Manufacturing Commons^™

The Design And Manufacturing Process Of The Concealed Shelf, Clarence A. Matthews Iv

Honors Theses

The Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) at the University of Mississippi challenges students to manufacture a product and put forth a balanced manufacturing line in a senior capstone project. The chosen product was a concealed shelf, or a shelf with a hidden compartment. The team aimed to design a product, formulate a project plan, analyze the market, conduct financial analysis, develop a prototype, establish a manufacturing process, and demonstrate that process in two production runs. The team used tools such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), market surveys, jig creation, and line balancing to accomplish these tasks. After two …

Manufacturing Processes Of A Wooden Tortilla Press: Idea To Production, Emma J. Palmer, Glenn Walker, Colleen Nolan, Olivia Marque, Benjamin Bird

Honors Theses

This thesis follows the Manufacturing Process of a Wooden Tortilla Press from idea to production following lean manufacturing processes and producing a valuable, and profitable product.

Development Of A Putting Green Manufacturing Process, Jose Andres Cepeda Santiago

Honors Theses

Our Capstone project investigates the end-to-end design, development, and production of a 6‑foot long portable putting green marketed for individuals seeking a high quality, competitively priced golf product for home or office use. The capstone project examines the full lifecycle of product creation applying manufacturing principles learned through the center of manufacturing’s coursework. From the initial concept through engineering design, market research, prototyping, manufacturing optimization, and final production the project emphasizes cross‑functional collaboration across engineering, business, and accountancy majors. Methods used to gather data included marketing surveys, CAD drawings, time studies during production runs, value stream mapping, and controlled documentation …

Development Of A Putting Green Manufacturing Process, Avalon R. Madden

Honors Theses

Our Capstone project investigates the end to end design, development, and production of a 6‑foot long portable putting green marketed for individuals seeking a high quality, competitively priced golf product for home or office use. The capstone project examines the full lifecycle of product creation applying manufacturing principles learned through the center of manufacturing’s coursework. From the initial concept through engineering design, market research, prototyping, manufacturing optimization, and final production the project emphasizes cross‑functional collaboration across engineering, business, and accountancy majors. Methods used to gather data included marketing surveys, CAD drawings, time studies during production runs, value stream mapping, and …

The Design And Manufacturing Process Of The Concealed Shelf, Emma R. Freeman

Honors Theses

The Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME) at the University of Mississippi challenges students to manufacture a product and put forth a balanced manufacturing line in a senior capstone project. The chosen product was a concealed shelf, or a shelf with a hidden compartment. The team aimed to design a product, formulate a project plan, analyze the market, conduct financial analysis, develop a prototype, establish a manufacturing process, and demonstrate that process in two production runs. The team used tools such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), market surveys, jig creation, and line balancing to accomplish these tasks. After two …

Design And Production Of A Carbon Fiber Longboard, Jacob T. Williams

Honors Theses

This thesis contains an overview of the design, prototyping, and manufacturing of a carbon fiber long board. The purpose of this capstone was to create a viable product for the real-world market and then determine how to manufacture it at scale with sustainable financial practices. In order to accomplish this task, engineering, accounting, and manufacturing challenges had to be overcome throughout all stages. The production process involved the carbon fiber layup, baking, water jet cutting, and assembly of the carbon fiber longboard. In order to optimize this process, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing problem solving techniques were applied. After a …

The Design And Manufacturing Process Of The Concealed Shelf, Mexrojiddinbek Sattorov

Honors Theses

This document contains information regarding the design and build process of the Concealed Shelf, which is a furniture product with hidden storage capability. First, the team members decided on the design of the product, followed by market analysis and manufacturing feasibility. Lean manufacturing principles were applied to improve the process efficiency and reduce waste.

Multiple prototypes were built with varying raw materials and locking mechanisms. Jigs and fixtures were handcrafted to ensure more consistent product quality. Two production runs were conducted to evaluate performance and identify areas for improvement.

The final design includes economic considerations, manufacturing layout, and continuous improvement …

Lunar Manufacturing Systems And The Role Of Additive Recycling Technologies, Camille A. Newman

Honors Theses

Renewed international interest in sustained lunar exploration has created a growing demand for technologies to support long-duration space exploration. Part of the recent Artemis missions and the Moon to Mars initiative is to improve key mission capabilities and fill critical gaps necessary to sustain lunar habitation. Waste management, recycling systems, and manufacturing systems have been identified as critical technologies that need further development before a sustained mission is possible. This thesis explores the feasibility of an additive manufacturing and recycling system designed to process plastic waste generated during extended lunar habitation. Initial research focused on existing manufacturing and recycling technologies …

Lunar Manufacturing Systems And The Role Of Additive Recycling Technologies, Camille A. Newman

Honors Theses

Renewed international interest in sustained lunar exploration has created a growing demand for technologies to support long-duration space exploration. Part of the recent Artemis missions and the Moon to Mars initiative is to improve key mission capabilities and fill critical gaps necessary to sustain lunar habitation. Waste management, recycling systems, and manufacturing systems have been identified as critical technologies that need further development before a sustained mission is possible. This thesis explores the feasibility of an additive manufacturing and recycling system designed to process plastic waste generated during extended lunar habitation. Initial research focused on existing manufacturing and recycling technologies …

Introduction To Computer-Aided Design Using Solidworks® : A Structured Approach To Parametric Modeling And Design Intent, Swapnil Moon

Open and Affordable Textbooks

This textbook introduces computer-aided design (CAD) using SOLIDWORKS® through a structured, design-centered approach that emphasizes parametric modeling and engineering reasoning. Rather than focusing solely on software commands, the material develops foundational skills in design intent, constraint-based modeling, and feature relationships to create robust, adaptable models.

The content is organized progressively, beginning with basic sketching and feature creation and advancing to complex part modeling, assemblies, motion studies, and engineering drawings. Each chapter builds upon prior concepts, reinforcing systematic modeling practices and promoting the development of system-level thinking required in real-world engineering design workflows.

Designed for undergraduate students with little or no …

Niu Fsae Brake Rotor Design & Flywheel-Based Test Stand Development, Cody J. Marko, Austin Coyne, Alexander Boyden

Honors Capstones

This project addresses the need for a reliable and validated brake rotor for the Northern Illinois University Formula SAE vehicle following a prior catastrophic rotor failure within the team. Brake rotors in high-performance applications are subjected to significant thermal and mechanical loads, and inadequate design can lead to failure, posing serious safety risks and limiting vehicle performance. To solve this issue, a new brake rotor was designed alongside a dedicated test stand to both improve braking performance and enable experimental validation. The rotor was evaluated using finite element analysis (FEA), including transient thermal and structural simulations, to predict maximum temperature, …

Using Machine-Learning-Based Process Map To Guide Evaluation Of Inconel 625 Mechanical Properties In Laser Foil Printing, Yu Hsiang Wang, Sung Heng Wu, Hung Chu Chiang, Pen Ning Yu, Chia Hung Hung, Ming C. Leu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Inconel 625 is widely studied in powder-based additive manufacturing, but its processing characteristics and mechanical performance in foil-feedstock laser foil printing (LFP) remain largely unexplored. In this study, a gradient boosting regression (GBR)-based process map was developed for LFP of Inconel 625 using 32 single-track experiments. The GBR model achieved R² values of 0.859 and 0.793 and mean absolute errors of 22.25 μm and 19.83 μm for melt-pool depth and width, respectively, outperforming second- and third-order polynomial regressions in capturing nonlinear melt-pool responses and distinguishing lack-of-fusion, conduction, and keyhole regimes. Three conduction-mode conditions with target depth-to-foil thickness ratios (D/T) …

Manufacturing Systems: Characteristics And Dynamics, Alan J. Fitzmorris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This research answers three basic questions. First, what are the behaviors (dynamics) of a manufacturing system in the context of system performance? Are these dynamics best described as linear deterministic, periodic, nonlinear deterministic, or stochastic? Second, what are the complexity (chaotic) characteristics of a manufacturing system, namely the maximal Lyapunov exponent, correlation dimension, and Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy? Third, is there a relationship between complexity characteristics and manufacturing system performance? This research involves four high level steps: data analysis, system dynamics analysis, system complexity analysis, and correlation analysis. The data analyzed consists of concrete plant and shipbuilding shop time series performance data. …

Modernizing Plastics And Composites Manufacturing Using Hybrid Modeling Techniques, Luke Shannon

All Dissertations

Plastics and composites manufacturing encompasses a broad family of processes, including injection molding, resin transfer molding, compression molding, and extrusion, that together account for the vast majority of polymer and composite component production worldwide. These processes are inherently challenging due to the multi-physics nature of polymer processing, the vast possible combinations of resins, reinforcements, and additives, and the strong dependence of final part properties on process history. Among these processes, injection molding is one of the most widely deployed, producing high-volume components across automotive, medical, consumer electronics, and packaging industries. However, accurately monitoring and predicting process behavior in injection molding …

A Federated Learning Framework For Data-Sovereign Predictive Maintenance In Distributed Smart Manufacturing, Md Sazol Ahmmed, Sriram Praneeth Isanaka, Frank Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Featured Application: The proposed federated learning framework can be applied in distributed smart manufacturing environments where multiple factories or production facilities collaboratively develop predictive maintenance models without sharing sensitive operational data. This approach is particularly useful for industrial networks involving geographically distributed plants, contract manufacturing partners, and multi-site production systems where data sovereignty and avoidance of raw data sharing are critical. Predictive maintenance enables early detection of machine failures and reduces unexpected production downtime. However, conventional approaches typically rely on centralized data collection and model training which introduce challenges related to data sovereignty, communication overhead and data ownership. To address …

Implementation Of The Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies In Tanzania’S Downstream Oil And Gas Industries, Vitalis John Mwinyi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The advent of the fourth industrial revolution (IR4.0) has resulted in the digital transformation of multiple sectors of the economy due to the disruptive nature of the technologies driving the revolution. The technologies have already found their way into the oil and gas industries across the globe, especially in upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. However, the degree of implementation is not the same for these operations, considering the complexities involved, integrated process, the associated risk and investment cost, among others. This study aimed to establish the implementation level of IR4.0 technologies in the downstream operations. A survey method was employed …

Manufacturing Of Functional Surface Coatings In The Automotive Industry, Gulirano Saidakhmedova

Technical science and innovation

The development of environmentally sustainable technologies for material processing represents one of the most pressing scientific and technical challenges in modern industrial production. This issue is particularly relevant to the automotive industry, where growing demands for energy efficiency, durability, and environmental safety necessitate the adoption of advanced manufacturing methods. Special attention is given to developing vacuum-based, import-substituting equipment and technologies for producing functional coatings from composite materials with predefined physical, mechanical, and optical properties, including reflective and protective characteristics. Current requirements for mechanical engineering products and production technologies drive the need for innovative approaches to material processing and specialized technical …

Quantitative Phase-Field Modeling Of Nonequilibrium Microstructural Evolution In Rapid Solidification For Additive Manufacturing, Leiji Li, Fei Xiao, Ying Zhou, Xiaorong Cai, Chongfeng Zhang, Jinzhong Gao, Xiaopeng Shen, Tianchi Zhu, Sihan Wang, Yijia Gu, Xuejun Jin

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fusion-based metal additive manufacturing (AM) relies on layer-by-layer deposition and rapid solidification, where the material transitions swiftly from liquid to solid. A key phenomenon during this process is solute trapping, a nonequilibrium effect governed by a velocity-dependent partition coefficient, which critically influences microstructure kinetics, morphology, and phase formation. In this study, we employ a recently proposed quantitative phase field (PF) model to systematically explore solute trapping, solute drag, and their impacts on pattern formation during rapid solidification at AM-relevant velocities, in both one and two dimensions. Our simulations reveal a growth mode transition from planar to cellular to dendritic, and …

Construction Of A Deffi Sprayer: Using 3d Printer Methodology And Techniques For Cost-Effective Analysis Using Desi Mass Spectrometry Imaging, Ryan Karst, Savvy Stevens, Luke Amos, Logan Koester, Ethan Newbold, Karson Whitaker

Symposium Projects

Using 3D Printer Methodology and Techniques for Cost-Effective Analysis using DESI Mass Spectrometry Imaging

Optimizing Warranty Policies For Remanufactured Products: When Should They Be Longer, Shorter, Or Identical To New Product Warranties?, Kunpeng Li, Jun-Yeon Lee

Faculty Publications

Manufacturers adopt different warranty strategies for remanufactured products, offering shorter, identical, or longer warranty periods compared to new products. However, prior research has only focused on manufacturers offering either shorter or identical warranties. In addition, the existing literature has not captured the diminishing returns of warranties, i.e., as the warranty coverage increases, its incremental benefits begin to decrease but the costs continue to increase. To address these gaps, we develop an optimization model that jointly considers pricing and warranty decisions while accounting for warranty’s diminishing effect on consumer’s willingness to pay for remanufactured products. We show that all three observed …

Layer-Wise Printing Parameter Optimization For Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Chaoran Dou, Rongxuan Wang, Raghav Gnanasambandam, Jianzhi Li, Zhenyu James Kong

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a transformative technology that enables the fabrication of complex geometries layer by layer. However, metal parts produced via AM processes such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) are prone to various defects, including porosity and deformation. These defects often result from suboptimal printing parameter settings. Traditional approaches typically aim to reduce defects by optimizing a fixed set of parameters for the entire part. However, such methods do not account for layer-wise variations in printing conditions caused by changes in geometry, heat transfer, and re-heating effects. While optimizing parameters for each layer could improve part quality, it …

Reinforcement Learning For Imbalanced Data In Robotic Anomaly Detection Within Autonomous Manufacturing, Salma Messaoudi, Ahmed Bendaouia, El Hassan Abdelwahed, Mohammed Ameksa, Hajar Mousannif, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Ensuring reliable anomaly detection in industrial robots is critical for safe and autonomous manufacturing operations. However, it remains challenging due to temporal dependencies and class imbalance in sensor data. This study presents a reinforcement learning approach using Deep Q-Network (DQN) enhanced with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM) for robust anomaly detection in robotic systems. The proposed framework integrates an LSTM into the DQN policy to capture temporal patterns. It also introduces a novel GBM-based reward mechanism that mitigates class imbalance by applying SMOTE (Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique) after removing temporal dependencies. Experimental results demonstrate that this …

Thermal Management And Lubrication Characteristics Of Tungsten Disulfide (Ws2) Vegetable-Based Nanolubricants, Jaime Taha-Tijerina, Dyana De Leon-Elizondo, Jade Mendieta, Leonardo Taha-Soto

Informatics and Engineering Systems Faculty Publications

Recent innovations with the aid of nanotechnology are more frequently seen in the industrial sectors. Lubricants are a high-end commodity resource used in many manufacturing processes; unfortunately, most of these lubricants are petroleum-based, which come with certain drawbacks, such as environmental aspects, handling issues and high costs. With the incorporation of nanostructures within fluids and lubricants, novel material alternatives are replacing conventional lubrication systems, maintaining the required thermophysical and tribological characteristics. This research provides an analysis of vegetable lubricant, castor oil (CO), and the effects of the incorporation of WS2 nanofiller at diverse filler fractions. A TEMPOS thermal analyzer device …

Bonderson Workbench, Han Xu, Aidan Robleto, Sean Murphy, Victor Duran

Mechanical Engineering

This project redesigns the existing creative workbenches in Cal Poly's Bonderson High Bay to improve mobility and functionality for students and staff in the Mechanical Engineering Department.

Fsae Bespoke Brake Calipers For Hub Motor Architecture, Connor William Vaughan, Liam Upton Walsh, Bradley Brian Kern

Mechanical Engineering

Brakes are the most critical safety system on any performance vehicle, and as Cal Poly Racing transitions their Formula SAE car from a single rear motor to a four-in-wheel motor setup with regenerative braking, the team identified an opportunity to develop a bespoke brake caliper tailored to their specific needs. This document outlines the research, design, manufacturing, and validation of custom front brake calipers designed to improve upon commercial motorcycle calipers in key areas such as serviceability, mounting rigidity, thermal behavior, mass, and hub motor integration. The resulting design is a two-piece, four-piston, radially-mounted aluminum caliper featuring titanium pistons, toolless …

Cvj Torque Loss Dynamometer, Malaika Sriram, Coleman Brown, Zachary Norris, Logan Mast, Chris Mattis

Mechanical Engineering

This report details the design and results of a dynamometer testing rig built to measure torque losses in constant velocity joints (CVJs) for Cal Poly Racing's Baja SAE team. The rig spins a flywheel connected to articulable CVJs up to 800 RPM using a motor, then decouples it and measures the spin-down rate from 800 to 100 RPM to calculate angular acceleration and torque loss. The data collected from this dyno will be used to inform freewheel packaging for future Baja car development.

Design And Development Of A 12-Degree-Of-Freedom Quadruped Robot, Kai De La Cruz

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the design, analysis, and experimental validation of a 12-degree-of-freedom (DOF) quadruped robot developed as a research platform for legged locomotion and control. The system builds upon the Cal Poly Legged Robotics Group’s prior 8-DOF quadruped, addressing key limitations in manipulability, load distribution, and mechanical robustness by introducing a 3-DOF leg architecture.

The mechanical design emphasizes lightweight construction, structural integrity, and modularity to support future research extensions. Static and dynamic loading models were developed to inform component sizing and material selection. A carbon-fiber chassis and redesigned leg assemblies were fabricated and validated through finite element analysis and physical …

Enhancement Of Plastic Deformation In Ultrasound-Assisted Cold Spray Of Tungsten: A Molecular Dynamics Study, Md Tusher Ahmed, Farid Ahmed, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Tungsten (W) is widely valued for its exceptional thermal stability, mechanical strength, and corrosion resistance, making it an ideal candidate for high-performance military and aerospace applications. However, its high melting point and limited room-temperature plasticity pose significant challenges for processing W using additive manufacturing (AM). Cold spray (CS), a solid-state AM process that relies on high-velocity particle impact and plastic deformation, offers a promising route for additive manufacturing of W, yet conventional CS fails to induce sufficient plastic deformation for effective bonding. In this study, we employ atomistic simulations to investigate the effect of ultrasonic perturbation in …

An Autonomous Robotic System For Object Retrieval And Delivery: Enhancing Independence For Users Living With Disability And Older Adults, Jincheng Li, Chenghao Lin, Amna Mazen, Youssef A. Bazzi

Michigan Tech Publications

As the global population ages, there is a growing need for assistive technologies to help older adults maintain their independence. This work presents a cost-effective autonomous socially assistive robot designed for object retrieval and delivery, enhancing accessibility in home environments. The system is built on the Robot Operating System (ROS) framework and integrates three key components: the Pioneer P3-DX mobile robot for autonomous navigation, the ReactorX-200 robotic arm for pick-and-place operations, and the Kinect v2 RGB-D camera for object detection and localization. Users interact with the robot through natural language processing by issuing voice commands to retrieve various objects. Microsoft …

Artificial Intelligence And Additive Manufacturing As A Coupled Design System: Rethinking Inference, Manufacturability, And Design Education, Charul Chadha, Garth Crosby, Sabit Ekin, Mohamed Gharib, Eman Hammad, Congrui Jin, Ali Ahmad Malik, Noemi Mendoza Diaz, Calahan Mollan, Monsuru Ramoni

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming deeply integrated into additive manufacturing (AM) workflows, reshaping how designers approach geometry, materials, and process constraints. AI holds significant potential by accelerating design exploration, revealing complex patterns in AM behavior, and supporting earlier assessment of manufacturability. At the same time, it introduces new risks related to model transparency, data quality, physical validity, and the potential for overreliance by students and practitioners. This perspective examines these issues through four guiding questions that address the role of AI in AM-enabled design, the gaps that limit or enable AI contribution, the implications for engineering education, and the responsibilities …