Manufacturing Engineering (MFE)

The BS degree program in Manufacturing Engineering is dedicated to undergraduate manufacturing engineering education and is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET),  http://www.abet.org.

Manufacturing Engineering Trends

Manufacturing is one of the major wealth-producing sectors of the world economic structure with a direct and powerful impact on the quality of life of everyone. The field of manufacturing has undergone dramatic changes during the past decade. Diverse forces driving these changes include the following factors: rapid technological advances in areas such as computers, lasers, machine vision, robotics and automation; emerging new materials including polymers, composites and ceramics; an increasing global economy with intensified international trade competition; changing national defense and security priorities; changing labor management relationships; dwindling natural resources; increasing energy costs; bio-socio-educational factors impacting educational access and delivery and heightened environmental concerns.

These factors continue to produce new demands and exciting opportunities for manufacturing engineers. Graduates of the program have found diverse employment in manufacturing fields such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, defense, food processing, and consumer product industries. Graduates of the Manufacturing Engineering program are in great demand from prestigious firms and government agencies. Others have earned related graduate degrees at some of the nation’s finest graduate engineering schools prior to assuming industry positions.

MFE Program Educational Objectives (PEOs)

The Manufacturing Engineering program at Central State University is dedicated to preparing students for manufacturing engineering careers in diverse manufacturing enterprises. The MFE Program expects the graduates within a few years of graduation to attain the following objectives:

1. Have productive careers. 
2. Embrace leadership opportunities, promote diversity, and communicate effectively.
3. Pursue professional development and continuing education.
4. Adhere to the Engineer’s code of conduct and ethics.
5. Positively contribute to the university, local communities, and global societies.

The Bachelor of Science degree program in Manufacturing Engineering has been designed to address these objectives. The curriculum follows guidelines established by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), an international organization headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, with over 30,000 members in seventy-two (72) countries. SME seeks
to ensure that Manufacturing Engineering programs produce engineers prepared to address industry demands for increasingly sophisticated manufacturing technology, and ready to play an important role in planning, building, and optimizing the “factories of the future.” Emphasis is, therefore, given to computer-aided design and manufacturing
(CAD/CAM), layered manufacturing or 3-D printing, microprocessor control, manufacturing planning and control, quality and reliability assurance, metrology and the processing and utilization of engineering materials. The program provides opportunities for hands-on experience in the application of the knowledge embodied in these disciplines. The BS degree program in Manufacturing Engineering is one of only a few programs in the nation which are dedicated to undergraduate manufacturing engineering education, and which are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET), http://www.abet.org .

The overarching goal of the program is to produce graduates who are well prepared to:

• Contribute to the engineering planning and management of a relatively large, modern manufacturing operation.
• Introduce modern manufacturing methods and design technologies into a small manufacturing operation or assist in the start-up of a new manufacturing enterprise.
• Maintain a process of life-long learning to retain technical competence, including earning graduate degrees in engineering or related business management or other professional studies and obtaining relevant professional certification.

The overall Manufacturing Engineering curriculum consists of strong components of mathematics, basic sciences, engineering sciences, humanities, and social sciences, together with the major engineering requirements, which can be grouped into the following topic areas:

Materials and Manufacturing Processes — the structure and property relationships of materials and their change with materials processing.

Process, Assembly, and Product Engineering — the design of products and the equipment, tooling, and environment necessary for their manufacture, supported by rapid prototyping and 3-D layered manufacturing.

Manufacturing Competitiveness — the creation of competitive advantage through manufacturing planning, strategy, and control. Topics such as productivity, quality, reliability, economic and cost analysis, human resources, product safety and liability, social concerns, international issues, environmental impact, and product life cycle are included in this area.

Manufacturing Systems Design — the analysis, synthesis, and control of manufacturing operations emphasizing modern technologies and tooling and statistical and calculus-based methods.

Simulation and Information Technology — Simulation, modeling, control, architecture, and information systems supported by experimental design for factory optimality control are included in this area.

Laboratory Experience - Measuring manufacturing process variables in a manufacturing laboratory and making technical inferences about the process. Throughout the curriculum major emphasis is given to the engineering design function.

The Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET) has published the following description for engineering design:
Engineering design is the process of devising a system, component, or process to meet desired needs. It is a decision-making process (often iterative), in which the basic sciences, mathematics, and engineering sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet a stated objective. Among the fundamental elements of the design process are the establishment of objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction, testing and evaluation. The engineering design component of a curriculum must include most of the following features: development of student creativity, use of open-ended problems, development and use of modern design theory and methodology, formulation of design problem statements and specifications, consideration of alternative solutions, feasibility considerations, production processes, concurrent engineering design, and detailed system descriptions. Further, it is essential to include a variety of realistic constraints, such as economic factors, safety, reliability, aesthetics, ethics and social impact.

In the senior year, the design experience culminated with a sequenced two-semester “capstone” design project. Students work on individual or team design projects under close faculty supervision. A broad range of resources, including machine tools, materials testing and processing equipment, electronic and measuring instrumentation, computers, and control devices, is available to prepare students for the real-world challenges of the engineering profession. Oral and written communication skills are emphasized in the senior design project.

Student Outcomes (SOs) for MFE Curriculum

The broad educational experience outlined above is designed to integrate the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values acquired in a diverse set of courses to produce graduates with the following specific student outcomes:

1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.