Lean Six Sigma Nanomanufacturing Course for Engineering and Engineering Technology Programs

We have developed a laboratoryand project-based course to instruct Engineering and Engineering Technology students in Lean Six Sigma methodologies for nanomanufacturing. The experiments include synthesis and characterization of quantum dots and magnetic nickel nanowires, and fabrication and testing of organic LEDs and nanocrystalline solar cells. Additional experiments related to ferrofluids, soft lithography, nanocrystalline phosphors, and nanofilters are under development. The broad objective is to impart the knowledge and skills needed to translate laboratory discoveries in nanoscience to the production of commercial nanotechnology-based products using Lean Six Sigma principles and methodologies. Many aspects of the experiments are amenable to image capture and image processing with inexpensive CCD cameras (e.g., cell phones or webcams), as well as the quantification of image features to generate the sufficiently-large and diagnostic data sets needed for Six Sigma analysis. The image capture/analysis component provides students with exposure to machine vision for process control and automation, materials characterization, and quality assurance and inspection, as practiced in modern manufacturing. By themselves, Nanotechnology, Nanomanufacturing, Lean, Six Sigma, and machine vision (image capture /image processing and analysis) are important and timely subjects for engineering and engineering technology students. Their integration in a single laboratory course provides an effective and leveraging means for gaining exposure, insights, and practical experience in the subtle and pervasive issues and challenges of nanomanufacturing. The resulting synergism enhances the instruction of each subject and an appreciation of their broader relevance. The laboratory projects are in a modular format, and their materials, protocols, equipment, and time requirements are appropriate for semesteror quarter-based programs. The modules will be made available to other educational institutions. Introduction. We are developing a laboratoryand project-based course in Lean Six Sigma nanomanufacturing. The target students are Engineering and Technology majors, and the primary application is for process and product development of nano-scale materials and devices. The broad objective is to teach the knowledge and skills needed to translate laboratory discoveries in nanoscience to the commercial production of nanotechnology-based products using Lean Six Sigma principles and methodologies. Lean Six Sigma is a systematic, rational approach to organize and manage an industrial or business enterprise in order to maximize efficiency and value added, minimize waste, and achieve world-class quality and customerdriven focus. Elements of Lean Six Sigma originated with the classic works of Taylor, Ford, Gilbreth, Deming, Juran, Shewart, Ishikawa and others, but its primary source is the Toyota Production System (Ohno, Shingo) and Six Sigma (Smith). Lean Six Sigma integrates Just-inTime, Kaizen (continuous improvement), Total Productive Maintenance, Poke-Yoke (mistakeproofing), set-up time reduction by Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED), single-unit flow, inventory reduction, Pull Production, balanced work flow, and Kanban (visual controls/visual factory), among others, with Six Sigma Quality Assurance. Lean Six Sigma offers a battery of procedural, operational, and analysis techniques including Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Value Stream mapping, Process Capability, Measurement Systems Analysis, Critical-to-Quality, P ge 22999.2