Establishing machining process standards in educational scenario—A study in an institutional machine tools laboratory environment

Abstract

This study establishes the manufacturing capability of the machines present in a machine tools laboratory at an engineering institution in India. The capability indexes for potential capability as well as performance capability are employed to determine the machine capability of the machine tools. Statistical process control (SPC) studies are performed in a laboratory environment for relatively older and non-automated machines comprising lathes, shapers, drilling and grinding machines. The process potential capability index (Cp) and the process performance capability index (Cpk) values for the CTQ characteristics are obtained as 0.68 and 0.59, respectively, on lathe; 0.99 and 0.99, respectively, on Shaper; 1.55 and 1.55, respectively, on the Drill; and a Cpk of 0.79 on the surface grinder. The procedure adopted and findings of this study may be horizontally applied to other laboratories of any engineering institute. The main practical implication is the standardization of the lab experimental procedure for machining processes employing relatively older machines through formulation of process sheets. Because of this standardization, the upgrade of the syllabus will become an easy task. This work is an attempt to implement the industrial engineering process capability concepts in an educational machine tools laboratorial scenario. The expected applications shall go into leveraging the course-work pertaining to “Metal cutting and Machine tools” as an integrated course where theory and practice go hand-in-hand.