FREE ESSAY ON DIE THEORY

DIE THEORY

The industrial art of manufacturing consist of many catergories like
stamping dies, plastics molds, and jigs and fixtures to be used in the mass
production of solid objects. I have experienced working on a press with sheet
metal. My job was to slide the sheet metal onto a pressworking die and place the
palms of my hands on a sensor so that the press would then stamp the sheet metal
into a predetermined shape. Next, I had to slide it onto the next die for the 
next shape to be made. The pressworking dies in the factory would range from 
extremely small to gigantic;but the press that stamps out the roof of a car is 
about three stories highand capable of exerting tons of force. The 
manufacturing of plastic molding is quite similar to that of stamping dies. The 
principal difference is that stamping requires force, while molding does not. 
I recently graduated from a machinist training program in Detroit: 
(Focus Hope Machinist Training Institute), and we worked on several different 
machines such as the Lathe, Grinder, CNC mills, and a software system
called Auto Cad. After that program I began to understand the importance of 
machine tools in the industry; having the skill to operate machines and design 
parts on the computer (Auto Cad). I really enjoyed working on these machines 
such as the grinder machine which removes small chips from metal parts that are 
brought into contact with a rotating abrasive wheel called a grinding wheel or 
an abrasive belt. The sparks that the grinder generates from the part could be 
considered cool to look at if your not the person grinding. One machine that I 
did not enjoy working on was the Press. This large class of machines includes 
equipment used for forming metal parts byapplying the following processes: 
shearing, blanking, forming, drawing, bending, forging, flanging, squeezing, and 
hammering. All of these processes require presses with a moveable ram that can 
be pressed against an avil or base. The moveable ram may be powered by gravity, 
mechanical linkages, or hydraulic orpneumatic systems. The reason I did not like 
the press is because, for one it is very intimidating because it's so huge and 
it makes you very tired standing onyour feet inserting sheet metal for 8 to 10 
hours.
My understanding of the manufacturing business relates to automation.
To some people, automation means manufacturing. I had a chance to read about
automation as I wrote this essay and it became very interesting learning the
purpose of it. The purpose of automation implies elimination of all manual 
labor and the introduction of automatic controls, assuring accuracy and quality 
beyond human skills. Although automation has been described as a 
revolutionary development, it is actually the end result of the trend of 
mechanization that began with the Industrial Revolution.
Advantages and disadvantages of automation
Advantages commonly attributed to automation include higher production 
rates and increased productivity, more efficient use of materials, better 
product qualilty,improved safety, shorter workweeks for labor, and reduced 
factory lead times. Worker safety is an important reason for automating an 
industrial operation. Automated systems often remove workers from the work-
place, thus safeguarding them against the hazards of the factory environment.
In the United States the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) was
enacted with the national objective of making work safer and protecting the 
physical well-being of the worker. Another benefit of automation is the 
reduction in the number of hours worked on average per week by factory workers.
About 1900 the average workweek was approximately 70 hours. This has gradually
been reduced to a standard workweek in the United States of about 40 hours.
A main disadvantage often associated with automation, worker 
displacement. Despite the social benefits that might result from retraining
displaced workers for other jobs, in almost all cases the worker whose job
has been taken over by a machine undergoes a period of emotional stress. Other
disadvantages of automation is that it requires an investment in an automated 
system that can cost millions of dollars to design, fabricate, and install, a
higher level of maintenance needed than with a manually operated machine. Also
there are potential risks that automation technolgy will ultimately subjugate
rather than serve humankind. The risks include the possibility that workers
will become slaves to automated machines, that the privacy of humans will be
invaded by vast computer data networks, that human error in the management of
technology will somehow endanger civilization, and that society will become
dependent on automation for its economic well-being.
There is an opportunity to relieve humans from repetitive, hazardous,
and unpleasant labor in all forms. And there is an opportunity for future 
automation technolgies to provide a growing social and economic environment in 
which humans can enjoy a higher standard of living and a better way of life.