The SME / TECA live manufacturing contest is sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers to both encourage and reward the study of production technology.  Each participating team must include college students from TECA affiliated chapters.  The teams must design, document, fabricate, and implement a continuous manufacturing system to produce an assigned product using only the tools on the official list plus the materials provided for the contest.

TEAM:

Each team will include four to six students who are members in good standing of a TECA affiliated chapter.  The team members may be either full-time undergraduate or graduate students but no more than two graduate students may serve on the team.

PROCEDURES:

1.   Members of each team must be present at the designated location at the announced time for the start of the contest.

2.   Teams will receive a set of drawings and a bill of materials for a product.  The product must be manufactured using only the listed materials and tools.

3.   Each team will develop a complete continuous manufacturing system (line production system) which will include:

        a. Flow process chart for each part.
        b. Operation process chart for the product.
        c. Dimensioned tooling plans (sketches).
        d. Tooling.
        e. Dimensioned inspection gage plans (sketches).
        f. Inspection gages.
        g. Plant layout drawing (sketch).
        h. A safety system.

4.  Each team will work in a designated area or room within the conference center.  No laboratory facilities will be provided.  The construction work must be done in assigned area with tools on the tool list.  All teams at regional contests must provide their own tools and are limited to the tools on the official tool list.  Tools will be provided at the annual ITEA conference.

5.  Forms for operation process and flow process charts, tooling and inspection gage drawings and plant layouts will be provided.

6.  The complete manufacturing system must be developed during the specified time . . . usually between 3 to 6 hours . . . after receiving the plans and bill of materials.

7.  Each manufacturing system will be tested during a scheduled production run at which time a set number of products will be produced.

8.  Judges will evaluate the quality and the efficiency of the manufacturing line and products produced from it.

9.  The system must run with only the tools listed on the official tool list.

10.  Teams may use microcomputers / printers, portable drafting equipment, or sketching procedures in completing the design of their manufacturing system.  However they must provide the equipment and / or microcomputer hardware and software.

MATERIALS:

1.  Materials for tooling, inspection gages, and charts will be provided by the contest organizers.

2.  Materials for the pilot and final run will be provided by the contest organizers.

3.  Tooling and inspection gages must be built from the materials furnished.  No other materials may be used!

4.  Each team is limited to using the following tools for (1) building tooling, (2) building inspection gages, and (3) operating the manufacturing line.

    SME / TECA MANUFACTURING CONTEST TOOL LIST

        ITEM (QUANTITY)

        3/8" portable electric drill with driver bits (3)
        Portable electric bayonet saw (1)
        Oscillating finishing sander (2)
        1/16" - 1/4" drill set plus a 3/8" drill bit (1)
        Set of spade (butterfly) bits
        Combination square (2)
        Tape rules (4)
        12" bench rules ()
        Pencil compass (1)
        Set of wood chisels (1)
        Scratch awls (2)
        13 or 16 oz. hammer (3)
        Wood or rubber mallet (1)
        4" slotted tip and Phillips screwdrivers (3)
        6" slotted tip and Phillips screwdrivers (3)
        8" slip joint pliers (1)
        8" long nose pliers (1)
        9 1/2" arc-joint pliers (1)
        6" adjustable wrench (1)
        10 " adjustable wrench (1)
        Plane type surform (2)
        1/2" countersink (1)
        Mill file (1)
        Half-round wood file (1)
        Backsaws (2)
        Miter box with saw (1)
        Hacksaw (1)
        8" (jaw length) hand screw clamps (2)
        Deep throat light weight bar clamps (4)
        4" C-clamps (8)
        Toggle (De-Sta-Co type) clamps (8)
        Center punch (1)
        Scissors (1)
        Nail sets (2)
        Dowel center set (1)
        Electric glue gun (1) with glue sticks
        Tin snips (1)
        Dividers (1)
        Shop vacuum for clean-up (1 / optional)

NOTE:  Teams participating in the regional contests must provide their own set of tools.  Tool kits will be available for teams at the national finals, which are held in conjunction with the annual ITEA Conference.

JUDGING CRITERIA:

Each team's manufacturing system will be judged on the following criteria:

1.  Manufacturing system design - Total of 25 points
    a. Thoroughness of the planning (paperwork)
    b. Plant layout established
    c. Tooling design
    d. Inspection gage design

2.  System component fabrication - Total of 25 points
    a. Quality of the tooling
    b. Quality of the inspection gages
    c. Safety materials

3.  System output - Total of 25 points
    a. Appropriate number of functional products produced
    b. Quality of the product

4.  Productivity - Total of 25 points

    a. During the system design and component fabrication phase.  Note: The productivity index will be determined by dividing the measure of the quality of the output (production plans, tooling designs, inspection gages etc.) by the number of students on the design team.

    b. System productivity which will be measured by the products produced per unit of labor worked adjusted to reflect scrap levels.

TOTAL AVAILABLE POINTS  100 points
 

Note:  Judges will penalize or disqualify teams who disregard the rules!