Course Content

Introduction to Polymers ... Comparison with Traditional Materials
Basic Review of polymer property ranges comparing with traditional materials
including metals, ceramics etc.

Influence of Polymeric Materials on Product Design
Specific polymer properties / product design solutions 

Influence of Processing Method on Product Design
Review of processing methods and their influence on design including:
Thermoforming
Extrusion
Blow Moulding (Extrusion and injection)
Compression moulding and DST technologies
Injection Moulding

Product Property Based Design
Required property and resultant design features

Rapid Manufacturing Techniques
Covering prototyping, short run manufacture, and rapid tooling techniques.
How to choose the right method.

Polymer Design Requirement Specification
Covering developing specifications for mechanical, electrical, thermal use, environmental impact

Quality in Plastics Processing
Inspection methods, time dependency of size, methods of measurement, use of statistics.

Fabrication and Assembly with Polymers
Review of methods and uses, including welding, mechanical assembly, decoration methods.

Costing and Project Analysis
Part cost based on material, process method and number of parts required.
Product Development methodology and tools.