A major individual project focusing on manufacturing engineering makes up a third of your studies. You will also study compulsory modules in advanced engineering topics along with a range of optional modules, allowing further specialisation.
Digital Manufacturing
MEng Individual Project
The project aims to give experience in the practice of engineering at a professional level. It involves the planning, execution and reporting of a programme of work which will normally involve a mixture of experimental, theoretical and computational work together with a review of relevant previous work in the field.
Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing
This module will cover design, processing and material aspects of additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies, as well as the current and potential applications of the technology in a wide variety of sectors. Topics include commercial and experimental systems, material requirements, design for additive manufacturing, software and systems, as well as case studies in industry and society.
Method and Frequency of Class:
Activity |
Number of Weeks |
Number of sessions |
Duration of a session |
Computing |
1 week |
1 week |
2 hours |
Lecture |
9 weeks |
1 week |
2 hours |
Lecture |
1 week |
1 week |
1 hour |
Workshop |
2 weeks |
1 week |
2 hours |
Method of Assessment:
Assessment Type |
Weight |
Requirements |
Coursework 1 |
30.00 |
Individual Assignment - maximum 4 page report |
Exam 1 |
70.00 |
1.5 hour exam |
Physical Ergonomics
This module aims to equip students with fundamental knowledge and skills regarding the physical characteristics of people (body size, strength, flexibility, etc.) and environments (lighting, thermal, sound, etc.) as they relate to the design of products, workplaces and tasks/jobs. You’ll spend two hours in lectures each week when studying this module.
Cognitive Ergonomics in Design
This module will provide you with a thorough understanding of cognitive ergonomics and the way in which the consideration of cognitive ergonomics can impact on human performance in the workplace.
Simulation, Virtual Reality and Advanced Human-Machine Interface (autumn)
For human factors/ergonomics work, simulation tools can enable designers, managers and end-users to experience products and systems in realistic, interactive environments. Such advancements have significant cost implications, enabling designs and their implications to be visualised early in the development life cycle. In addition, virtual/augmented reality and other advanced human-machine interfaces (HMIs) are being developed in many different industries to support different user needs.
This module will provide you with the knowledge and skills required to understand and utilise computers as human factors tools for understanding peoples’ interactions with new technology. Moreover, the module will consider HMIs that are increasingly common in modern life and frequently designed and evaluated using simulation techniques.
The module is a mix of practical and research-oriented content, and you will make extensive use of the simulation facilities and on-going research projects within the Human Factors Research Group and elsewhere in the University.
Topics include:
- virtual reality technologies/environments/interfaces
- augmented reality; fidelity and validity of simulators
- presence factors for simulation
- understanding and minimising simulator sickness
- multimodal interfaces including the use of natural language and gesture interfaces, computers and collaborative/social interfaces, accessibility, in-car interfaces
Delivery
Activity |
Number of Weeks |
Number of sessions |
Duration of a session |
Lecture |
11 weeks |
1 week |
2 hours |
Practicum |
11 weeks |
1 week |
2 hours |
Assessment method
Assessment Type |
Weight |
Requirements |
Coursework 1 |
50.00 |
Report (approx. 3,000 words) on the use of simulation to aid in the design/evaluation of specific products |
Coursework 2 |
50.00 |
Presentation arguing for the use of advanced Human-Machine Interface solutions in a specific design context |
Polymer Engineering (autumn)
A broad-based module covering the chemistry, material properties and manufacturing methods relevant to polymers.
Topics include:
- Polymer chemistry and structure
- Routes to synthesis, polymerisation techniques, practical aspects of industrial production
- Viscoelasticity, time-temperature equivalence
- Rheology of polymer melts, heat transfer in melts, entanglements
- Properties of solid polymers, yield and fracture, crazing
- Manufacturing with polymers, extrusion, injection-moulding
- Design/ processing interactions for plastic products
Method and Frequency of Class:
Activity |
Number of Weeks |
Number of sessions |
Duration of a session |
Lecture |
11 weeks |
1 week |
2 hours |
Seminar |
11 weeks |
1 week |
1 hour |
Method of Assessment:
Assessment Type |
Weight |
Requirements |
Coursework 1 |
25.00 |
Report on multidisciplinary design exercise covering the chemistry, processing and properties of a polymeric product |
Exam 1 |
75.00 |
2 hour exam |
Supply Chain Management
The module aims to give an in-depth coverage of supply chain management and logistics in the context of contemporary operations, taking into account the major competitive drivers of efficiency and responsiveness and the solutions enabled by new technologies.
Innovation Management
This module will help students to understand the knowledge and skills required to manage innovation by considering a number of different perspectives.
Work Systems and Safety (spring)
This modules aims to give an understanding of systems approaches to the design and analysis of effective and safe work, primarily in the context of industrial systems but also in relation to major projects, public and social systems and digital systems.
It is vital that students learn that technical, human, organizational and economic factors must be addressed when understanding the operation and potential failure in existing systems, and in developing requirements, implementation and evaluation approaches for social and socio-technical systems, and for systems of systems.
In this module, particular attention will be paid to distributed (in time and space) systems and ones with elements of automated processes (all of which will have to interact with human and organisational elements at some point and time). The potential causes of accidents and of human error are explained, and an introduction given to methods of reporting and investigating accidents and techniques for analysing accidents and systems reliability which will lead to the design of safer organisations and work systems.
Topics covered include:
- risk and risk perception
- risk assessment and management
- accident models and accident causation
- causes of human error
- epidemiology, accident reporting and analysis
- accident prevention
- human reliability assessment
- safety climate and culture
- safety systems management
Method and Frequency of Class:
Activity |
Number of Weeks |
Number of sessions |
Duration of a session |
Lecture |
12 weeks |
2 week |
2 hours |
Method of Assessment:
Assessment Type |
Weight |
Requirements |
Coursework 1 |
30.00 |
|
Exam 1 |
70.00 |
|
Human-Computer Systems
This module will provide students with a thorough understanding of the growth of IT and human computer systems. To examine the concepts and methods available for the analysis, design and evaluation of computer-based interfaces through hardware, software, task and systems design.
Joining Technology (spring)
This module examines, in-depth, the processes used for joining metallic (e.g. steel, aluminium and titanium alloys) and non-metallic (e.g. polymers and fibre reinforced composites) materials.
Topics covered include:
- mechanical joining
- adhesive bonding
- soldering and brazing
- solid state joining (friction welding and diffusion bonding)
- fusion welding (arc welding and the many classes thereof, resistance, electron beam and laser welding)
The fundamental characteristics of the various processes are examined along with procedures for practical applications. The origins of defects within joints and methods needed to control or eliminate them are also considered. The mechanical behaviour of joints is analysed, as is the effect of joining on the microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of the base materials. Other features such as residual stress and distortion are addressed. Attention is also given to appropriate design for manufacture in a modern manufacturing context.
Method and Frequency of Class:
Activity |
Number of Weeks |
Number of sessions |
Duration of a session |
Lecture |
12 weeks |
1 week |
2 hours |
Method of Assessment:
Assessment Type |
Weight |
Requirements |
Coursework 1 |
25.00 |
Case study review |
Exam 1 |
75.00 |
1 hour 30 minute unseen written exam |
Advanced Methods in Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction (spring)
Topics include:
- working as a human factors engineer/HCI professional
- predictive evaluation techniques (eg GOMs, Fitts Law)
- psychophysical methods
- verbal protocol analysis
- qualitative approaches and methodologies
- eye-tracking methodologies
- ethical considerations in human factors research
- capturing and analysing human physiological data
Technologies for the Hydrogen Economy