Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) Integration throughout a Manufacturing Engineering Curriculum

The Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) ASME Y14.5 standard 1 for specifying engineering requirements on drawings and related documentation was initially accepted in 1994 and has been formally modified as recently as 2009. Despite many advantages for clarifying and simplifying design requirements as well as implications for reducing manufacturing costs and streamlining manufacturing activities, the various aspects of the standard have seen inconsistent adoption throughout the manufacturing industries across the US. A recent increase in employer expectations when hiring undergraduates at one institution has prompted an ambitious effort to increase student learning of GD&T standards and of the numerous practical ways to utilize it to achieve high quality, low cost manufacturing. The effort involves integrating different aspects of the standard across a broad spectrum of the curriculum for both an undergraduate major program in manufacturing engineering and for a manufacturing engineering concentration in a mechanical engineering program. Lecture content, assignments, lab exercises, and projects have been developed across eight different courses to increase understanding of GD&T from various perspectives such as documentation, mechanical design, design for assembly, design for manufacture, fixture design, machining, and inspection. Altogether, the content covers most of the key GD&T concepts and provides a consistent, coherent approach to graduating GD&Tsavvy manufacturing and mechanical engineers. A comprehensive exam has been compiled to track student learning and to monitor the effectiveness of new efforts in this key area.