Manufacturing Engineering & Manufacturing Engineering Technology

The baccalaureate programs in industrial engineering and manufacturing engineering are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. The baccalaureate program in manufacturing engineering technology is accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012. Telephone: (410) 347-7700.

FACULTY Professors Chen (chair), Emanuel, Krishnamoorthi, Kroll, Lin, Shareef, Sverdlin, Tayyari; Associate Professors, Ness, Saboury.

The department offers three baccalaureate degree programs:

  • Industrial engineering (B.S.I.E.)
  • Manufacturing engineering (B.S.Mf.E.),
  • Manufacturing engineering technology (B.S.Mf.E.T.)

The department offers three minors:

  • Minor in Applied Ergonomics
  • Minor in Quality Engineering
  • Minor in Manufacturing

The department offers master’s degrees in industrial engineering (M.S.I.E.) and manufacturing engineering (M.S.MF.E.) . See the Graduate Catalog for information about these programs.

Programmatic Distinctions

In choosing a career option, the student should be aware of the respective functions of the engineer and engineering technologist. Generally speaking, the engineer conceives, designs, and advances the development of products and systems. On the other hand, the engineering technologist implements, maintains, and tests products and systems. The engineer creates new technologies while the engineering technologist applies existing technologies.

The distinction between industrial engineering and manufacturing engineering is one of breadth vs. depth. Industrial engineers are involved with the design, improvement, and management of technical systems. These systems may be located in service industries such as banks, hospitals, and government as well as in manufacturing industries. Manufacturing engineers are involved in the design, installation, and improvement of the production process and generally are limited to manufacturing industries.

The engineering student’s selection of humanities and social science courses provide a broad education consistent with the objectives of the engineering profession. Courses should be selected to provide both breadth and depth and not be limited to unrelated introductory courses. This objective can be met by taking two courses in the same department with at least one being at the 300 level or above. Students minoring in business are permitted to use ECO 100/221 and ECO 222 to meet this requirement.

The department works closely with industry and has an outstanding industrial & manufacturing engineering & technology department Advisory Council consisting of distinguished members from industry, government, and education.

Manufacturing Engineering (BSMfE)

The objective of the program is to provide education to equip our graduates with a strong technical and scientific foundation that treats manufacturing as a system and integrates the areas of manufacturing processes, engineering materials, product design, automation, and manufacturing management. The graduates will have the necessary tools to pursue careers in settings that include automotive, aerospace, and heavy and light equipment manufacturers and to seek advanced degrees in related fields.

Outcomes

Manufacturing Engineering graduates will have:

  1. an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics and science to manufacturing process, materials, project management, and design of manufacturing systems, emphasizing discrete piece part manufacture;
  2. an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data related to manufacturing processes, materials evaluation, and manufacturing systems;
  3. an ability to design, select, and control a manufacturing system and its components or processes to meet desired needs;
  4. an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams, an understanding of the concurrent approach to process and product development, and the ability to perform manufacturing project management;
  5. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve manufacturing engineering problems considering constraints, costs, benefits, and competitiveness of comparative processes and materials, through a hands-on approach;
  6. an understanding of the professional and ethical responsibilities of a manufacturing engineer;
  7. an ability to utilize modern tools and techniques to effectively communicate technical requirements and functionality in oral, written, and graphical forms;
  8. the broad education necessary to understand the impact of manufacturing engineering solutions in a global and societal context;
  9. a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in, lifelong learning;
  10. a knowledge of contemporary issues facing engineers;
  11. an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for manufacturing engineering practice utilizing supporting technologies including design for assembly, design for manufacturability, computer aided design, computer aided manufacturing, and rapid prototyping.

Credit in the following courses must be obtained to meet degree requirements in manufacturing engineering. A minimum grade point average of 2.25 in IMET department courses must be achieved for graduation.

  • Freshman Year

    • First Semester
      • IME 101 Intro. to Industrial & Manufacturing Eng. 1
      • IME 103 Computer Aided Graphics 2
      • MTH 121 Calculus I 4
      • CHM 110 General Chemistry I 3
      • CHM 111 General Chemistry I Lab 1
      • ENG 101 English Composition 3
      • Gen. Ed. Social Forces Economics1 3
    • 17 hours
    • Second Semester
      • IME 105 Intro. to Computers and Computation 2
      • MTH 122 Calculus II 4
      • PHY 110 University Physics I 4
      • COM 103 The Oral Communication Process 3
      • Gen. Ed. - Western Civilization 3
    • 16 hours
  • Sophomore Year

    • First Semester
      • IME 117 Computer Numerical Applications 2
      • IME 301 Engineering Economy I 3
      • MTH 223 Calculus III 4
      • PHY 201 University Physics II 4
      • C E 150 Mechanics I 3
    • 16 hours
    • Second Semester
      • IME 386 Industrial and Managerial Engineering 3
      • IME 341 Introduction to MFG Processes 3
      • IME 331 Fundamentals of Materials Science 3
      • C E 301 Mechanics of Materials 3
      • MTH 224 Differential Equations 3
    • 15 hours
  • Junior Year

    • First Semester
      • IME 311 Intro. to Engineering Statistical Methods 3
      • IME 395 Solid Modeling & Rapid Prototyping 3
      • IME 325 Transport Phenomena 3
      • IME 333 Materials Science Lab 1
      • IME 431 Material Engineering 2
      • Gen. Ed. Human Values 3
    • 15 hours
    • Second Semester
      • IME 441 Materials Processing I or IME 443 Materials Processing II 3
      • IME 522 Manufacturing Quality Control 3
      • IME 466 Facilities Planning 3
      • Gen. Ed. Fine Arts 3
      • Gen. Ed. Social Forces 3
    • 15 hours
  • Senior Year

    • First Semester
      • IME 445 Computer Aided Manufacturing 4
      • IME 491 Manufacturing Design 4
      • IME 561 Simulation of Human/Machine Systems 3
      • E E 327 Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering 3
      • Gen. Ed. Non Western Civ 3
    • 17 hours
    • Second Semester
      • IME 499 Senior Industrial Design Project 4
      • IME 591 Design for Manufacturability 3
      • ENG 305 Technical Writing 3
      • Approved Technical Electives 6
    • 16 hours

Total 127

Approved Electives–MFE

Six hours of technical electives should be taken during the last three semesters of the program and should be selected to emphasize an academic focus of interest. Three hours must be in engineering design. Electives must be approved by the students’ academic advisor.

Manufacturing Engineering Electives

  1. Any 300-level or higher IME course not required in the program.
  2. Any advisor-approved 300-level or higher IMT course.

Other Courses

  • Any civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering course (CE, EE, ME) numbered 300 or higher.
  • Any advisor-approved mathematics or science course not required in the program.

BSMFE Combined with MBA Program

Undergraduate students in the manufacturing engineering program may combine their studies and earn an MBA degree in five and one-half years or fewer. Students may include most or all of the prerequisites for the MBA program as part of their required 128 undergraduate semester hours. Careful scheduling is required and should be coordinated with the student’s undergraduate advisor and director of graduate programs.

Manufacturing Engineering Technology Major

Industry today is surrounded by problems that are often difficult to identify and even harder to solve. They include government regulation, consumerism, inflation, foreign competition, high labor cost, and the skyrocketing cost of doing business. In order to solve such problems, it is necessary to educate individuals to combine theory and practice for the effective implementation of state-of-the-art technologies.

Toward this goal, the Department offers a Manufacturing Engineering Technology baccalaureate program with the following Technical Concentrations:

  1. Manufacturing Design
  2. Manufacturing Systems
  3. Student Designed

This program reflects the pressing needs of industry by integrating studies of mechanical design, modern manufacturing processes, materials science and technology, digital techniques, management practices, and social sciences. Graduates are placed in various phases of management, production, product development, test and evaluation, sales, and service. In addition to the Technical Concentrations, the curriculum is designed for the development of competence in the areas of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and other technical sciences such as mechanics, strength of materials, electronics, and computer science. Laboratory activities support the basic concepts studied, while providing familiarity with actual hardware, its theory of operation, and its uses in the current state of the art. Complementary courses may be taken in business management, engineering, and the physical sciences.

The Manufacturing Design Concentration emphasizes the design and selection of production machinery and equipment and the link between product design and production in terms of manufacturability. The program has technical depth in the specialty areas of product or component design and development, as well as in the area of manufacturing processes and their applications in industry. Laboratory experiences are provided in the areas of manufacturing processes, materials, numerical control, strength of materials, and computer graphics and design. The graduates will be able to do their own layout work and calculations related to design and selection of machine components, analysis of experimental results, and determining manufacturability.

The Manufacturing Systems Concentration emphasizes the optimal design and selection of production processes and their control. The curriculum embodies the technical and practical phases in design, development, manufacturing, programming, and utilization of materials. Laboratory experiences are provided in the areas of machine tool processes, thermal processes, metrology, numerical control, materials, robotics, and computer graphics. Courses are designed to afford the student an opportunity to acquire knowledge and to provide for the application of the basic principles of the physical sciences related to manufacturing.

The Student Designed Concentration is available to transfer students, from community colleges, that have pursued technical programs that have a different emphasis than the above concentrations. This will allow the student (with approval by the program advisor) to design a Manufacturing Engineering Technology program to meet their defined career objectives.

Credit in the following courses and in courses listed under the approved technical emphasis must be obtained to meet the degree requirements in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. A minimum grade point average of 2.25 in IMET Department courses must be achieved for graduation.

Manufacturing Engineering Technology (BSMfET)

The objective of the Manufacturing Engineering Technology program is to equip our graduates with a strong technical foundation that integrates manufacturing processes, materials, manufacturing management, automation, and product design. The graduates will have the necessary tools to pursue careers in settings that include automotive, aerospace, heavy and light equipment manufacturers, as well as seek advanced degrees in related fields.

Outcomes

A Manufacturing Engineering Technology graduate will have:

  1. a strong background in manufacturing processes and materials for discreet piece part manufacture, considering nomenclature recognition, limits, costs, benefits, etc. of comparative processes and materials through a hands-on approach;
  2. strong mathematics, science, and computer skills with emphasis on programs that aid process and product analysis and control, as well as the ability to apply a concurrent approach to process, product, and equipment design with supporting technologies such as: DFM, DFA, CAD, CAM, CAE and rapid prototyping;
  3. an ability to conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data related to manufacturing processes, materials evaluation, and manufacturing systems;
  4. the ability to integrate multiple technical concepts and societal considerations for the solution of open-ended design problems and in the design of systems;
  5. interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary team;
  6. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve manufacturing problems considering constraints, costs, benefits, and competitiveness of comparative processes and materials;
  7. an ability to utilize modern tools and techniques to effectively communicate technical requirements and functionality in oral, written, and graphical forms;
  8. a recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in lifelong learning;
  9. an understanding of the professional and ethical responsibilities of a manufacturing professional;
  10. the broad education necessary to understand the impact of manufacturing solutions in a global and societal context;
  11. a knowledge of contemporary issues facing manufacturing professionals including a commitment to quality, timeliness, and continuous improvement.

Student Organizations

Student chapters of the American Society for Materials (ASM), American Society for Quality (ASQ), Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), American Foundrymen’s Society (AFS), and Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) are sponsored by the department to support and encourage the professional development of the students. The department is also a strong supporter of the student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

Honor societies for industrial engineering students (Alpha Pi Mu) and for manufacturing students (Beta Tau Epsilon) are also represented.

Manufacturing Engineering Major

  • Manufacturing engineering is one of the newest and most dynamic fields of the engineering professions. It involves the development and coordination of the entire manufacturing process from product design through after-sale service.
  • Advanced manufacturing systems are dramatically transforming the world for the better. The manufacturing engineer is a key architect, evolver, and implementer of that change.
  • Manufacturing engineers apply their knowledge of the sciences of materials, processes, and information to the design, integration, and advancement of products and systems of manufacture. They understand value-added concepts through effective transformation of materials into products.
  • The manufacturing engineer is responsible for research, development, design, planning, implementation, and operation of manufacturing systems. Throughout his/her professional career the manufacturing engineer is expected to progress from a technical strategist to operations integrator to manufacturing strategist. The manufacturing engineer works as a member of a team. His/her role encompasses not only technological factors but also human, economic, and environmental factors.
  • The manufacturing engineering program is designed to provide the student with a broad intellectual horizon together with a firm technical foundation necessary to meet future challenges in manufacturing engineering. The curriculum builds on a solid foundation of science and mathematics and combines a broad base of engineering sciences and their application to analysis, synthesis, and creative design.
  • The program provides studies of design, materials, processes, automation, and system integration with a focus on problem solving. It emphasizes concepts of design for manufacture, computer integration, and quality improvement.
  • Laboratory experience is an essential component of the manufacturing engineering program. Five laboratories are well equipped to serve the program in computer aided graphics and design, computer integrated manufacturing and robotics, materials science and engineering, materials removal and fabrication, and computer aided manufacturing.
  • Graduates from the program have a wide range of career options in industry, government, research, service, and entrepreneurship. Graduates may also choose to advance their education through post-graduate studies.

Manufacturing Engineering Technology Program

General Education 27 hrs.

  • ENG 101 English Composition 3
  • ENG 305 Technical Writing 3
  • COM 103 The Oral Communication Process 3
  • ECO 100 Introduction to Economics 3
  • Social Forces Elective 3
  • Western Civ Elective 3
  • Non-western Civ Elective 3
  • Human Values Elective 3
  • Fine Arts Elective 3

Math, Science and Computer 25 hrs.

  • IMT 212 Tech Calculus I 3
  • IMT 214 Tech Calculus II 3
  • IMT 216 Tech Calculus III 3
  • PHY 107 General Physics I 4
  • PHY 108 General Physics II 4
  • CHM 100 Fundamentals of General Chemistry 3
  • CHM 101 Fundamentals of General Chemistry Lab 1
  • IME 105 Intro. to Computers & Computation 2
  • IME 117 Computer Numerical Applications 2

Technical Science 17 hrs.

  • IMT 222 Statics 3
  • IMT 322 Dynamics 3
  • IMT 324 Strength of Materials 4
  • IMT 328 Mass & Energy Transfer 4
  • EET 320 Electricity & Power 3

Technical Core 35 hrs.

  • IME 101 Intro. to Industrial & Manufacturing Eng. 1
  • IME 103 Computer Aided Graphics 2
  • IME 341 Introduction to Manufacturing Processes 3
  • IME 395 Solid Modeling & Rapid Prototyping 3
  • IMT 232 Physical Metallurgy 4
  • IMT 262 Applied Statistics & Quality Control 3
  • IMT 332 Non-metallic Materials 3
  • IMT 342 Advanced Manufacturing Processes I or
  • IMT 344 Advanced Manufacturing Processes II 3
  • IMT 346 Computer Aided Manufacturing & Automation I 3
  • IMT 362 Metrology & Instrumentation 3
  • IME 383 Industrial Management 3
  • IMT 498 Senior Industrial Project 4 

Approved Technical Emphasis

Select A, B, or C 12 hrs.

  • Manufacturing Design Concentration

    • IMT 392 Mechanical Component Design I 3
    • IMT 394 Dynamics of Machines 3
    • IMT 492 Mechanical Component Design II 3
    • IMT 494 Computer Aided Systems Design 3
  • Manufacturing Systems Concentration

    • IMT 448 Tooling Systems 3
    • IMT 464 Process Design and Planning 3
    • IMT 446 Computer Aided Manufacturing and Automation II 3
    • IMT 342 or IMT 344 (Second manufacturing processes course) 3
  • Student Designed

    • A related group of courses, selected by the student, and approved by the program advisor to meet student defined career objectives.

      • Approved Technical Electives 9 hrs.
      • Tech Elective I 3
      • Tech Elective II 3
      • Tech Elective III 3

      The nine hours of approved technical electives should be selected to emphasize an academic focus of interest. Three hours must be in manufacturing. Electives must be approved by the student’s academic advisor.

    Total Hours 125

IMT Electives - Manufacturing Design Concentration

  • IMT 448 Tooling Systems
  • IMT 464 Process Design & Planning
  • IMT 446 Computer Aided Manufacturing & Automation II
  • IMT 342 or IMT 344 (Second Manufacturing Processes course)
  • IMT 409 Selected Manufacturing Projects
  • IMT 410 Selected Manufacturing Topics

IMT Electives - Manufacturing Systems Concentration

  • IMT 392 Mechanical Component Design I
  • IMT 394 Dynamics of Machines
  • IMT 492 Mechanical Component Design II
  • IMT 494 Computer Aided Systems Design
  • IMT 409 Selected Manufacturing Projects
  • IMT 410 Selected Manufacturing Topics

Manufacturing Engineering Electives

  • IME 531 Nonmetallic Materials
  • IME 533 Composite Materials
  • IME 541 Forming Process
  • IME 543 Materials Removal Process
  • IME 545 Joining & Fabrication
  • IME 553 Advanced Computer Aided Manufacturing
  • IME 563 Process Engineering
  • IME 568 Introduction to Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence
  • IME 583 Production Planning and Control
  • IME 590 Geometric Modeling
  • IME 591 Design for Manufacturability

Other Courses

  • Engineering Courses (CE, EE, IME, ME, CON).
  • Science courses (CHM, CS, MTH, PHY).
  • Approved technical courses from community colleges.