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      MSE 5090: Case Studies in Material Selection

      Week 9 - Material Optimization and Value Analysis

       
      Read this entire document before starting the assignments. Don't forget, the midterm is Friday, November 6, 1998, and time is moving quickly.
      1. Objectives
      2. Reading assignment
      3. Discussion questions
      4. Lecture Topics
      5. CMS Process Selection Formalism
      6. Week 9 assignments: Ashby problemsCritiques CS    Contact Summary
      7. Reference Material


      Objectives:
      Review Case Study on low cost eyeglasses
      Discuss the materials optimization and scale
      Review how to critique a case study
      Understand how societal forces such as aesthetics and environment influence materials selection
      As we discussed on Friday, there are a number of generic questions that we can use to discuss a case study. To begin with , there are the organizational questions. In the case study guidelines page, available since week one, the criteria for evaluating and organizing a case study were given. Of course , the case study outline was meant as a guide and not as a strait-jacket. A perfectly good case study can be developed around a modified outline. Yet the case study will need an introduction, a background review , an analytical part , a selection part and a conclusions part. Also, early on in the class, the outline of the Harvard Case Study method was given in the handout notes. This , while business oriented , give a further look at what can (should ) be included in a case study. Furthermore, the metaquestions for a case study were given in Wednesday's (October 21.1998) lecture. Below is the list of questions for the snowboard case study we discussed on Friday Oct. 23, 1998. Below that are the questions we will use for the low cost eyeglass case study to be discussed on Monday October 26, 1998.

      Questions for Discussion of Snowboard Case Study

      1. Does the author "make his case" well?
      2. What is the case the author is making?
      3. What are the premises?
      4. What is the supporting evidence for the premises?
      5. Is the background adequate?
      6. Is the model credible? If not, what is needed to enhance it?
      7. Is the selection of performance indices sufficient or complete enough? What might have been left out?
      8. Do you agree with the author's recommendations?
      9. How did the author's recommendations agree or disagree with what the company did?
      10. If you were in a position to make a decision, whose recommendation would you go with? Why?


      Questions for Discussion of Eyeglass Case Study

      1. The same 10 questions as above , also
      2. How do you compare Harada's approach to Silver's?
      3. Can you think of any alternatives to Harada or Silver for making low cost eyeglasses?
      4. Can you think of the attributes of a process for manufacturing either type of low cost eyeglasses?
      5. Do you think the cost estimates are consistent with $10 eyeglasses? Why ?




      Reading Assignment:
      ASM pages  110 - 126
      Ashby pages 232 - 249


      Discussion Questions:
      How can you tell if your case study is complete?
      How do you know if your have an adequate selection of performance indices?
      How are factors such as environment, aesthetics and scale incorporated in materials selection?


      Lecture Topics:
      Monday Review case study on low cost eyeglasses, Problem on Processing
      Wednesday  Review Forces for Change in materials selection
      Friday Solve CMS problems, presentation of Materials case study performance indices


      Week 9 Assignments:

      Because of the delays with the software , we have extended the deadlines on the homework. However, with the midterm coming up on 11/6/98, it is important to have all the Ashby problems handed in by 10/30/98. That will leave problems B7.1 -B7.3 for next week. These are capstone-type problems and thus are more difficult than the earlier problems. I'll introduce them on Friday and Monday (11/4/98)

      Materials Optimization and Scale Problems (Due 11/6/98)
       Subject: Week 9 - B 7.1 - B 7.3
      Ashby problems B 7.1 through B 7.3

      Critique case study handouts (Due 11/11/98)
      Subject: Week 9 - Critiques of Snowboard and Eyeglass case studies

      These should be 2-3 page critiques centered around the questions asked above on this page. In essence, what would you do to bring each of these case studies to a level you would hand in for this class? The details of the answer to this question involves answers to the questions above in the context of the evaluation criteria given in the case study summary page given at the beginning of the class. This critique is aimed a helping you formulate and edit  your own case study by critiquing other case studies .

      Compose Case Study summary of discussions with external source(s)  (Due 11/13/98)
      Subject: Week 9 - Case Study Interview Summary

      In this exercise you need to summarize the information you got from others in the field. Discussions with other professionals has be found , in many studies , to be a major, if not the major, source of technology transfer. Since a number of you are doing case studies in areas where you experience base is limited, discussions with professionals in the field can prove extremely valuable. In this context, discussions include face-to-face interviews, correspondence and phone discussions. By 11/13 you should have had discussions with most of the people you plan to work with on this case study. So , in this assignment you should indicate who you have spoken with , what subjects you discussed,  a summary of what information you gained from the interviews, and how the interviews will impact your case study (what sections  the results will appear in , how valuable the interviews/correspondence has been)



      Reference Material:
      Below is the North Carolina State University center for process modeling. This center focuses on modeling electronic materials processing.
      http://www2.ncsu.edu/eos/info/ece_info/www/centers/aemp.html

      Below is the University of Florida center for process modeling . It uses the geographical in-joke acronym called swamp
      http://www.swamp.tec.ufl.edu/

      A metasearch site for finding books on materials science subjects
      http://www.reade.com/Books/b_materials_sci.html
       

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       Last update 10-14-98