https://www.english.hs-mannheim.de/the-university.html
At the beginning of these projects, with the work for the first two students, the focus was on measurement system analysis and machine capability analysis. Different types of 3D printers were available as production equipment (different model years and different specified 'qualities'), as well as scanner software and measurement evaluation software. The fact that the results were later evaluated using Q-DAS software is actually of secondary importance.
The first two students were thrown in at the deep end. One was given the classic MSA, the other a machine capability study directly comparing two manufacturers of 3D printers.
Both students were deliberately given the material only as 'teaching aids', which is also standard practice in industry. A short manual, some reading material, classical formulae, rules for data collection, a bit of paper. Exactly as the author unfortunately knows from industry. An employee is given something to do 'right now, because tomorrow is the audit'.
What was not quite clear to the students was the real aim of the initial work. It was by no means to prove the capability of the gage according to the rules of the MSA (fourth edition). Nor was it about proving the machine capability of the 3D printers. But they did not know that. Not at first.
Then came the classic approach. Read up on the topic and get a rough understanding. Then a virtual part was designed and printed. A small block with four cylinders on it. That was another requirement the author gave them. The components, especially for machine capability testing, had to be made in one piece. So they had to be sized so that they could be made in one working day.
What was not clear to the first two students at the beginning should now be explained in advance:
This was not about skills, formulas, and certainly not about showcasing the great Q-DAS software. The goal of both projects was, to show how much planning is required in advance and, above all, what the classic textbook approach doesn't reveal: what the problem actually is.
The next two subchapters will deal with these problems. More pages will follow with each new term paper on this topic.
Conclusion and discussion
Nowadays, student papers end with a chapter entitled “Discussion” and another entitled “Conclusion.” The word “conclusion” (in German: Fazit) comes from Latin and is derived from the third person singular form of the verb “facere,” which means “to make” or “to do.” In other words, “what needs to be done now.” The word “discussion” has Latin roots. It is derived from the Latin verb “discutere,” which means “to examine, discuss, consider,” and from the noun “discussio,” which means “examination, examination.”
Since the author of this page is an old engineer who no longer understands this, and since no parts of the student research projects are to be copied here, the word “resume” is used here, with a consideration of the data and an outlook on further work.