially available components. (3) Use common parts across
product lines. (4) Design for ease of part fabrication. (5) Design parts with tolerances that are within
process capability. (6) Design the product to be foolproof during assembly. (7) Minimize flexible
components. (8) Design for ease of assembly. (9) Use modular design. (10) Shape parts and
products for ease of packaging. (11) Eliminate or reduce adjustment required.
39.10 What is concurrent engineering and what are its important components?
Answer. Concurrent engineering is an approach used by companies to reduce the time to bring a
new product to market. It includes (1) design for manufacturability, (2) design for quality, (3) design
for life cycle, and (4) design for cost. It also includes certain organizational changes that attempt to
bring different functions in the company together during product design to consider all possible
aspects of the product.
39.11 What is meant by the term design for life cycle?
Answer. Design for life cycle means that factors relating to the product after it has been
manufactured should be taken into consideration in design. These factors include ease of
installation, reliability, maintainability, serviceability, upgradeability, and disposability.
39.12 How does aggregate planning differ from the master production scheduling?
Answer. Aggregate planning is scheduling by general product line; the master production schedule
indicates how many and when of each product model within the product line are to be produced.
39.13 What are the product categories usually listed in the master production schedule?
Answer. The categories are (1) firm customer orders, (2) sales forecasts, and (3) spare parts.
39.14 In MRP, what are common use items?
Answer. Common use items are materials, components, or subassemblies that are used for more
than one item in the next level above in the product structure; for example, a starting material such
as sheet metal stock that is used on more than one component, or a component that is used on more
than one product.
39.15 Identify the inputs to the MRP processor in material requirements planning.
Answer. The inputs to MRP are (1) master production schedule, (2) bill-of-materials file for
product structure, (3) inventory record file, and (4) capacity requirements planning.
39.16 What are some of the resource changes that can be made to increase plant capacity in the short
term?
Answer. Short term adjustments to increase capacity include (1) increase employment levels, (2)
increase shift hours, (3) authorize overtime, (4) increase number of shifts, and (5) subcontracting
work to outside vendors.
39.17 What are the three phases in shop floor control?
Answer. The three phases are (1) order release, (2) order scheduling, and (3) order progress.
39.18 What is enterprise resource planning (ERP)?
Answer. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a computer-based system that organizes and
integrates all of the data and business functions of an organization through a single, central
database.

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students enrolled in courses for which the textbook has been adopted. Any other reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted
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Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 5e (published by Wiley) MPGroover 2012

39.19 Identify the principal objective in just-in-time production.

Answer. The principal objective in just-in-time production is reduction of in-process inventory.
39.20 How is a pull system distinguished from a push system in production and inventory control?
Answer. In a pull system, authorization to produce parts originates from downstream stations. Parts
are ordered from upstream stations. A push system, by contrast, operates by supplying parts to
each station in the plant, in effect driving the work from upstream stations to downstream stations.
An MRP system operates as a push system.
39.21 What is lean production?
Answer. Lean production can be defined as an adaptation of mass production in which workers
and work cells are made more flexible and efficient by adopting methods that reduce waste in all
forms.
39.22 What is autonomation in the Toyota production system?
Answer. Autonomation refers to the design of production machines that operate autonomously so
long as they function the way they are supposed to. If and when they do not operate the way they
should, they are designed to stop. Circumstances that would trigger a machine to stop include
producing defective parts and producing more than the number of parts needed. Other aspects of
autonomation include error prevention and high reliability.

Excerpts from this work may be reproduced by instructors for distribution on a not-for-profit basis for testing or instructional purposes only to
students enrolled in courses for which the textbook has been adopted. Any other reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted
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