About Course

Introduction Design and Practice [2.75Ps] Who Should Attend Learning Objectives for 2.75Ts and 2.75Ps Why Take This Course Tour and Question Sessions Schedule for 2.75Ts and 2.75Ps Teaching Staff Scholarships Apply

Advanced Mechanical and Precision Machine Design: Theory, Concepts and Principles [2.75Ts]

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Date: August 3-4, 2009 | Tuition: $1,000 | Continuing Education Units
(CEUs): 1.1

Updates
* Course schedule and registration times

One course and lab package:
*Add a day of lab work Save $400 by taking both this course and Advanced Mechanical and Precision Machine Design: Modeling and Practice [2.75Ps]. Combined tuition is $1,850. Apply for this package now »

Two course package:
Save $500 by taking both [2.75Ts] and Design of Flexures and Compliant Mechanisms: Fundamentals and Practical Application [2.90s].
Combined tuition is $1,500. Apply for this package now »

Two course and one lab package:
Save $650 by taking all three courses: [2.75Ts], [2.75Ps], and Design of Flexures and Compliant Mechanisms: Fundamentals and Practical Application [2.90s]. Combined tuition is $2,600. Apply for this package now »

Introduction

Intensive coverage of precision engineering theory, modeling, design and manufacturing practices. Emphasis is placed on understanding principles and how they were applied to current and emerging applications. The fundamentals are reinforced via case studies from diverse fields, including:

• Optics (X-rays and micro-scale)
• Biomedical instruments
• Consumer products
• Nanopositioners
• Machine tools
• Instruments
• MEMS

* Add on a day of lab work
Advanced Mechanical and Precision Machine Design: Modeling and Practice [2.75Ps] August 4-5, 2009 | $1,250 | 0.7 CEUs
Use concepts, theory and principles taught during 2.75Ts to fabricate, characterize and operate a precision machine (either a nanopositioner or a desktop lathe). Participants are allowed to keep the mechanical components (i.e. no electronics or sensors) of the machines built. Primary focus is on (i) the fabrication, integration and use of structures, flexures, kinematic couplings, and linear/rotary bearings and (ii) the use of precision instruments/metrology to measure performance. Prerequisite: 2.75Ts

Information about the 2008 2.75Ps course content can be found at: http://pcsl.mit.edu/professional_courses/professional_courses_2009.html.

Who Should Attend

Technical professionals (engineers, scientists, manufacturers, machine designers, product designers, instrumentation engineers, etc.) that either have little experience with precision engineering or that have some expertise in disparate areas of precision and wish to gain a more holistic understanding. This course is also designed to help marketing/purchasing personnel make decisions, provided that they would feel comfortable with the following basic topics after a brief review:

- Trigonometry (sine, cosine, etc.)
- Linear elastic stress-strain
- Free body diagrams
- Vector addition

Participants may compliment this experience by taking the 1.5 day course 2.75Ps: Precision Engineering: Design and Practice, wherein they will follow the design process for the modeling/creation of a desktop precision lathe, and then build/characterize the lathe in a lab setting. Participants may keep the lathe after the course. The lathe is easily capable of cutting aluminum and brass; some low-hardness steels may also be cut.

Learning Objectives

2.75Ts

1. Understand the basic principles and concepts of Precision Engineering
2. Define the physics that govern behavior.
3. Understand the various quantitative and qualitative approaches to modeling.
4. Examine the suitability of precision machines/devices/products for specific applications.

2.75Ps

Identify and manage the practical issues that are important to address during:

1. Modeling and simulation
2. Design
3. Fabrication and assembly
4. Measurement and characterization
5. Learn to use tools (software and metrology) that support 1-4 above

Why take this course

The successful development of technologies which need micron to nanometer-level precision (e.g. Machine tools, Nano-manufacturing, MEMS, Space-based telescopes, etc..) requires knowledge of Precision Engineering principles, their application and new technology emerging from research efforts. This course provides an overview of the fundamentals of precision engineering. Several tours of MIT Precision Engineering Laboratories will also be held.

Tour and question sessions

These sessions are interspersed between lectures/seminars. The goal is to provide an opportunity for participants to examine new concepts in precision engineering research and experimental hardware/prototypes. These tours enable one-on-one interaction with course instructors and researchers from the following laboratories:

• Cranfield Manufacturing Systems Department
• MIT Precision Compliant Systems Laboratory
• MIT Precision Engineering Research Group
• MIT Space Nanotechnology Laboratory
• MIT Precision Motion Control Laboratory

Course Schedule and Registration Times

2.75Ts

2.75Ts runs 8:00 am - 5:00 pm on Monday and from 8:00 am - 12:00 noon on Tuesday.

Registration for 2.75Ts is on Monday morning from 7:15 - 7:45 am.

Tentative schedule:
Day 1
 - Principles, concepts and determinism
 - Materials
 - Fabrication and assembly processes/methods
 - Structure and interface design
 - Vibration and damping
 - Sliding element bearings
 - Rolling element bearings
 - Flexure bearings (with hands-on/experiment)
 - Drives and transmissions
 - Actuators

Day 2
 - Fixtures (with hands-on/experiment)
 - Metrology systems
 - Error sources and mitigation strategies
 - Modeling of system errors: Example in context of desktop lathe

2.75Ps

2.75Ps runs 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm on Tuesday and from 8:00 am - 12:00 noon on Wednesday.

Registration for 2.75Ps is on Tuesday afternoon from 1:00 - 1:30 pm.

Tentative schedule:
Day 1
 - Review of lathe-relevant principles from 2.75Ts
 - Learn modeling software/tools
 - Take apart several desktop lathes and observe good/bad designs
 - Group exercise: Model desktop lathe performance
 - Assemble participant's desktop lathes
 - Characterize errors due to: Compliance, vibration and thermal stability
 - Characterize errors due to: Spindle and carriage bearings errors

Day 2
 - Characterize errors due to: Fabrication and assembly errors
 - Mapping and calibration
 - Competition: Measure accuracy/repeatability via cutting batch of parts

Get more information on these courses at: http://pcsl.mit.edu/professional_courses/professional_courses_2008.html

Teaching staff

This course is taught by a staff of leaders in the fields of precision engineering, precision machine design and precision manufacturing.

Martin Culpepper (Program co-director and contact: culpepper@mit.edu)
Prof. Culpepper is Director of the MIT Precision Compliant Systems Laboratory. Prof. Culpepper's areas of expertise include:
 - Constraint-based synthesis and modeling of compliant mechanisms
 - Fabrication and integration compliant mechanisms and elastic systems
 - Carbon Nanotube-based compliant mechanisms

Professor Culpepper was honored at the White House in 2005--click here to read the article

Paul Shore (Cranfield program co-director)
Prof. Paul Shore holds the McKeown Chair of Ultra-precision Technologies at Cranfield University. Prof. Shore's areas of expertise are in precision mass production, ultra precision production processes, intelligent precision machine systems and process monitoring methods.

Discounts for students

A limited number of partial-tuition scholarships are available to students. You may submit a scholarship request by filling out the Scholarship Request Form after your application to the course has been submitted. Please note that these scholarships are only for tuition and do not cover travel, lodging, or other expenses associated with the course.

If you have any questions please contact the Short Programs office.