An Overview of the Design Process

Design
Design is the process by which the needs of the customer or the marketplace are transformed into a product satisfying these needs. It is usually carried out a designer or engineer but requires help from other people in the company. Design essentially is an exercise in problem solving. Typically, the design of a new product consists of the following stages:

The development of a new product may also require the development of a prototype to prove that new technologies work before committing resources to full-scale manufacture. The traditional view of the design to manufacture process is that it is a sequential process, the outcome of one stage is passed on to the next stage. This tends to lead to iteration in the design. I.e. having to go back to an earlier stage to correct mistakes. This can make products more expensive and delivered to the marketplace late. A better approach is for the designer to consider the stages following design to try and eliminate any potential problems. This means that the designer requires help from the other experts in the company for example the manufacturing expert to help ensure that any designs the designer comes up with can be made. So what factors might a designer have to consider in order to eliminate iteration?

Manufacture - Can the product be made with our facilities? Sales - Are we producing a product that the customer wants? Purchasing - Are the parts specified in stock, or do why have to order them? Cost - Is the design going to cost too much to make? Transport - Is the product the right size for the method of transporting? Disposal - How will the product be disposed at the end of its life?

Design Brief
The design brief is typically a statement of intent. I.e. "We will design and make a Formula One racing car". Although it states the problem, it isn't enough information with which to start designing.

Product Design Specification (PDS)

This is possibly the most important stage of the design process and yet one of the least understood stage. It is important that before you produce a 'solution' there is a true understanding of the actual problem. The PDS is a document listing the problem in detail. It is important to work with the customer and analyse the marketplace to produce a list of requirements necessary to produce a successful product. The designer should constantly refer back to this document to ensure designs are appropriate. To produce the PDS it is likely that you will have to research the problem and analyse competing products and all important points and discoveries should be included in your PDS.

Concept Design
Using the PDS as the basis, the designer attempts to produce an outline of a solution. A conceptual design is a usually an outline of key components and their arrangement with the details of the design left for a later stage. For example, a concept design for a car might consist of a sketch showing a car with four wheels and the engine mounted at the front of the car. The exact details of the components such as the diameter of the wheels or the size of the engine are determined at the detail design stage. However, the degree of detail generated at the conceptual design stage will vary depending on the product being designed. It is important when designing a product that you not only consider the product design specification but you also consider the activities downstream of the design stage. Downstream activities typically are manufacture, sales, transportation etc. By considering these stages early, you can eliminate problems that may occur at these stages. This stage of the design involves drawing up a number of different viable concept designs which satisfy the requirements of the product outlined in the PDS and then evaluating them to decide on the most suitable to develop further. Hence, concept design can be seen as a two-stage process of concept generation and concept evaluation

Concept generation
Typically, designers capture their ideas by sketching them on paper. Annotation helps identify key points so that their ideas can be communicated with other members of the company. There are a number of techniques available to the designer to aid the development of new concepts. One of the most popular is brainstorming. This technique involves generating ideas, typically in small groups, by saying any idea that comes into your head no matter how silly it may seem. This usually sparks ideas from other team members. By the end of a brainstorming session there will be a list of ideas, most useless, but some may have the potential to be developed into a concept. Brainstorming works better if the members of the team have different areas of expertise.

Concept evaluation
Once a suitable number of concepts have been generated, it is necessary to choose the design most suitable for to fulfil the requirements set out in the PDS. The product design specification should be used as the basis of any decision being made. Ideally a multifunction design team should perform this task so that each concept can be evaluated from a number of angles or perspectives. The chosen concept will be developed in detail. One useful technique for evaluating concepts to decide on which one is the best is to use a technique called 'matrix evaluation'

With matrix evaluation a table is produced listing important the features required from a product usually this list is drawn up from the important features described in the product design specification. The products are listed across the table. The first concept is the benchmark concept. The quality of the other concepts are compared against the benchmark concept for the required features, to help identify if the concept is better, worse than, or is the same as the benchmark concept. The design with the most 'better than' is likely to be the best concept to develop further. Most people who use the matrix technique will assign points, rather than simple, better, worse, same, so that it is easier to identify which concepts are the best. It is also likely that some features of the design will be more important than others so a weighting is used.

Detail design
In this stage of the design process, the chosen concept design is designed in detailed with all the dimensions and specifications necessary to make the design specified on a detailed drawing of the design. It may be necessary to produce prototypes to test ideas at this stage. The designer should also work closely with manufacture to ensure that the product can be made.

The Product Design Specification

Why use a PDS? - Includes short design exercise. Was this your design? The function of the Product Design Specification The Product Design Specification Common Categories

Example PDS

The function of the PDS

Before we consider exactly what a Product Design Specification (PDS) is, let's spend five minutes on a short design project.

Design Brief
A customer has approached us and asked us to produce a design for a chair for their son. Read the design brief above and spend five minutes producing a design that you feels fulfils the brief. When you are happy click on the forward arrow.

Function of the PDS

As we have just seen, it is very easy to misinterpret a design brief and design a product the customer doesn't want. The aim of the product design specification or PDS as it is also known, is to help you to gain an understanding of the nature of the problem so that you can design a better solution to the problem. Going back to our example, it was important for instance to find out the type of chair the customer wanted before we produced a design. But there are other factors to be considered such as materials

available, the size of the user, or even the colour they customer wants the product to be. The more we know about the problem the easier it will be to produce a final design that works first time and doesn't require alterations at a later stage. The product design specification will help you understand the problem before you start your design.

How to write a PDS

The product design specification (PDS) is a very important document in the design process as it contains all the information necessary for a design team to successfully produce a solution to the design problem. A PDS splits the problem up into smaller categories to make it easier to consider the problem. The final document should fully document as unambiguously as possible all the requirements that a product must fulfil together with any constraints that may affect the product. The actual or intended customer should be consulted as fully as possible while the PDS is being drawn up as their requirements are of paramount importance. Any numeric properties in the PDS should be specified as exactly as possible together with any tolerances allowed on their value.

Common categories
Various aspects relating to the product must be considered. The actual categories can vary, but a typical PDS may consist of the following categories: Appearance Documentation Installation Legal and safety implications Materials Processes Product life Standards Competition Ergonomics Product disposal Legislation, patents and copyright Packaging and transport Product cost Quality Testing Customer Environment Lead times Maintenance Performance Product dimensions Quantity Click on a category to find out more information.

The final document will be agreed by the customer.

Example Product Design Specification

Appearance Function of Category The way a product 'looks' or it's aesthetics will have a major influence on its marketability. This is especially true for consumer items such as video recorders, fridge's and motor cars. However it is also true for many industrial products like milling machines. The appearance of a product must be built into a product at the design stage. A simple way to influence a product's appearance is through the selection of suitable colours and surface treatments. Shape will also influence a customer's reaction. The selection of materials and manufacturing processes can have a decisive effect on

the aesthetic appeal of a product and may have to be carefully considered. A good industrial designer will be able to integrate the functionality of a product with desirable aesthetic characteristics. Some questions you might think about

Competition Function of Category If there are competing products in the marketplace, it can be useful to research them and document any discoveries. Of particular important factor is the selling price of the competing products. The marketing department will usually use a number of different techniques to analyse competing organisations and their products.

Some questions you might think about

Customer Function of Category It is vital that the needs of the customer or intended customer are taken into account when drawing up a PDS. The customer is the reason the product is being developed and if the customer does not like the final product or the product's specifications do not meet the customer requirements, the product is likely to be unsuccessful. Different markets will have impose different requirements for a product to succeed. If a product is being aimed at a particular market, extensive research should be carried out to identify these requirements. Some questions you might think about

Product disposal Function of Category The means of disposal of the product when after the user has finished with the product should be considered in at PDS stage. This is especially important if the product contains potentially toxic or dangerous material or chemicals. Any relevant environmental legislation that is relevant to the disposal of a product.

Some questions you might think about

Documentation Function of Category Documentation for a product should include sufficient instruction details so that the customer is able to use the product and so that maintenance personnel can do any required routine maintenance. From legal and safety perspectives, it is desirable that an organisation does this so as not to leave themselves open to law suits resulting from incorrect operation of their products. For large projects or products, the documentation involved can contribute substantially to the overall cost of the product, hence the amount and type of documentation required should be specified in the PDS.

Some questions you might think about

Environment Function of Category The environment a product encounters from manufacture through to delivery to the customer should be considered. Most products will be expected to operate in a wide range of environments. This will have a determine the selection of materials used. Some factors that should be considered include : Some questions you might think about The temperature range. Corrosive environments. Dirt or dust that may affect the product. Pressure and humidity ranges. The degree of neglect and abuse the product will be exposed to. Vibration and noise levels.

Ergonomics Function of Category Ergonomics investigates how the user interacts with the product. (E.g. in the case of a car, an ergonomic requirement might be that the control panels are not more than one metre away from the driver's seat). The designer must consider the targeted user at the design stage so that the finished product is usable. Major limitations that must be considered are: Size issues (E.g. will a driver be able to reach the pedals on a motor car). Reaction times (Will an operator be able to respond in the required time to some situation).

 Some questions you might think about

The users strength (E.g. for a manually powered item, will the user be able to generate sufficient power)

Installation Function of Category The PDS should state who is responsible for the installation of the product. For some products (notably large items of machinery), installation costs can be comparable with the actual cost of the product, hence installation costs need to be built into the selling price if installation is to be performed by the manufacturing organisation.

Some questions you might think about

Lead times Function of Category The lead time, is the time required from the initial start of the project to the delivery to the first customer. The lead time associated with product design and manufacture should be specified in the PDS. For some products, the lead time may be as short as a few weeks. However, for more complex products, the lead time may be considerably longer. Development time for a new car may be several years while aircraft may take ten years from start to finish. In general, the quicker the product can be introduced into the marketplace, the more successful it will be. This is especially true of high technology products such as computers, there is no point introducing a product into the market that is obsolete immediately.

Some questions you might think about

Legal and safety implications Function of Category A manufacturer has to consider any product liability legislation and areas where potential defects may lead to the customer to sue the manufacturer. EEC countries are now adopting US style product liability laws, leaving manufacturers open to expensive lawsuits if their products are found to be at fault. Hence, the safety of the product is of paramount importance.

Some questions you might think about

Legislation, patents and copyright Function of Category A new product must comply with any legislation concerning it's manufacture or use by the customer. Typical legislation that must be complied with include: Product liability law. Health and safety legislation. European economic community laws. Factory inspectors. Environmental laws (These can have implications for the manufacture, the products use and also the disassembly and disposal of the product).

Patents When a new product is developed, it is important to ensure that it does not clash with any patents that have been registered. If it does, the original patent holder may take legal action or have rights to royalty payments. However, patents do not always stifle the product development process. Patents can give designers and marketing personnel new ideas as to products to develop and markets to exploit. Many patents are registered with a holder either unable or unwilling to commercially exploit the idea so organisations can buy up the rights to a patent and exploit the idea. Copyright If the product contains written or graphical material, it is important not to infringe copyright. Material written by another person may be summarised but not be copied. The copyright for items such as photographs belongs to the person who originally took the photograph, so permission must be obtained before using them. This should be written and not just verbal permission. Some questions you might think about

Maintenance Function of Category The service-life of a product should sufficient so that there is no need for major overhauls to the product. However most products will require routine maintenance to ensure efficient operation. If it is known that some of the components or parts are likely to require

routine maintenance, access to these parts should be as easy as possible. The maintenance schedule will also affect what spares are supplied as standard with a product. If any special tools are required for maintenance, this should be outlined in the PDS. Some questions you might think about

Materials Function of Category In most cases, the choice of materials will be left to the design team to decide on, after the PDS has been drawn up. In this way, the design team can specify materials which are the most suitable for the particular case. However, in some cases, a customer or feedback from market analysis can determine the need for a particular material to be used. A common example of this is that exposed aluminium alloy surfaces are not permitted on equipment for use in underground mines

Packaging and transport Function of Category The type of packaging specified in the PDS. For industrial products, packaging is likely to be functional only used to protect the product during transit and storage. The packaging for a consumer type product may need to be eye-catching to a potential customer. The type of packaging used influences the transportation method used to move the product factory to the customer or shop. The product may be transported in lorries, ships or other forms of transport so care needs to be taken to ensure that the product is suited to the type of transportation envisaged. There are well documented cases when products being designed for export that arrive at the docks but will not fit in the hull of the ship. Consideration of the type of transport at the design stage can eradicate these potentially costly and embarrassing situations. Performance Function of Category The performance category of the PDS outlines the main features of the function of the product. For instance, when outlining a PDS for a motor vehicle, typical questions that will need answering are : What will the maximum speed of the vehicle be ? How fast will the vehicle be required to accelerate at ? How much load will the vehicle be required to carry ? What minimum fuel consumption will be allowable ?

In order to specify a product's performance it may be necessary to ask a large number of such questions. However care should be taken in order not to over specify a product's performance so that it becomes unrealistic to economically produce it. For example specifying that the design of a new family car should be capable of

150 miles per hour would be unrealistic. Function of Category Product dimensions The dimensions and weight of the product must be documented in the PDS. For exceptionally large or heavy products, special manufacturing processes and facilities may have to be considered. There may also be problems transporting a large product. Small or delicate products may present problems such as how to handle the components during manufacture so as not to damage them.

Function of Category

Quantity The quantity produced of a product will have a significant effect as to the type of manufacturing processes and materials that can be selected by the design team. A mass produced product is likely to imply investment in automated production processes and special tooling, while a batch or a one-off production run will not require such an large investment.

Engineering Drawing
Planning your engineering drawing Line Styles Dimensioning

Types of Dimensioning Dimensioning Circles Dimensioning Holes Dimensioning Radii Tolerancing

Layout of Engineering Drawing Orthographic Projection Sectioning

Types of sectioning Hatching

Drawing thread parts Assembly Drawings

Planning your engineering drawing

Before starting your engineering drawing you should plan how you are going to make best use of the space. It is important to think about the number of views your drawing will have and how much space you will use of the paper.

Try to make maximum use of the available space. If a view has lots of detail, try and make that view as large as possible. If necessary, draw that view on a separate sheet. If you intend to add dimensions to the drawing, remember to leave enough space around the drawing for them to be added later. If you are working with inks on film, plan the order in which you are drawing the lines. For example you don't want to have to place your ruler on wet ink

Lines and line styles

In the first tutorial we learnt how to create simple shapes using the place line tool. The lines we created were all of the same thickness and type. But lines on an engineering drawing signify more than just the geometry of the object and it is important that you use the appropriate line types.

Line Thickness
For most engineering drawings you will require two thickness', a thick and thin line. The general recommendation are that thick lines are twice as thick as thin lines. A thick continuous line is used for visible edges and outlines. A thin line is used for hatching, leader lines, short centre lines, dimensions and projections.

Line Styles
Other line styles used to clarify important features on drawings are: Thin chain lines are a common feature on engineering drawings used to indicate centre lines. Centre lines are used to identify the centre of a circle, cylindrical features, or a line of symmetry. Centre lines will be covered in a little bit more detail later in this tutorial. Dashed lines are used to show important hidden detail for example wall thickness and holes..

Dimensioning - An Overview
A dimensioned drawing should provide all the information necessary for a finished product or part to be manufactured. An example dimension is shown below.

Dimensions are always drawn using continuous thin lines. Two projection lines indicate where the dimension starts and finishes. Projection lines do not touch the object and are drawn perpendicular to the element you are dimensioning. In general units can be omitted from dimensions if a statement of the units is included on your drawing. The general convention is to dimension in mm's. All dimensions less than 1 should have a leading zero. i.e. .35 should be written as 0.35

Lettering
All notes and dimensions should be clear and easy to read. In general all notes should be written in capital letters to aid legibility. All lettering should be of the same size and preferably no smaller than 3mm. An example typeface is shown below.

Types of dimensioning

Parallel Dimensioning
Parallel dimensioning consists of several dimensions originating from one projection line.

Superimposed Running Dimensions

Superimposed running dimensioning simplifies parallel dimensions in order to reduce the space used on a drawing. The common origin for the dimension lines is indicated by a small circle at the intersection of the first dimension and the projection line. In general all other dimension lines are broken. The dimension note can appear above the dimension line or inline with the projection line

Chain Dimensioning
Chains of dimension should only be used if the function of the object won't be affected by the accumulation of the tolerances. (A tolerance is an indication of the accuracy the product has to be made to. Tolerance will be covered later in this chapter).

Combined Dimensions
A combined dimension uses both chain and parallel dimensioning.

Dimensioning by Coordinates
Two sets of superimposed running dimensions running at right angles can be used with any features which need their centre points defined, such as holes.

Simplified dimensioning by co-ordinates

It is also possible to simplify coordinate dimensions by using a table to identify features and positions.

Dimensioning Small Features

When dimensioning small features, placing the dimension arrow between projection lines may create a drawing which is difficult to read. In order to clarify dimensions on small features any of the above methods can be used.

Dimensioning circles

All dimensions of circles are proceeded by this symbol; dimensioning circles:

. There are several conventions used for

(a) shows two common methods of dimensioning a circle. One method dimensions the circle between two lines projected from two diametrically opposite points. The second method dimensions the circle internally. (b) is used when the circle is too small for the dimension to be easily read if it was placed inside the circle. A leader line is used to display the dimension. (c) the final method is to dimension the circle from outside the circle using an arrow which points directly towards the centre of the circle. The first method using projection lines is the least used method. But the choice is up to you as to which you use.

Dimensioning Holes

When dimensioning holes the method of manufacture is not specified unless they necessary for the function of the product. The word hole doesn't have to be added unless it is considered necessary. The depth of the hole is usually indicated if it is isn't indicated on another view. The depth of the hole refers to the depth of the cylindrical portion of the hole and not the bit of the hole caused by the tip of the drip.

Dimensioning Radii
All radial dimensions are proceeded by the capital R. All dimension arrows and lines should be drawn perpendicular to the radius so that the line passes through the centre of the arc. All dimensions should only have one arrowhead which should point to the line being dimensioned. There are two methods for dimensioning radii. (a) shows a radius dimensioned with the centre of the radius

located on the drawing.

(b) shows how to dimension radii which do not need their centres locating.

Spherical dimensions
The radius of a spherical surface (i.e. the top of a drawing pin) when dimensioned should have an SR before the size to indicate the type of surface.

Tolerancing
It is not possible in practice to manufacture products to the exact figures displayed on an engineering drawing. The accuracy depends largely on the manufacturing process used and the care taken to manufacture a product. A tolerance value shows the manufacturing department the maximum permissible variation from the dimension. Each dimension on a drawing must include a tolerance value. This can appear either as:

a general tolerance value applicable to several dimensions. i.e. a note specifying that the General Tolerance +/- 0.5 mm. or a tolerance specific to that dimension

The method of expressing a tolerance on a dimension as recommended by the British standards is shown below:

Note the larger size limit is placed above the lower limit. All tolerances should be expressed to the appropriate number to the decimal points for the degree of accuracy intended from manufacturing, even if the value is limit is a zero for example. 45.25 44.80 should not be expressed as 45.25 44.8

The layout of an engineering drawing

It is important that you follow some simple rules when producing an engineering drawing which although may not be useful now, will be useful when working in industry. All engineering drawings should feature an information box. An example is shown below.

Common information recorded on an engineering drawing

TITLE NAME

The title of the drawing.

The name of the person who produced the drawing. This is important for quality control so that problems with the drawing can be traced back to their origin. CHECKED In many engineering firms, drawings are checked by a second person before they are sent to manufacture, so that any potential problems can be identified early. VERSION Many drawings will get amended over the period of the parts life. Giving each drawing a version number helps people identify if they are using the most recent version of the drawing. DATE The date the drawing was created or amended on. SCALE The scale of the drawing. Large parts won't fit on paper so the scale provides a quick guide to the final size of the product. PROJECTION SYSTEM

The projection system used to create the drawing should be identified to help people read the drawing. (Projection systems will be covered later). COMPANY NAME Many CAD drawings may be distributed outside the company so the company name is usually added to identify the source.

Orthographic projection
The aim of an engineering drawing is to convey all the necessary information of how to make the part to the manufacturing department. For most parts, the information cannot be conveyed in a single view. Rather than using several sheets of paper with different views of the part, several views can be combined on a single drawing using one of the two available projection systems, first angle, and third angle projection.

The diagram below demonstrates how the projection systems work

With first angle projection, the view you are looking at is projected through to the other side of the object. So if we are drawing the three visible sides of the object illustrated in first angle projection, we are drawing the views projected on the other side of the object and not three nearest views.

Sectioning - Introduction
Sections and sectional views are used to show hidden detail more clearly. They are created by using a cutting plane to cut the object. A section is a view of no thickness and shows the outline of the object at the cutting plane. Visible outlines beyond the cutting plane are not drawn. A sectional view, displays the outline of the cutting plane and all visible outlines which can be seen beyond the cutting plane. The diagram below shows a sectional view, and how a cutting plane works.

Types of sectioning
Sectional View in a single plane
The example below shows a simple single plane sectional view where object is cut in half by the cutting plane. The cutting plane is indicated on a drawing using the line style used for centre lines, but with a thick line indicating the end of lines and any change in the direction of the cutting plane. The direction of the view is indicated by arrows with a reference letter. The example below shows a sectional view of the cutting plane A - A.

Sectional View in two planes

It is possible for the cutting plane to change directions, to minimise on the number of sectional views required to capture the necessary detail. The example below shows a pipe being cut by two parallel planes. The sketch shows where the object is cut.

Half Sectional views

Half sections are commonly used to show both the internal and outside view of symmetrical objects.

Part Sectional views

It is common practice to section a part of an object when only small areas need to be sectioned to indicate the important details. The example above shows a part sectional view to indicate a through-hole in a plate. Notice that the line indicating the end of the section is a thin continuous line.

Hatching
On sections and sectional views solid area should be hatched to indicate this fact. Hatching is drawn with a thin continuous line, equally spaced (preferably about 4mm apart, though never less than 1mm) and preferably at an angle of 45 degrees.

Hatching a single object

When you are hatching an object, but the objects has areas that are separated, all areas of the object should be hatched in the same direction and with the same spacing.

Hatching Adjacent objects

When hatching assembled parts, the direction of the hatching should ideally be reversed on adjacent parts. If more than two parts are adjacent, then the hatching should be staggered to emphasise the fact that these parts are separate.

Reverse hatching

Staggered Hatching

Hatching thin materials

Sometimes, it is difficult to hatch very thin sections. To emphasise solid wall the walls can be filled in. This should only be used when the wall thickness size is less than 1mm

Hatching large areas

When hatching large areas in order to aid readabilty, the hatching can be limited to the area near the edges of the part.

Drawing threaded parts

Drawing Conventions

Threads are drawn with thin lines as shown in this illustration. When drawn from end-on, a threaded section is indicated by a broken circle drawn using a thin line. A threaded part

Frequently a threaded section will need to be shown inside a part. The two illustrations to the left demonstrate two methods of drawing a threaded section. Note the conventions. The hidden detail is drawn as a thin dashed line. The sectional view uses both thick and thin line with the hatching carrying on to the very edges of the object.

Assembly Drawings
The previous chapters covered the general aspects of engineering drawing and how to produce a detailed drawing of a single part with all the necessary information to make the part. The assembly of these parts is shown in an assembly drawing also known as a general arrangement.

Features of an assembly drawing

Dimensions Detailed dimensions required for manufacture are excluded from assembly drawings. But overall dimensions of the assembled object are usually indicated. If the spatial relationship between parts if important for the product to function correctly then these should also be indicated on the drawing. For example idicating the maximum and minimum clearance between two parts. Internal Parts If there are internal assemblies, sectional views should be used. Parts list Each part is given a unique number, indicated on the drawing by a circle with the number in it and a leader line pointing to the part. The leader line terminates in an arrow if the line touches the edge of the component, or in a circle if the line terminates inside the part. A table of parts should be added to the drawing to identify each part, an example of a parts list is shown below: Item No. Description Qty Material Remarks

The first three items; Item No., Description, and Quantity should be completed for every distint part on your drawing. (i.e. the number of duplicate parts are recorded in the quantity). The material is used for components that are being made within the company. The Remarks column is useful for specifying a manufacturers part number when using bough-in parts.

Metals
Common Metals
Cast Iron Steels, Common Mild Steel and Stainless Titanium Aluminium

 Copper & Brass

Cast iron
All cast irons consist of more than 2% carbon. This high carbon content makes them excellent materials to use for casting and at much lower temperatures than those required to cast steel. They also have better flow characteristics when molten helping them to fill the mould more easily. Grey cast iron, commonly used in engineering, is brittle and not very ductile. It can be machined reasonably easily but cannot be welded easily. Cast iron has been used for many applications are engine blocks and gears.

Advantages

Better corrosion resistance than steels in most environments. Very high strength in compression Very easy to cast

Disadvantages

Very brittle Poor weldability

Steels
Introduction
Steel in one form or another is the most widely used material for engineering purposes. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, with the proportion of carbon having a large influence on the properties of the steel. The carbon content of steel can be anything from 0.08 % to 2 %. There are a large number of different steel alloys available. Two main families of steels are

Carbon (Mild) steel Stainless steels

Mild steels
Carbon steel is sometimes referred to as 'mild steel' or 'plain carbon steel'. The American Iron and Steel Institute defines a carbon steel as having no more than 2 % carbon and no other appreciable alloying element. Carbon steel makes up the largest part of steel production and is used in a vast range of applications. Typically carbon steels are stiff and strong. They also exhibit ferromagnetism (i.e. they are magnetic). This means they are extensively used in motors and electrical appliances. Welding carbon steels with a carbon content greater than 0.3 % requires that special precautions be taken. However, welding carbon steel presents far fewer problems than welding stainless steels. The corrosion resistance of carbon steels is poor (i.e. they rust) and so they should not be used in a corrosive environment unless some form of protective coating is used.

Advantages

Cheap Wide variety available with different properties High stiffness Magnetic

Most carbon steels are easy machine and weld

Disadvantages

Poor corrosion resistance (i.e. rusts)

Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is steel alloyed with chromium and other possible elements. This produces a steel with good resistance to corrosion. A stainless steel has a minimum of 10.5 % chromium content. Stainless steel's corrosion resistance is only effective in oxidising environments. When exposed to acids the corrosion resistance of stainless steel is no better than that of mild steel. Although stainless steel's resistance to atmospheric corrosion is excellent, the presence of chlorides (e.g. in a seaside atmosphere or in salt water) can cause pitting to occur.

Advantages

Greatly improved corrosion resistance in oxidising environments.

Disadvantages

Expensive Stainless steel can be more difficult to work with Difficult to weld stainless steel

Titanium
Titanium is a relatively abundant metal in nature, however the processes required to extract it are complex and expensive. Titanium can be used as either the pure metal or alloyed with other metals such as tin, chromium, copper etc. Titanium is used in situations where its light weight and/or corrosion resistance properties are important. Titanium weighs about half as much as steel however it's mechanical properties are better than many steels. It is also much stiffer than other lightweight materials such as aluminium and magnesium. Corrosion resistance properties of titanium and it's alloys are generally excellent. Titanium's resistance to seawater and other chloride-based solutions is very good. Generally, titanium is more corrosion resistant than stainless steel. Working with titanium can present problems. Milling and drilling of titanium requires special care to be taken and the cutting tool has to be kept sharp. Welding titanium cannot be carried out in air, it must be done using TIG welding because molten titanium reacts with oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen causing the metal to become more brittle. Casting titanium requires the use of a special vacuum furnace to ensure that the molten metal doesn't react with the atmosphere. It is used for applications such as aircraft components and storage tanks for corrosive chemicals.

Advantages

High strength-to-weight ratio. (Strong and light) Very good corrosion resistance

Disadvantages

Expensive material Processes for forming and joining titanium are complex and expensive. Expensive to cast

Aluminium
Aluminium is the most abundant metal to be found in nature. However aluminium is extracted from it's main ore (bauxite - - aluminium hydroxide) by an electrolytic process. This extraction process is relatively expensive because of the large amounts of electricity required. It is unusual to use pure aluminium as an engineering material. It will usually be alloyed with small amounts of manganese, silicon, copper, magnesium or zinc to increase its strength. Aluminium is a lightweight material with an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. It is easy to machine and form. Aluminium also possesses its own anticorrosion mechanism. When exposed to air, a hard oxide coating forms on the surface and seals the metal from the environment.

Advantages

Relatively low weight (2990 kg/m^3). Good resistance to corrosion. This is due to a thin layer of aluminium oxide forming on the outer surface of the material. Hence aluminium is often used where some form of atmospheric corrosion is a threat. Good thermal and electrical conductivity

Disadvantages

Relatively high cost (compared to steel)

Copper and Brass

Copper is a reddish brown metal widely used for applications which benefit from its excellent electrical conductivity. Copper is ductile and can easily beat into shape but it's lack of strength stops it from being used for structural engineering applications. One of the main uses of copper is electrical wiring. Copper can be easily joined using silver soldering of brazing. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. It is harder than copper and it is a yellowish colour but it's surface tarnishes very quickly. Brass can be easily cast and machined and is mainly used for electrical fittings and ornaments.

Magnesium
Magnesium is a fairly abundant metal in nature, however extracting it requires the use of an expensive electrolysis process. The main advantage of magnesium is that it is one of the lightest engineering metals available. This gives it a very high strength-to-weight ratio. Because of the relatively low tensile strength of pure magnesium, it is usually used as an alloy (usually with aluminium, manganese and zinc). Because of its light weight, it has applications in the aircraft and aerospace industries. However, the use of magnesium is limited because the strength of aluminium is similar and typically costs half as much. Magnesium is also more brittle than most aluminium alloys. Magnesium's corrosion resistance is reasonable, though better than most steels its corrosion resistance is not as good as aluminium. Exposure to salt water or seaside atmospheres can cause

rapid pitting. Welding magnesium must be done using MIG or TIG welding processes because of magnesium's tendency to burn when heated in air, however the machinability of magnesium is excellent.

Advantages

Very light weight. Very easy to machine

Disadvantages

Expensive

Plastics
Introduction to plastics Thermosetting Plastics Thermoset Plastics

Introduction to Plastics
Plastics are polymeric materials, a material built up from long repeating chains of molecules. Polymers such as rubber occur naturally, but it wasn't until the development of synthetic polymers around 1910 that the polymers tailored to the needs of the engineer first started to appear. One of the first commercial plastics developed was Bakelite and was used for the casing of early radios. During the Second World War, plastics such as nylon and polyethylene were used as a replacement material for other materials in short supply. Because the early plastics were not completely chemically stable, they gained a reputation for being cheap and unreliable. However, advances in plastic technology since then, mean that plastics are a very important and reliable class of materials for product design. The mechanical properties of plastics tend to be inferior to most metals. Because of this, careful consideration must be given to using plastics for structural applications. Fibre reinforced plastics are extensively used where the mechanical properties of the base plastic material are not sufficient. However because of their relatively low weight, the ability to colour the plastics when manufacturing, and the ability to mould complex shapes relatively easily, plastics are extensively used for product casings and other applications where mechanical strength is not at a premium. Plastics are not cheap materials. The cost of raw plastic materials is typically higher than steel but less than aluminium. However, because processing costs over large production runs are lower, the use of plastics can result in significantly cheaper products. For applications requiring strength, the plastics can be reinforced by fibres, usually glass, which give the material added strength. There are two main families of plastics, thermosetting and thermoplastics.

Thermoplastics
Thermoplastics become soft when heated. They can be easily moulded and remoulded without significant degrading. Thermoplastics consist of long molecular chains with no regular structure (or very little regular structure).

There are many thermoplastics available:

Acetal

Polyethylene Polystyrene Polycarbonate Nylon Acrylic

Thermoplastic : Polyethylene
This plastic has a range of uses from food packaging to gas pipes. The plastics can be injection moulded or extruded and is available in two forms. High-density polyethylene is a hard rigid plastic. A low-density grade is tough and flexible

Thermoplastic : Polystyrene
Polystyrene is very easy to machine and is available in many different grades appropriate for use in injection moulding and blow moulding. Polystyrene based plastics are relatively cheap. Standard polystyrene is rigid and brittle and used for producing packaging.

Thermoplastics : Nylon
Nylon was originally developed as a textile but is available in many forms with vastly different properties. Engineering nylon grades are easy to machine with good resistance to biological attack. Unfortunately nylons can absorb moisture from the atmosphere and can degrade in strong sunlight (they are unstable in ultraviolet light) unless a stabilising chemical is added at the initial manufacture of the plastic. Nylons are easy to mould. Nylons also have a natural 'oily' surface that can act as a natural lubricant. Nylons are used for everything from clothes through to gears and bearings.

Thermoplastics : Acrylic
Acrylics are available in a range of colours and can be opaque, translucent or transparent. They are available in sheet, rod, and tube for use in injection moulding, extrusion and vacuum forming. Acrylics withstand weather and are stable in sunlight. Almost any colour can be produced. Transparent acrylic can be as clear as the finest optical glass, this led them to be used in optical equipment such as cameras. It is possible to significantly strengthen the acrylic when it is being made, these high grade acrylics are used use for aircraft windows.

Thermoplastics : Acetal
Acetal resins are strong, rigid, and have good moisture, heat, and solvent resistance. These engineering resins require stabilisers to be added if they are intended to be used for applications exposed to weathering. They are used for a range of applications, from handles and showerheads to industrial applications such as gears and springs.

Thermosetting Plastics
Thermoset plastics are rigid plastics, resistant to higher temperatures than thermoplastics. Once set, a thermoset plastics cannot be remoulded. There are several common thermoset plastics:

Expoxies Polyester

Thermoset : Expoxies
Epoxies come in resin form and are cured and set after which they cannot be remoulded. The agent added to the resin to cause it to start and cure (go hard) can alter the properties of the plastic considerably. Epoxies have excellent chemical resistance and are hard, rigid and sometime brittle. They have excellent adhesion properties and are therefore used as adhesives.

Thermoset : Polyester
Polyesters are hard and brittle but they can be combined with fibre glass to produce a glass reinforced plastic (GRP) which is used for car bodies, sailing boats and furniture. GRP's can be used for structural purposes but they are very expensive. They are available in flexible rolls that harden when a catalyst is added to produce a strong rigid shell.

Manufacturing
The way in which a product is made has a big effect on decisions taken by the designer during the design phase, after-all it is important that the product can be made. It is vitally important therefore that the correct manufacturing processes are chosen at the design stage so that your design doesn't have to be changed later. Obviously in industry, the aim is to produce a design which requires as little change as possible when being made, because change costs time, and time cost money!. In some engineering sectors you may design something in the morning, it will be made in the afternoon and reach the customer the next day! This section looks at many different aspects of manufacturing a product. Although it contains many techniques which can't be reproduced in schools and colleges, good students will demonstrate knowledge of appropriate mass production techniques throughout their projects even though you might not be able to achieve the desired effect in the workshop.

Manufacturing Processes and techniques Covers techniques such as casting, fabrication, plastic moulding and welding.

Manufacturing Processes and techniques

Casting Processes Fabrication Joining using mechanical fasteners Machining Plastic Forming Welding and Braizing Wood Joints Cleaning Processes Finishing Processes

Introduction to Casting

Introduction
Casting is the process whereby molten material is poured into a mould of the required shape and then allowed to solidify. Moulding is a similar process used to form plastic materials. The mould should be shaped so that molten material flows to all parts of the mould.

Advantages

This process is widely used as a primary forming process and suitable for bulk shaping of a material.

Disadvantages

The shape of the finished casting may be different to the shape of the mould because metals shrink as they cool.

Considerations when selecting a method of casting

The type of casting process most suitable for a particular application is dictated by a number of factors. These include:

The The The The The

number of castings cost per casting material being cast surface finish and tolerances of the finished casting size of the casting

Casting Methods
Typical casting processes include:

Sand casting

This involves packing a moulding material (traditionally a mixture of sand and clay) around a pattern of the casting. This is usually made of a hardwood and will be larger than the requirements of the finished casting to allow for shrinkage. The mould is then split so that the pattern can be removed.

Advantages
This process can be used for a large range of sizes and for small or large production runs. It is the cheapest casting process available for small production runs and can sometimes be economical for large production runs.

Disadvantages
The surface finish and tolerances of the finished casting are poor. This form of casting can significantly alter the mechanical properties of the material being cast. The time required to cast a components can be excessive due to the need to allow the casting to cool before removing it from the mould.

Die casting

Die casting uses a metal mould into which molten metal is poured and allowed to solidify. There are two main methods of feeding the molten metal into the mould. Gravity die casting uses the force of gravity to draw the molten metal down into the mould. Pressure die casting involves forcing the molten metal into the mould under pressure. Using pressure die casting enables more complex shapes to be cast ensuring the molten metal flows to all corners of the mould.

Advantages

Machining and finishing costs can significantly reduce or even eliminated because of the relatively good dimensional tolerances and surface finish achieved using this process, All casting alters the physical properties of the material, but using this die casting this can be minimised.

Disadvantages

This process too expensive for small production runs because of the high cost of producing the mould. Its use is restricted to metals with lower melting points (E.g. magnesium, aluminium) than the mould metal

Centrifugal casting

This process involves rotating the mould while the molten metal flows into it. The centrifugal force on the molten metal forces it to flow to the outside corners of the mould. This technique is typically used for casting large circular sections such as pipes etc.

Advantages
The centrifugal force ensures the mould is fully filled out with the molten material.

Disadvantages
Not suitable for casting complex shapes.

Investment casting

This process is sometimes termed lost wax casting. In this process, metal moulds are used to produce wax patterns of the part to be produced. The wax patterns are then coated with a ceramic paste. This is heated and the ceramic hardens to give the mould and the wax melts. Molten metal is then forced into the ceramic mould. On solidification of the metal, the ceramic mould is broken away. This process is typically used for smaller components and it is unlikely this process would be used to cast components weighing more than about 12 Kg.

Advantages

This is the only reliable casting process for metals with high melting points.

The surface finish of the casting can be very good. Relatively cheap for small production runs. Suitable for casting complex shapes.

Disadvantages

This process is only really suited for casting small components. It is an expensive process for large production runs.

Fabrication techniques
This technique involves making components up from stock materials. The material is first cut to the required shape and then joined using a suitable joining technique.

Advantages

This process is suitable for small production runs as the high initial costs associated with other processes such as casting are avoided

Disadvantages

This process is not so suitable for large production runs because of its labour intensive nature.

There are various methods available for cutting stock materials to the required shape such as:

Sawing Flame cutting Plasma cutting

Fabrication techniques
This technique involves making components up from stock materials. The material is first cut to the required shape and then joined using a suitable joining technique.

Advantages

This process is suitable for small production runs as the high initial costs associated with other processes such as casting are avoided

Disadvantages

This process is not so suitable for large production runs because of its labour intensive nature.

There are various methods available for cutting stock materials to the required shape such as:

Sawing

Sawing is a tried and tested fabrication process using saw teeth. In order to minimise material wastage, the saw blade should be as thin as possible. The most common type of saw used is the circular saw, however other types use include hack saws, jig saws, abrasive saws and friction saws. Abrasive saws are effectively very narrow grinding wheels. Friction saws have fairly blunt teeth. These strike the workpiece at high speed and localised melting occurs due to friction. This type of sawing has the disadvantage of leaving a burred edge to the workpiece.

Advantages

Leaves a fairly smooth and clean cut. Cost of equipment is relatively low.

Disadvantages

Difficult to cut curved surfaces. Flame cutting

This process is used to cut ferrous materials. The material is heated by an oxygen - fuel gas flame to a sufficient temperature to cause the steel or iron to oxidise. The oxide slag is then blown from the workpiece by the oxygen stream. This technique uses equipment similar to oxyacetylene welding except that a special cutting nozzle is used on the cutting torch. For oxidation resistant steels (E.g. stainless steels) may be cut by adding iron powder into the oxygen stream. The process can either be manually or automatically controlled. If manual control is used, a small guide wheel is usually fitted to the gas torch to help guide the operator. If automatic control is used, driving motors connected to some form of controller is used.

Advantages

Uses standard, readily available equipment.

Disadvantages

Wastage of material can be a problem Not suitable for non ferrous materials Plasma cutting

Plasma Cutting
This process was originally a development of tungsten inert gas welding. A tungsten cathode is used and the arc produced is surrounded by a narrow nozzle. Argon gas is blown through this nozzle and is dissociated by the arc, forming a plasma. This then strikes the workpiece and localised heating occurs (up to 20000'C). The workpiece melts and a cut results. A secondary shielding flow of gas is maintained around the arc, the type of gas used depends on the material being cut.

Advantages

This process is especially suitable for non-ferrous metals, which cannot be cut using the flame cutting process

Disadvantages

There can be a high wastage of material Uses expensive non-standard equipment

Threaded Fasteners
Bolting is the general name for fastening devices that utilise the screw thread. The discovery of the screw principle is attributed to Archimedes who lived in the 3rd century BC. However, it is uncertain as to when screws were first used. There are a large number of threaded fasteners available on the market but unfortunately many engineers still do not realise the consequences of selecting the wrong fastener for their application. For example jets such as the Boeing 747 contain up to 2.5 million. If the designers had selected a wrong fastener it could make the aircraft more expensive and heavier. Selecting an incorrect fastener can effect safety or cost a company far more than it should to make the product. Therefore, it is important that engineers should understand the procedure for specifying fasteners from the choice available.

Types of fastener
Whilst there are many types of threaded fasteners they can be grouped into four basic families, screws, bolt and nut, Stud and nut, and threaded rod and nut. Fasteners today are manufactured mainly from carbon steel and from a variety of other materials including plastics, aluminium, brass, copper, stainless and other alloy steels etc. and may be coated to reduce thread friction and wear. To confuse the issues of selection further there are many types of screw and bolt 'head', each of which is ideal for a specific fastening operation.

Bolting applications
The prime application for bolting is to provide a mechanical connection which can be assembled and / or disassembled non-destructively and which is strong enough to resist the loads placed on them. Typical examples of applications of bolting include, fixing of car wheels to wheel hubs, fixing of cylinder heads to cylinder blocks and the clamping of pipes and cables.

Advantages

Ease of use - i.e. little or no technical expertise needed to assemble / disassemble a bolted connection other than the ability to use a torque wrench where required. Cheap Readily available Availability of engineering data, both experimental and of actual usage collated over many years

Disadvantages

Sometimes bolted joints can loosen when they experience vibration Selecting a fastener

In many cases, screws and bolts are selected by designers on an arbitrary basis, for example they choose a bolt because they have it stock. This is especially true with non-critical applications whose

loads are small - as with the attachment of a car number plate. Here, almost any size would suffice including sizes considerably smaller than those normally used. For non-critical bolting, selection is often a matter of judgement based on factors such as cost, ease of handling and assembly, availability, visual appearance etc. This also often applies where the loads are both significant and known in advance. Here, larger bolts than necessary are sometimes used because smaller bolts 'do not look right' and the cost penalty of using larger bolts may well be minimal. For industrial uses, for example where safety is a critical factor, bolt sizes should be calculated or obtained from tables taking into consideration such factors as:

Size and direction of loads Materials of construction Ease of assembly and maintenance Product life

Introduction to Machining
Introduction
All machining processes remove material to form shapes. As metals are still the most widely used materials in manufacturing, machining processes are usually used for metals. However, machining can also be used to shape plastics and other materials which are becoming more widespread. Basically all the different forms of machining involve removing material from a component using a rotating cutter. The differences between the various types arise from the relative motion between cutting tool and workpiece and the type of cutting tool used. Typically machining will be done using a machine tool. This tool holds the workpiece and the rotating cutting tool and allows relative movement between the two. Usually machine tools are dedicated to one type of machining operation, although some more flexible tools allow more than one type of machining to be performed. The machine tool can either be under manual or automatic (Computer Numeric Control - CNC) control. Automatic control is more expensive because of the need to invest in the necessary control mechanisms however it becomes more desirable as the number of components produced increases and labour costs can be reduced. The speed at which a machine tool can process individual components is a function of the cutting speed of the tool and the downtime involved in changing the workpiece and maintaining the tool (this will usually involve changing the cutting edges of the tool). Some very flexible tools allow automatic changing of components and cutting tools, however they greatly add to initial purchase price of the machine tool. The cutting speed of the tool is usually dictated by the type of material being machined, in general the harder the material, the slower the machining time. Machining speed can be increased by increasing the rotational speed of the cutter, however this will be at the expense of the tool life. Hence for machining processes there is an optimum cutting speed that balances tooling costs with cutting speed. In order to dissipate the heat generated between the workpiece and the cutting tool, cutting fluids are sprayed onto the tool. The cutting fluid also acts to remove cut material away from the cutting region and lubricates the tool - workpiece interface but may require that the component is cleaned afterwards.

Advantages

Machining processes allow high precision components to be rapidly produced.

Disadvantages

Machining processes are not suitable for removing large amounts of mateial. There can be a large amount of wastage.

Types of machining operation

There are a number of different types of machining operations available to for removal of material. These include,

Milling

In this type of machining, the workpiece is held stationary while the cutter moves. End milling implies that the cut is made normal to the tool axis while slab milling has the cut parallel to the tool axis. Because a milling cutter is a multi-point tool, problems can occur, as there is an interrupted cut action. I.e. each cutting edge only contacts the workpiece for a fraction of each revolution of the cutter. Control of the milling machine tool can be either manual or automatic. Modern CNC controlled milling machines are highly sophisticated and expensive pieces of equipment, capable of producing highly complex shaped components.

Advantages

Allow a variety of shapes to be produced.

Disadvantages

Initial high cost of buying the dedicated machine tools.

Grinding

This process uses a rotating grinding wheel which has abrasive grit particles on its surface to remove material from a component. It is a specialised form of machining in that instead of a single or several cutting tools being used, the cutting surface is provided by the grit particles. Because only small amounts of material can economically be removed, grinding is usually used as a finishing process. The process can either be automated or under manual control.

Advantages

Suitable process for finishing components. Relatively rapid process. Low operator skill required.

Disadvantages

Not suitable for bulk removal of material. Set up costs can be high because of the need for dedicated machines.

Turning

In this process, the workpiece is held in two rotating spindles and make contact with a cutting edge removing material from the surface the workpiece. By moving the cutting tool along the length of the workpiece, circular section components are rapidly produced. The tool can be held at varying distance from the workpiece to create components of varying diameter. By changing the position of the cutting tool as the tool moves along the workpiece, conical components can be produced. The machine tool used for this process is called a lathe. Turning can be used to produce components such as shafts and rods. It can also be used to create internal cuts. This process is called boring. Boring can not actually produce the initial 'hole' in the component, this has to be done with some other process such as drilling. However, boring can be used to increase the dimensions of an internal circular cut. Another turning process is thread cutting, which can be done on most lathes. Lathe control can either be manual or automatic. Modern multi-spindle machines allow rapid processing of a number of components.

Advantages

Rapid processing technique

Disadvantages

Only circular or conical sections can be produced. Initial cost of machine tools is relatively high.

Drilling

This is a very common machining process used to produce holes in components. To create a hole a drill bit is rotated at high speeds. The screw thread shape of the drill bit causes materials to be cut away as the drill bit is pushed into the work piece. There are several types of drill available. Hand held drills are useful for drilling holes in any location, but requires accurate use. Pillar drills used in workshops are fixed orientation drills. The work piece is clamped so that it can't move which makes it easier to drill more accurate holes. The problem with pillar drills is that the work piece has to be small enough to fit on to the table. Note that different materials have their own drill bits. Back

Plastic Forming
Plastics are a very versatile materials which can be processed in a number of ways to produce complex shapes very quickly. Plastics can be used to form anything from pipes through to complex moulded casings. Plastic forming techniques

Injection Moulding

This technique is widely used for forming thermoset and thermoplastic materials. It is similar to the casting technique used to form metal components. The plastic (in a powdered or granular form) is put in a hopper. A screw thread turns forcing the plastic material through a heater, melting it. When all the materials has melted the screw thread then acts as a ram and forces the plastic into mould, where it cools and solifies. Injection moulding is a very common process used in the manufacture of the casing of many electronic products such as TV's and radios.

Advantages

High production rates are possible. (A typical cycle time for a 3mm thick part would about 40 seconds) Injections moulding allows you to produce products with a good finish to a good consistent quality..

Disadvantages

Moulding thermoset plastics can present problems because the thermoset can cure in the injectors, hoppers etc. used to introduce the material into the mould.

Vacuum Forming

Vacuum forming is used to make simple moulds using thin sheets of thermoplastic. A wooden mould is created and this is placed on the table of the vacuum forming machine. The sheet plastic is heated until it becomes soft. The table with your mould on is lifted into position and a vacuum is used to draw the plastic over the mould. Vacuum forming only works with thin plastics and simple moulds. The plastic can then be trimmed to the required shape.

Extrusion

This process is widely used to form metal and plastic components that have constant cross sectional shapes such as pipes, curtain rails etc. The extrusion process is similar to injection moulding. Plastic granules are heated in a hopper and a screw thread forces the material through a die.The material is then cooled. Extrusion can only be used for simple shapes and the end product generally has a poor quality finish.

Blow Moulding

Plastic Forming : Blow Moulding

Blow moulding is used to manufacture bottles and containers with very thin walls. Blow moulding first requires a tube of plastic to be extruded. The tube of molten plastic is extruded between the two halves of a mould. Before the plastic cools the two halves of the mould are brought together and air is blown into the centre of the material through a blow pin. This forces the plastic out forming the shape of the mould. The plastic can then be cooled and removed. This technique is used to produce plastic bottles.

Advantages

High production rates.

Disadvantages

Poor quality surface finish Can only be used for thin walled materials.

Rotational Moulding