Design of an Assembly for a Manufacturing Processes Laboratory

Presented is a mechanical assembly design which is used as the core product in a manufacturing processes course.The product design was developed to integrate mostly machining processes that are conducted throughout the semester.The product, a bench vise, had design criteria that were imposed primarily a result of educational needs and constraints at the institution, Northern Arizona University.These criteria included generous dimensional tolerances, constrained component dimensional sizes, use of a variety of materials, time-constrained process limits, and use of some commercial off-theshelf parts in the assembly.Additionally, the laboratory is considered small by most accredited universities in the United States, with very limited personnel and equipment resources.In the context of these design needs and constraints, a bench vise design was created and the operations divided amongst the laboratories.Presented is the basic design plus modifications implemented and/or planned after two semesters and six sections of the laboratory offering.Limited student evaluations and anecdotes are also noted.