iSmithers.net | iSmithers Smithers Rapra MSc Polymer Engineering Design

MSc Polymer Engineering Design

Introduction

The MSc provides an exciting opportunity to obtain a formal and relevant qualification in polymer engineering design, and also to gain knowledge, skills and expertise that will contribute to your continuing professional development. On completion of the programme, you can expect to develop your career in technical and/or managerial posts where your deeper technological knowledge will be beneficial. Alternatively the course will be useful for graduates who may wish to study for a research degree.

The programme has been designed to support students who wish to study full or part-time. The exact course content is based on relevance to your working environment and/or future career and is underpinned by the University of Wolverhampton's state-of-the-art facilities for rapid manufacturing (RM) and prototyping (RP) at its Telford Campus. Students will gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the physical aspects of current, new and emerging materials, rapid manufacturing technologies and techniques. Students will also gain experience of designing and engineering polymer products and specify appropriate materials from which these products can be made. The award is a must for anyone seeking professional development in this sector.

This postgraduate programme is the result of a collaboration between iSmithers, the information business of Smithers Rapra Technology Ltd. and the Department of Engineering and Technology in the School of Technology (STech). Smithers Rapra Technology Ltd. better known as Smithers Rapra, is an international organisation with a world class reputation for excellence and more than 85 years of experience providing industry with information and technical support on all aspects of rubber and plastics. iSmithers training courses have developed out of this expertise in industrial problem-solving and are structured to meet the needs of people involved in the design, development or production of products made from plastics or rubber.

There are very few courses directed towards polymer engineering design and this course will be unique in the UK in offering a course with a strong industrially relevant input, through the collaborative partnership with iSmithers and the experience of the Department of Engineering and Technology in providing practical support to industry (design solutions and problem solving). The course will satisfy the needs of industry, nationally and internationally, to provide postgraduates with key knowledge in design of polymer products and provide relevant design and manufacturing solutions.

A feature of the course will be that the taught elements of the modules 'Plastics Materials and Products' and 'Polymer Processing Technology' will be delivered at iSmithers by their staff using their short course teaching facilities. Additional student support, tutorial and practical workshops will be at the Telford campus for these modules. Students will have access, for all modules in the Programme, to the modern facilities based in the Zwick-Roell and Product Development Centres, e.g. materials testing, injection moulding, composites manufacture, rapid prototyping, vacuum casting, co-ordinate measurement, CNC machining, and computer-aided design and simulation, at Telford.

Table 1 shows the dates when the short course events will be delivered at iSmithers in 2010. A similar timetable of course dates will be offered in 2011. The activities at the University of Wolverhampton's Telford campus will be arranged around the attendance listed in Table 3. The days when students attend the University are given in the Programme structure shown below.

Introduction

The aim of this course is to ensure graduates will be able to deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively and make sound judgements associated with engineering design for polymer based products by means of existing, new and emerging manufacturing processes. The course aims to ensure that graduates will be able to demonstrate self-direction and originality and are equipped with the appropriate knowledge to practise professionally and ethically in future employment roles. Thus, the course will:

address industry's demand for graduates who can apply engineering design solutions for rapid and cost effective manufacture of discrete parts and tooling across the engineering sector
develop the ability to research a range of subject areas within manufacturing, mechanical, materials science and engineering disciplines, underpinning the ability to act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level
generate graduates capable of synthesising their detailed understanding of polymer engineering design and related material science in order to offer confident justified solutions to complex, unpredictable and open ended situations.

Why study this course with us?

Students will be using industry-standard software. Students will gain practical experience of equipment often supplied to us ahead of industry, including two Direct Metal Laser Sintering machines, allowing complex mechanical components to be built from microscopic layers of metal powder. With one of very few machines in the UK capable of manufacturing titanium parts students will see how this advanced technology is used by the aerospace, motorsport, and other premium engineering sectors. Students will be taught by lecturers who have a wealth of industrial experience in an environment focussed on working with, and supporting engineering and technology companies. Students will participate in a multi-disciplinary project, necessitating the application of advanced management techniques in a progressive technological environment.

The Department of Engineering and Technology, through the adoption of key RM technologies has had privileged insight into RM. The Department has partnered EOS GmbH, a key technology supplier for RM, through its world "e-manufacturing" forum. EOS GmbH have donated multiple seats of industrial software to complement the EOS GmbH hardware currently housed in the department's workshops on the Telford campus.

What will I gain from this course?

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

demonstrate systematic problem solving skills related to product evaluation and manufacture using polymer process and Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) techniques and the ability to synthesise new knowledge in order to apply innovative physical engineering solutions;
effectively research unfamiliar subject areas in materials related engineering disciplines, and thereby propose and evaluate a broad range of solutions to existing and new engineering problems;
be able to analyse and apply FEA techniques to processes that adopt the use of net-shape tooling, such as ALM;
select and apply appropriate software packages for design, analysis, and synthesis of rapid manufacturing applications and critically evaluate the results;
relate material science theory, practice and investigative techniques needed to ascertain limitations of current and new polymer and composite materials in order to facilitate viable materials based engineering solutions for manufactured products and process technologies.

Career or further opportunities

Post-graduate engineers may choose industrially based careers in research and development, design, or product development. The combination of engineering skills, design capability, and knowledge of new and emerging technologies provides graduates of this course with a wide range of employment opportunities in technical environments across the world. Graduates may also study for a research degree, MPhil/PhD, within the Department.

Entry Requirements

Students should normally be educated to honours degree level, with a minimum of a 2.2, in engineering, technology or a closely related subject (a list of suitable award subjects is given below). Consideration will be given to non-standard applications based on qualifications and relevant industrial experience on an individual basis. Non-standard entrants must be able to prove that they are in, or have held, a position(s) within an organisation(s) where they are, or were, operating at a level expected of an experienced professional manager or technologist, i.e. in technical or managerial roles, where key decision making and/or analytical judgements are made concerning the operations of the organisation. All first degree qualifications in General Engineering and Physical Sciences (BEng and BSc) will be considered, especially in the following disciplines:

Automotive Engineering
Aerospace / Aeronautical Engineering
Computer Aided Engineering Design/Computer Aided Product Design
Industrial Design
Industrial Engineering
Manufacturing Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mechatronics
Chemical and Process Engineering
Physics
Chemistry
Materials Engineering
Polymer / Plastics Technology
Engineering Management
Electrical/Electronics.

The Programme

In total, the prescribed study package consists of 6 modules and a project:

Semester 1
20 Credits	Advanced Materials (PT yr2) Thursday AM Tuesday AM					7ET021

20 Credits	Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Heat Transfer (PT yr1) Wednesday AM (1) Wednesday AM					7ET014

20 Credits	Engineering Research Methods (PT yr2) Wednesday PM	7ET001		20 Credits	Polymer Processing Technology (PT yr1) Wednesday PM	7ET015

20 Credits	Plastics Materials and Products (PT yr1) Wednesday AM (2)	7ET016		20 Credits	Rapid Net-Shape Tooling Applications (PT yr2) Tuesday PM	7ET017

			60 Credits		MSc Engineering Project (PT yr2) (Start Semester 2 finish start of following Semester 1)	7ET018

Key:
(PT yr1) - Part-time students study in the first year of the level
(PT yr2) - Part-time students study in the second year of the level.

Intermediate Awards will also be available if you do not wish to complete a full programme of study to MSc, i.e. a Postgraduate Certificate (PgC) and a Postgraduate Diploma. To be awarded a PgC 60 credits must be passed and the 60 credits must include the module Plastics Materials and Products (7ET016) or the module Polymer Processing Technology (7ET015). To be awarded a PgD 120 credits must be passed and the 120 credits must include the modules Plastics Materials and Products (7ET016) and Polymer Processing Technology (7ET015).

Table 1: Dates for module delivery at iSmithers, Shawbury.

A similar timetable of course dates will be offered in 2011.

Location: iSmithers	Dates: 2010
Contributing to 7ET016 Plastics Materials and Products (attend one event for each study unit):
Plastics Materials and Products	23, 24 February 10
	8,9 June 10
	9, 10 November 10
Plastic Product Design	2, 3 March 10
	23, 24 November 10

Contributing to 7ET015 Polymer Processing Technology: This includes attendance and study of at least two of the following (attend one event for each study unit).
Understanding Thermoplastic Elastomers	13, 14 April 10
	29, 30 September 10
Plastics Injection Mould Design	11, 12 May 10
	16, 17 November 10
Plastics Injection Moulding Technology - Theory and Practice	9, 10 March 10
	29, 30 June 10
	19, 20 October 10
Exploring Plastics Extrusion	9, 10 March 10
	23, 24 November 10
Co-Extrusion and Multi-Layer Structures	27, 28 April 10
	30 November - 1 December 10
Introduction to Rubber Technology	9, 10 February 10
	15, 16 June 10
	16, 17 November 10
Polyurethanes: An Introduction. Science, Applications, Technology	16, 17 March
	19, 20 October 10
Understanding the Principles of Rubber Bonding	20, 21 April 10
	30 November - 1 December 10

Indicative Module Content

Advanced Materials (7ET021)

This module aims to evaluate current and emerging advanced engineering materials used in polymer products and in rapid manufacturing and prototyping technologies. The aim is to develop a critical understanding as to how these materials can be employed and exploited.