A Manufacturing Processes Laboratory: What Book Making And Sheet Metalworking Have In Common

Book publishing is a multi-billion dollar industry that usually does not have an adequate representation in manufacturing courses or textbooks. With technological advances in printing and copying, the process of making books became affordable even at a small scale. Thus, a book-making laboratory exercise is developed and implemented as a part of the Engineering of Manufacturing Processes course offered in industrial engineering and mechatronics engineering programs at Colorado State University Pueblo. In one of the lab exercises, each student produces a softbound book of printed lecture notes for the course. This laboratory exercise is developed (1) to introduce students early in the Engineering of Manufacturing Processes course to the broader concepts and complexities of modern production targeting intuitive learners, (2) to facilitate active learning of book-making processes targeting sensing learners, and (3) to provide scaffolding by building on the book-making processes when analyzing other manufacturing processes. Based on student responses to an administered survey, it is confirmed that this laboratory presents an effective active learning tool. Furthermore, as indicated by students’ survey results in two consecutive years, significant improvements in this laboratory are achieved by introducing traditional manufacturing processes through the book-making processes. This exercise increases an appreciation for manufacturing topics, and helps students understand the complex nature of many production processes.