Paul C. Lynch

Filling the skills gap in U.S. manufacturing: Promoting internships and co-op experiences and integrating industrial engineering courses to improve student design and manufacturing knowledge

This paper discusses a framework for filling the skills gap in U.S. manufacturing by providing undergraduate students with practical experiences in design and manufacturing. The proposed framework is based on integrating product design and manufacturing processes courses through practical course projects. In addition, an initiative has been taken to establish collaboration between academia and industry by the manufacturing faculty in industrial engineering at Penn State Behrend. The paper also presents the involvement of the IE faculty in developing the design and manufacturing skills of the IE students. Data was collected through surveys and is used to validate the proposed framework.

Cast Iron Solidification with Non-Contact Acoustic Stimulation

The influence of non-contact ultrasonic vibration on the solidification of gray and ductile irons has been evaluated with and without inoculation. Conventional instrumented cooling curve analysis samples were cast under a wide range of non-contact acoustic stimulation conditions. Ultrasonic frequencies between 17 and 18 kHz were evaluated at transducer power ratings of 1800–3600 Watts with various horn designs. The air gap between the ultrasonic actuator and the surface of the solidifying metal was varied from 11–38 mm. The resultant solidification cooling curves as well as the microstructure after solidification were evaluated. Ultrasonic treatment of gray irons resulted in only slight changes in graphite morphology. However, in some cases, ultrasonic treatment of uninoculated gray iron changed the graphite shape from undercooled type D graphite to type A graphite. Ductile irons subjected to ultrasonic treatment showed a slight increase in nodule count and nodularity. Also, ultrasonic treatments resulted in a minor increase in overall solidification time. Further work is needed to identify the specific non-contact acoustic conditions that will have a significant effect on cast iron solidification behavior.