TITLE:
Fixture Design to Supplement Machining and Fuel Cell Education
AUTHORS:
Yeong Ryu, Hazem Tawfik
KEYWORDS:
Fixture, Fuel Cell, Machining, Design, Education
JOURNAL NAME:
Engineering,
Vol.9 No.5,
May
27,
2017
ABSTRACT: A vital part of enhancing the ability of students to learn about advanced fabrication techniques is identifying the barriers to the student’s entry and excelling in the manufacturing field. In the Manufacturing and Mechanical Technology fields, there exists an intimidating experience gap or barrier between professionals and novice students. The students’ participation in the design and fabrication of a fixture for manufacturing a mechanical part will aid in eliminating this barrier by making fuel cell’s bipolar plates production accessible to inexperienced technology students. The process of manufacturing a fixture for the production of hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen purifier plates required a careful planning and step-by-step methodological implementation. Through the use of our designed fixture, it is now possible to teach students how to use a CNC milling machine with relative ease while also allowing for precision part machining. The setup of the fixture allows students to observe the necessary measures to properly machine a part while also teaching them the benefits of fixtures in the manufacturing industry. In summary, the purpose of this paper is to provide the students with applied learning experience through involving them in the design and fabrication of a multi-disciplinary mechanical fixture and the utilization of practice oriented teaching resources in a full scale learning environment.