Practical Skill Development, Analysis And Testing Are Used To Teach The Topic Of Heat Treatment Of Aerospace Aluminum Alloys

Students learn best when they can see the results of their efforts. Students of the Aviation Technology Department at Purdue University enroll in AT308 Manufacturing Processes in their junior year. AT308 is the fourth materials course in a series of five courses offered in the Aeronautical Technology curriculum, and this course is organized as a separate business venture to provide students with an opportunity to learn about the aviation manufacturing industry. The theoretical knowledge in this course is reinforced with practical skill development, which is crucially important for future maintenance professionals in the aviation industry. In the course of study, students are treated like a manufacturing company employs them. They are working in teams and learning how to work together, but are responsible individually. They function as team leads on some job assignments and quality control inspectors on others. By the time students have finished all assignments, they have experienced the whole concept of today’s manufacturing and assembly process. Modern industry is a complex mechanism, and students who understand it well and understand how it works have a better chance to find their dream job. For students to be successful, they have to understand the basic concepts, and one of the most important concepts in aerospace manufacturing is heat treatment of aluminum alloys. Students manufacture so called “dog bones”, and one aspect of this task is to learn how to use sheet metal equipment and understand the stamping process. However, it is more important for the students to learn the basics of material science, such as load and stress. The aerospace industry needs people who understand the properties of aluminum alloys, and how heat treatment changes those properties. Students test the hardness of original samples and compare them with others after various types of heat treatment have been applied. The manufacturing and testing is supported by theoretical calculations, which are done before the testing. The test results of the samples are recorded by students and analyzed later. Any unusual results are discussed with the whole class.