Course descriptions

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of the mechanical properties of materials including metals, polymers and ceramics. Upon completion of this module, participants will be expected to know the concepts of stress, strain, stress-strain curves, the important mechanical properties (e.g., stiffness, strength, toughness, etc.), the mechanical testing methods used for various materials and how to obtain the mechanical properties from the results of those tests.

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of the theories and applications of micro/nano-mechanical testing. Upon completion of the module, students will know the capabilities and limitations of various micro/nano-mechanical testing techniques and be able to select suitable testing procedures.

This module will introduce modern scratch testing techniques and demonstrate their usefulness over traditional scratch testing standards and practices. Students will have an opportunity to receive online training on how to use standard scratch testing equipment to assess the adhesive strength of coating–substrate systems. Through numerous examples from real-life applications, students will develop an understanding of how these methods can be applied to assess critical surfaces to enhance product performance and longevity.

This module will familiarize students with different imaging technologies available for materials characterization. Special focus will be given to high resolution microscopy, namely the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Through online training on a modern AFM platform, students will be provided with an opportunity to learn more about the equipment, testing procedures, and result interpretation.

This module will introduce students to the modern tools and methodologies required to determine the friction and wear properties of materials. Through numerous examples of real-life applications and online training on how to run a standard Tribometer, students will gain a solid understanding of the basics of Tribology and how this knowledge can be applied to improve surface interactions in various environments.

This course is designed for advanced learners interested in a comprehensive understanding of advanced materials characterization methods, with a focus on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Focused Ion Beam (FIB), X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) techniques and also includes an in-depth exploration of techniques for analyzing mechanical properties like Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Nanoindentation, Scratch Tester, and Tribometry. It offers deep insights into the theory behind these techniques, practical operation guidelines, interpretation of results, and includes insightful case studies.

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of forming processes for mechanically shaping materials (metals and polymers), such as extrusion, forging, rolling, etc. Material properties and their impact on these forming processes will be also discussed. The advantages and limitations of each manufacturing technique as well as each technique’s main industrial applications for various materials will be explained. Upon completion of the module, students will be expected to know the main mechanical shaping processes that are used in the industry for the manufacturing/forming of metals and polymers.

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of the concept of “phase” in materials engineering, (binary) phase diagrams, phase transformation, and their applications in manufacturing and heat treatment processes. The focus of this course will be on metallic systems, in particular the iron-carbon system (i.e., various types of steel). Upon completion of this module, participants will be expected to know the concepts of phase and secondary phases as well as how to use phase diagrams to anticipate the phase transformations (in particular for steels), and various types of heat treatments (in particular for steels).

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of the theory of cutting for the machining process (turning, milling, and drilling). Upon completion of the module, students will be able to apply their theoretical knowledge to different machining processes. The module will also provide students with the ability to operate machine tools to produce a mechanical component or a specific product, respecting the safety regulations for machining.

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of CNC systems. Upon completion of the module, students will be able to classify and distinguish CNC systems, develop manual part programs for 2D basic profiles using a CNC Lathe, and test the programs through simulation.

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of CNC mill systems. Upon completion of the module, students will be familiar with general CNC mill set up requirements. Students will manually program a part for a vertical CNC mill and test the program through simulation.

This module is designed to provide fundamental knowledge of the behaviour of machines under dynamic conditions. Students will be able to understand static and dynamic stiffness and its interaction between the machining process and the vibration behaviour of machine tools.

This module is designed to provide fundamental knowledge of the behaviour of machines under dynamic conditions. Students will be able to understand dynamic performance including resonance and self-induced vibration response in machining processes and their impact on productivity, quality, cost, and innovation.

This module introduces the basic principles and operation of various sensor technologies and their applications. It will provide students with practical knowledge on sensor network design including sensor selection, calibration, connectivity, networks, and road mapping.

This module is designed to provide a roadmap for adding data acquisition components to manufacturing systems. Unique aspects of the module include adapting to electrically noisy, harsh environments with high uptimes, and coping with the low maintenance reliability expectations of industrial systems. The module covers the background information needed to select, install, operate, and maintain a data acquisition system.

This module is designed to introduce the area of data analytics which includes univariate and multivariate statistics, machine learning (ML), deep learning, and concepts related to artificial intelligence (AI).

This module is designed to provide details on communicating with machine tool equipment and focuses especially on transferring data to and from machines. The module will enable students to act on decisions as they are being made by communicating quickly to equipment.

This course is intended to provide students with an in–depth overview of the Data Analytics Lifecycle with an emphasis on data visualization. It covers the lifecycle from its inception to the presentation of findings and provides alternatives to sustain the use of analytics dashboards and reports that have been developed among business users. The participants in this class will learn how to convey information effectively and persuasively to decision–makers by utilizing the data visualization capabilities of applications such as Tableau and Excel. You will develop a comprehensive understanding of the domain knowledge about the Data Analytics Lifecycle, how it ties in with related technical knowledge, and how to successfully apply each stage, which includes framing a business problem, formulating a data analytics project, experimenting with data exploration tools, designing the resolution to the business requirement(s), and presenting findings using visualization tools.

In this module, students will follow the MMRI’s journey to date using MTLINKi and the LinkageTool, which are part of Fanuc’s Industry 4.0 offerings, to monitor a Robodrill. The module will start with a review of how Fanuc captures and stores machine data to a mongodb database. This will be followed by examples of the insights that the MT-LINKi web service provides from this data and how this service can be customized with reports and outlier alerts. This functionality is applicable to many machines that support Focas1 and up. Next, the LinkageTool and triggers will be used to gather high speed 1kHz data at specific times and data analytics will be applied to this information. This requires machines that support Focas2.

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of various types of primary and secondary atomic bonding as well as their strength and impact on the properties of materials (e.g., thermal, electrical, mechanical) including metals, polymers, and ceramics. The concept of “crystallinity” will be discussed as well as the important crystalline structures of solids and their characteristics and effects on the manufacturing and performance of materials. This fundamental module will provide a basis for several other modules in the area of surface engineering.

This module provides fundamental knowledge for selecting the proper tool geometry, material, and coating to achieve the highest productivity and quality while minimizing tool wear and failure. Different tool wear mechanisms will be discussed, and preventative solutions will be introduced.

This module is designed to provide an overview of the field of surface engineering (with a focus on metallic systems) and a fundamental understanding of strengthening mechanisms (for metallic systems) and their link to surface hardening. This module will cover diffusion-based surface hardening processes such as carburizing and nitriding; the fundamentals of precipitation hardening; selective surface hardening methods; common methods of surface characterization and measurement; and industrial surface cleaning processes. Upon completion of this module, students are expected to be familiar with the concept of surface engineering, and in particular, case hardening processes and their importance and applications in various fields of engineering.

This module is designed to provide a fundamental understanding of the structures, properties, and applications of engineering polymers and ceramics. The effect of the materials’ properties on their processing and industrial applications will be also discussed. Upon completion of the module, students will be expected to know the main properties, applications, and industrial processing techniques for common engineering polymeric and ceramic materials.

Quality assurance and control in polymer processing depend on the rheological properties of the materials being processed. This module will look at real life examples of where polymer processing has been used to solve issues in production lines using rheology as a key tool for material analysis.

Bio-Polymers are gaining traction as countries around the world are focusing efforts to be more sustainable and reduce reliance on petroleum based polymers. This module looks at the growing class of bio-polymers with regards to the pros and cons for their use and potential.

This module is designed to provide an understanding of Lean fundamentals. Upon completion of the module, students will be able to understand lean methodology, identify value and non-value, recognize Lean Six Sigma Problem solving methodology, apply basic tools to operational and manufacturing processes and products, and provide solutions for real life operational process improvement.

This module is designed to provide an understanding of Lean tools and techniques and their applications. Upon completion of the module, students will be able to understand and create flow, map a moderately complex process, identify a bottleneck, understand push vs pull, apply tools and techniques such as KANBAN, level loading, and one-piece flow, and provide a solution for a real-life operational process improvement.

This module is designed to provide an overview of project management fundamentals and concepts. Upon completion of the module, students will be able to identify the 5 phases of a given project as well as their respective key processes. Furthermore, the module will provide a solid understanding of project constraints and the interaction between projects through real industrial case examples.

This module is designed to provide an understanding of Six Sigma fundamentals, techniques, and their applications. Upon completion of the module, students will be able to apply DMAIC methodology and respective tools to a given operational problem/project. Students will learn the basics of statistics, variation, and process capability analysis and control methods.

This module is designed to provide an understanding of the finite element method’s theory and application for machining processes. Upon completion of the module, students will have gained fundamental knowledge in 2D modeling turning processes using a commercial finite element package and studied the effect of different machining conditions on chip flow, temperature, and stress.

In this module, students will study finite element modeling to predict surface integrity issues, such as residual stress in machined surfaces, under different machining conditions. In addition, finite element modeling of milling processes will be introduced.

This module introduces students to finite element modeling for the design and performance evaluation of uncoated and coated machining tools. Topics covered include the effect of rake angle and coating on the chip flow, temperature, and stress distribution. Upon completion of the module, students will know how to use FEA for tooling problems using a commercial FEA software.

This module equips students with the tools to successfully design products that are aligned with what consumers require. The module will cover the methods and tools of a reliable design that can be manufactured with high quality.

This module will focus on the creation and modification of 2D geometry using Mastercam. Students will learn how to navigate Mastercam competently and gain a preliminary understanding of the more basic features of the software. The module will conclude with a project that will tie together all the material covered.

This module will build upon a basic working knowledge of Mastercam, and students will implement more advanced modeling techniques, specifically solid modeling. The module will emphasize the benefits of solid modeling over wireframing and conclude with a project that will require the use of newly learned skills.

This module is designed to familiarize students with the fundamentals of becoming a successful machinist.  A number on important topics will be discussed including: appropriate digital and physical etiquette, mathematics of machining, manufacturing processes, as well as a breakdown of types of materials, the way they are processed, and their uses.  Upon completion of this module, students will have built a solid foundation of knowledge and skills crucial to becoming a machinist

This module is designed to introduce students to engineering drawings.  This module will include instruction on creating, reading, and dimensioning engineering drawings.  In addition to these core topics, the fundamentals of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) will also be considered.  At the completion of this module, students should be able to understand as well as create engineering drawings for themselves.

In this module students will be introduced to a variety of precision measuring tools.  Students will learn how to clean, calibrate, and safety use many types of measuring tools.  By the end of this module students will appreciate the importance of accurate measurement and the impact that it has on the final product.

In this module students will get familiar with the five basic machines in the machine shop.  Students will learn each machine’s capabilities as well as how to safely set up and operate each of them.  More advanced topics such as special work holding setups and how to create complex features will also be discussed.  By the end of this module, students should be able to identify the five main types of machines as well as their major components and describe their function.  Students should also feel confident setting up and operating these machines with supervision.

In this module students will learn the place of computer software in manufacturing.  The topics of computer aided design (CAD) and manufacturing (CAM) will be considered in detail.  Students will follow the process of designing parts in both CAD and CAM programs and learn how to troubleshoot various common problems.  By the end of this module, students should understand the significance of CAD CAM software in the manufacturing process.  Students will also gain a good working knowledge of a few common brands of CAD CAM software.

In this module students will learn about a number of advanced aspects of machining and related fields.  CNC programming and machining will the be a main focus of this module.  An introduction to automation and additive manufacturing are also included.  Throughout this module students will follow the process of manufacturing a unique project which will tie all of these manufacturing fields together.  At the completion of this module students will have received a glimpse of what can be accomplished with a creative mind and some manufacturing know-how.

This module will introduce students to core programming concepts in Python. Python is a versatile programming language that has become popular in various areas, namely data analysis and automation, thanks to its simple yet powerful syntax. No prior knowledge of Python is necessary.

This module is for beginners with little to no previous experience and provides a comprehensive introduction to the MATLAB development environment. MATLAB is a unique programming language that makes it possible to solve complex mathematical problems within various domains, from finance to engineering, in just a few lines of code. Thus, it is heavily used in both academia and industry.

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of databases. Topics covered include the basics of relational and noSQL data models as well as the importance of pre-processing and organizing data for storage. Examples of how to interact with databases to store and manipulate process information and results will be provided. 

In this course, students will learn how to use Mastercam in manufacturing processes. The course will build upon a good working knowledge of Mastercam and provide the skills needed to start programming machines using Mastercam. It will focus on the use of several common milling toolpaths and will conclude with an in-depth project covering a number of the newly learned toolpaths.