BTEC National Diploma Manufacturing
Engineering - Level 3
Course Introduction
The BTEC National Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering will allow you to build skills as well as technical knowledge. It gives a broad base of understanding whilst allowing you to focus on specialist areas. There is potential for the qualification to prepare you for employment in the appropriate vocational sector. The 17 units studied across the first and second year of the course extend the specialist work related focus. BTEC National Awards are valued highly by employers and the higher education sector (University and Colleges).
Entry Requirements
You will need to hold the equivalent of a UK level 2 qualification in at least Maths, Science and English. The College will assess your qualifications and tell you whether you are eligible to join the course. You will need to complete the application and write 250 words on the back page of the form explaining why you want to undertaken your chosen course.
Course Content
1.Business Systems for Technicians
The unit will enable you to examine an engineering company in detail. This could be in a sector of engineering in which you may wish to seek employment in the future. You will understand how the company operates, the factors that impact upon the business and the importance of a cost effective output. This will include an examination of the engineering functions of the company and the importance of communication and information flow within the business. This is set within a study of how external factors and the economic environment impact on the company.
2. Construction and the Environment
You will understand the important features of the natural environment and the relationship between the natural and the built environment. The unit provides a fundamental understanding of the ways in which the activities of the construction sector impact upon the natural environment. The techniques, processes and procedures used to protect the natural environment are investigated; the advantages of adopting a sustainable approach to construction work are explored in the contexts of energy, materials and waste.
3. Communications for Technicians
This unit will provide a foundation for employment in a wide range of engineering disciplines (eg manufacturing, maintenance, communications technology) in addition to providing a foundation for further study. It aims to develop your ability to communicate using a diverse range of methods. These include visual methods, such as drawing and sketching, and computer-based methods, such as two dimensional (2D) computer aided drawing (CAD) and graphical illustration packages. It will also develop your ability to write and speak within a framework of technology based activities using relevant and accurate technical language appropriate to the task and the audience.
4. Engineering Project
The unit is designed so it can be applied to any of the engineering disciplines within the suite of BTEC National qualifications. It aims to integrate the skills and knowledge you have gained throughout the programme of study into a major piece of work that reflects the type of performance expected of an engineering technician at work.
5. Mathematics for Technicians
This unit enables you to build on your mathematical knowledge you have previously gained and use it in a more practical context for your chosen discipline. The first learning outcome will develop your knowledge and understanding of algebraic methods, from a look at the use of indices in engineering to the use of the algebraic formula for solving quadratic equations. Learning outcome 2 involves the introduction of the radian as another method of angle measurement, the shape of the trigonometric ratios and the use of standard formulae to solve surface areas and volumes of regular solids. Learning outcome 3 requires you to be able to represent statistical data in a variety of ways and calculate the mean, median and mode. Finally, learning outcome 4 is intended as a basic introduction to the arithmetic of elementary calculus.
6. Electrical and Electronic Principles
The unit starts by developing and extending your understanding of fundamental electrical and electronic principles through analysis of simple direct current (DC) circuits. You will then be taken through the various properties and parameters associated with capacitance and inductance, before finally considering the application of single phase alternating current (AC) theory. The unit will encourage you to take an investigative approach through practical construction, measurement and testing of circuits and, where applicable, the use of computer based circuit analysis and simulation.
7. Mechanical Principles and Applications
This unit introduces you to the behaviour of loaded engineering materials and the analysis of a range of static engineering systems that will include Hooke’s Law and Young’s modulus. Learning outcome 2 will extend your knowledge of dynamic systems through the application of Newtonian mechanics. It will also consider the storage and transfer of energy which is often involved in the operation of mechanical systems. Learning outcomes 3 and 4 seek to lay the foundation for future work in applied thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. In particular, they will deal with the effects of heat transfer, the expansion and compression of gases and hydrostatic forces using the work of Boyle, Charles and Joule.
8. Health, Safety, Risk Assessment and Welfare in the Engineering
Workplace
This unit provides an understanding of hazards and risks associated with health, safety and welfare in an engineering workplace. You will develop an understanding of the requirements of health, safety and welfare legislation and regulations and of their roles in complying with the related legal obligations. Ideally this unit would form a key component within the programme, as the content is applicable to many engineering situations.
9. Engineering Design
The unit introduces and develops the concept of design for manufacture. It is crucial that the design process be effective. Success in the marketplace can only be achieved if products are manufactured that are fit for purpose, marketable and meet customer requirements. The importance of market research, generation of new ideas and the consequences of poor design are investigated.
10. Engineering Drawing for Technicians
An understanding of how graphical methods can be used to communicate information about engineering products is an important step for anyone thinking of taking up a career in engineering. This unit gives you an introduction to the principles of technical drawings and their applications using hand drawing and computer aided drafting (CAD) techniques.
11. Computer Aided Drafting
This unit will enable you to produce a variety of CAD drawings, from single-part 2D components to complex 3D models. Advanced techniques, such as using pre-prepared symbols to construct circuit diagrams and assembly drawings, will provide opportunities for you to develop your skills. You will also investigate the use of CAD in industry, the hardware and software required and the links with other software packages. In doing this you will appreciate the advantages of CAD over more conventional methods of drawing production. Finally you will generate 3D models, make comparison with 2D CAD drawings and evaluate the impact of this technology on manufacturing companies and their customers.
12. Mechanical Measurement and Inspection Techniques
The aim of this unit is to provide a broad understanding of mechanical measurement and inspection techniques that apply to a range of engineering activities within different companies. The unit will give you an understanding of a range of techniques and equipment commonly used in mechanical measurement and inspection.
13. Engineering Primary Forming Processes
The main aim of this unit is to provide a broad understanding of manufacturing processes associated with primary forming. It will give you a broad understanding of moulding techniques for metals, ceramics and polymers, deformation processes for metals and polymers, and shaping and assembly of composites. The unit will introduce learners to a range of techniques and primary processes but provide a deeper understanding of the more common processes.
14. Engineering Secondary/Finishing Processes
The unit provides an opportunity for you to examine a range of secondary processing machines, their design and application. To a lesser extent you will also be able to identify a range of ‘non-traditional’ techniques, such as electro discharge and broaching.
15. Computer Numerical Control of Machine Tools
The unit will consider two aspects of CNC machining. Firstly, you will investigate machine tools which have an in-built computer system. These are set up by a skilled operator who interprets data taken from an operational plan and converts this into programme code.
16. Welding Principles
This unit will develop your knowledge of the structure of pure metals and the effects of adding alloying elements. Using both practical and investigative techniques, you will develop an understanding of the operation of a range of welding processes, enabling them to make an informed choice for given applications.
17. Further Mathematics for Technicians
The first learning outcome will extend your knowledge of graph plotting and will develop the technique of using a graph to solve (find the roots of), for example, a quadratic equation. Learning outcome 2 involves the use of both arithmetic and geometric progressions for the solution of practical problems. The concept of complex numbers, an essential tool for electrical engineers considering, is also introduced. Learning outcome 3 considers the parameters of trigonometrical graphs and the resultant wave when two are combined. The use of mathematical formulae in the latter half of this learning outcome enables a mathematical approach to wave combination to be considered. Finally, in learning outcome 4, calculus techniques are further developed and used to show their application in engineering.
18. Quality and Business Improvement
This unit focuses on how the processes of value, risk and quality management can be integrated into continuous improvement activities. It will give you the knowledge and skills required to carry out a value engineering activity. This is a function oriented, systematic team approach used to analyse and improve the value in a product, facility, system or service. This is a powerful tool for solving problems and/or reducing costs while improving performance/quality requirements. By enhancing value, customer satisfaction should also increase. The unit also covers potential failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). FMEA is a technique used to identify and eliminate possible causes of failure. The technique requires a sequential, disciplined approach by engineers to assess systems, products or processes in order to establish the modes of failure and the effects of failure on the system, product or process. The unit will enable learners to apply the technique of examining what might fail, looking at the possible results of such a failure and analysing what could cause it. Solutions to the potential failures are then prioritised so that the most significant ones are dealt with first.
Assessment
You will undertake all 18 units of the BTEC National Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering qualification across the two years of the programme and you will be assessed through assignments for each of the units of study. There are no exams.
Progression/Next Step
Upon successful completion of your second year, you may then progress onto a Foundation Degree or Undergraduate degree in the same vocational sector, or in a related sector, take professional body examinations or progress to employment.
Additional Costs
College libraries stock a range of books related to your course of which you can take out on loan free of charge. You may wish to purchase your own books at a cost of approximately £20-£30 per book.
Course Fee
£4,500 per year
