This interactive case study simulates the heat treatment process used at Key Knife, Inc., for the manufacture of steel chipper blades for the wood products industry. Additional materials include a virtual tour of the plant, an introduction to hardening and tempering, a review of statistics for statistical process control, and a user's guide.
The simulation is intended for use by general students and technicians and not specifically for those studying metallurgy. The heat treating process serves only as a medium for the realistic use of statistics. The number of active manufacturing controls have been simplified to make the simulation easier to run.
|
Factory Walk-through This portion offers a chance to virtually walk from the parking lot of the plant through reception and engineering to the manufacturing floor and the heat treating area. The walk-through shows the equipment you will be running as it looks from the plant floor. |
 |
Introduction to the Heat Treating Process Introduction to the Heat Treating Process shows the production flow at Key Knife, and some information on heat treating. |
 |
Heat Treatment and Cutoff Simulation The Heat Treatment and Cutoff Simulation is the main application for this project to 1. Run the machinery to produce a chosen the number of parts. 2. Obtain production data such as measurements of blade length or hardness. 3. Practice using statistical analysis tools to monitor the production. All production data can be copied to the major statistical programs and spreadsheets. 4. Use data analysis and the machinery displays to diagnose and correct problems with the machinery, or identify problems with personnel, methods, material or environment. |
 |
Simulation User's Guide The User's Guide shows step by step how to run the heat treatment and cutoff simulation above. The guide contains example statistics and SPC problems based on the simulation. |
 |
Review of Statistics for Statistical Process Control The Review of Statistics for Statistical Process Control contains statistics review materials. All of the methods in the review can be applied to analyze the heat-treating production. The review supplements materials students receive in their regular coursework. |
 |
About the Simulation Project About the Project contains information about the authors and project sponsorship. Please mail responses and suggestions to shellabargerd "at" lanecc.edu. |
