CERAMIC ENGINEERING 111
CERAMIC MATERIALS LAB I
Professor:
Dr. Bill Fahrenholtz
322 McNutt
341-6343
billf@umr.edu
TAs:
Brett Scarfino
B2 Fulton
341-4495
scarf@umr.edu
Class
Attendance:
Attendance is not required. However, it is your responsibility to attend classes
and labs. Some of the experiments will require time outside of the scheduled lab
time, and it is the responsibility of the groups to ensure that all lab members are
actively involved in the all aspects of the lab.
Lab Reports:
As would be expected of any project team in industry, either a report or
presentation is required at the conclusion of each assignment. These will be
graded as detailed in the course handout. No late reports will be accepted. You
will have the option of submitting a preview copy of your report for my
comments prior to the final due date (discussed on next page).
Rina Sane
B44 McNutt
341-6122
rnsr39@umr.edu
Quizzes and
A short quiz will be given the first week of each lab assignment. Quiz questions
Practical Exams: will come from a list provided with each lab handout and will cover material in
the reading assignment for the lab exercises. Each student will also demonstrate
the ability to measure density and make thermocouples in practical exams.
Technical
Writing
Approximately 30 minutes of each class period will be devoted to discussion of
various aspects of technical writing. These assignments not be graded directly,
but the skills discussed will have a significant impact on your ability to prepare
lab reports.
Website
A copy of this handout, an example lab report, and other resources are available
on Dr. Fahrenholtz’s website at www.umr.edu/~billf
Grading:
A≥90, 80≤B≤89, 70≤C≤79, 60≤D≤69, F≤59
Text:
J. Reed, Principles of Ceramics Processing 2n d Ed., J. Wiley, New York (1994).
ASSIGNMENT
Read the department safety manual available at http://campus.umr.edu/ceramics/cerindex.html.
Next week, you will hear the department safety lecture based on this manual. At the end of the
lecture, you will take a safety exam. You must pass this exam (75% or higher) before you will be
allowed to work in the laboratory.
Read the safety manual
Safety exam next week in class
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of CerEng 111 is to introduce you to: 1) the sequence and purpose of labs in
Ceramic Engineering; 2) safety in the laboratory; 3) preparation of lab reports; 4) basic laboratory
skills needed for processing and characterization; and 5) collection of accurate, reliable data. You
will process ceramics and collect data about your materials and processes. The results from each
experiment will be reported in a concise, coherent manner as would be expected of any engineer in
industry. We’re also trying to have fun during the learning process, and encourage lots of
questions and additional activities. Be creative; make ceramic articles for pleasure or art.
TEAMWORK
In past semesters, some of the groups have not operated as teams. Often, they would
collect data together and then go their separate ways. Individuals would take turns doing the data
analysis, preparing the figures/tables, etc. The group reports were written in sections by
individuals working independently. The sections were unconnected monographs that were often
stapled together in class without proofreading. Many times, information was unnecessarily
repeated several times in different sections of the report, or, worse, vital information was omitted
because no one took the time to read the entire report. Remember, once you leave UMR, your
superiors will evaluate you based on your technical skills and your ability to communicate.
This semester, I want each of you to consider what it means to be part of a team. You will
work with an assigned lab group, which will give you a chance to get to know the strengths and
weaknesses of each team member. For example, you may find that one or more of you excel at
performing the experiment and recording the data. Others may be better at data analysis or
report preparation. As the semester progresses, you should be able to divide the work to take
advantage of these skills. In the end, each team member is asked to sign each report. This
indicates that you have read and approve of the content of the entire report. You should be
proud of your contribution to this document and, hopefully, it will be the best report that you
can prepare given the constraints under which you have operated. Ideally, the group report will
be better than any of the reports that your group members would have prepared if you were
working separately. In the past, the “team” effort was usually worse than what I would expect
from individuals due to a lack of communication among team members. Suggestions for team
building and conducting effective meetings are provided as separate documents.
LAB PREVIEW COMMENTS
This semester, I will make comments on lab reports prior to grading them. By previewing
your reports, I hope to help you develop better report writing skills. At the same time, it should
also make my job of grading the final reports easier. To take advantage of the preview option, all
you have to do is put a hardcopy of your preview in my mailbox in 223 McNutt or send a draft
of your report to me by email (attach a MS Word file and send it to billf@umr.edu). The
deadline for preview copies will be 8:00 am on Friday prior to a Monday due date. For example,
the density lab report is due on Monday, September 27, 2004. If you send a copy to me by 8:00
am on Friday, September 24, I will return it to you no later than the end of the day on Saturday,
September 25 so that you can address the comments. The quality of the preview copy will not
impact your grade. I will base the report grade solely on the final report.
SCHEDULE
Date
Lecture / Lab
8/23
General intro and tour
8/30
Dept. Safety Lecture
9/6
Reading
Exam/Quiz
Writing Topic
Lab books and
teamwork
Safety Manual
Safety
Exam
None
Density Quiz
Report format
and content
Density
Practical Exam
Facts and
analysis vs.
generalizations
No Classes = = Labor Day
9/13
Density
Measurements I
9/20
Density
Measurements II
9/27
Raw Materials
Collection
Lab Handout
10/4
Comminution
Lab Handout
Reed 82-103, 255-276
10/11
Sieve
Analysis
Lab Handout
Reed 118-133
10/18
Density
Individual Report
Raw Mat'l Quiz Data collection
and analysis
Comminution
Quiz
Tables and
graphs
Individual
Evaluation I
References and
literature search
Comminution and Sieve
Analysis Presentation
10/25
Furnace Temperature
Measurement I
11/1
Furnace Temperature
Measurement II
11/8
Die Pressing I
11/15
Die Pressing II
11/22
Sintering I
11/29
Sintering II
12/6
Lab Clean Up
12/13
Report or Presentation
Due
Lab Handout
Lab Handout
Reed 418-449
Furnace Temperature
Meas. Group Report
Abstracts
Furnace Quiz
Introductions
Thermocouple
Practical Exam
Procedures
Die Pressing
Quiz
Results
Discussions
Lab Handout
Reed 583-624
Die Pressing
Individual report
Sintering Quiz
Summary and
conclusions
Sintering
Group Presentation
Individual
Evaluation II
None
Finals Week
GRADING
You can track your grade by filling in this table as the semester progresses. Note the
presentation; the group’s grade will be an average of the score assigned to you by your peers.
Also note that some lab reports are to be submitted by the group, others individually. 200
points will be awarded on the basis of the confidential Individual Evaluations to be conducted in
the office of Dr. Fahrenholtz. Attendance at the weekly Ceramic Engineering seminars
constitutes 10% of your lab grade; a minimum attendance of nine seminars will give you the full
10% credit (189 points). Attending less than 9 seminars will give you 0% credit. Seminars
are held every Thursday in 204 McNutt at 3:30 pm (refreshments 3:15 pm).
Lab or Assignment
Pts. Possible
Safety Exam
100
Quizzes: 6 at 50 pts each
Practical exams: 2 at 100 pts each
500
Density Lab Report (Individual)
200
Comminution and Sieve
Analysis Report (Group)
200
Individual Score 1
100
Furnace and Temperature
Measurement Report (Group)
200
Die Pressing Presentation (Group)
200
Sintering Lab Report (Individual)
200
Individual Scores 2
100
Seminar Attendance
200
Total
2000
Score
LAB GROUPS
Each of you has been assigned to a laboratory group for the semester. We will use these groups
through the first two experiments at least. On October 18, we will discuss potential changes to the lab
groups. At that time, the instructor will decide whether the groups will remain as they are or if selected
individuals will be assigned to other groups. This will be one week after your first individual evaluation
session. Each semester, two individual evaluation sessions are used as a method for me to gather
additional information on how your group is interacting. I see how you interact during class, I read your
reports, but the individual evaluation sessions give me a chance to hear from each member of a group
about their performance. This year, I will use all of the information at my disposal to decide whether the
groups will remain the same or change at mid-term.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Tracy Daugherty
Greg Baird
Sheena Foster
Jenna Resse
Luke Walker
Melissa Malone
Genna Belt
Rebecca Kueny
Aaron Schlett
Sarah Wehmeyer
Andrea Muller
Aaron Beck
Sarah McGillivray
Stephanie Schmucker
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Dan Snyder
Lindsey Campbell
Loren Moody
Michael Schroer
Dawn Walker
Jessie Cates
Johnathan Nguyen
Austin Shaw
Duo Yang
Lindsay Daum
Kelley Ohara
Eric Stein
PRESENTATIONS
One presentation will be given during the Fall semester. This will be a group presentation
and it is up to each group to decide who gives the report. Presentations can be given effectively
by having group members present different portions. The entire group is always responsible for
preparing each talk. Each presentation must last between 10 and 15 minutes, with a maximum of
5 minutes afterwards for questions and answers.
The presentations will be given in a
professional manner, meaning the speakers will use carefully prepared visual aids (slides,
overheads, lab widgets etc.), dress up, maintain a strict time requirement, etc. The presentation is
worth 200 points; half of your score represents the average assigned by your peers and the other
half assigned by the faculty. We will use the attached standard grading sheet.
LAB REPORTS
Lab reports are due on the dates identified in the schedule. These must have the format as
described in documents on the class site on my web site. Lab reports are each worth 200 points,
and will be graded as follows:
General attributes of report (50 points)
Overall format and neatness----------- 20 points
Length (too long or too short) -------- 10 points
Spelling and grammar------------------- 20 points
Content-specific aspects of report (150 points)
Abstract---------------------------------- 20 points
Introduction ----------------------------- 20 points
Procedure/Equipment ------------------ 20 points
Results (Tables and Graphs)---------- 30 points
Discussion------------------------------- 40 points
Conclusions/summary ----------------- 10 points
References ------------------------------- 10 points
Presentation Grading Sheet
Date:
Reviewer:
N
a
m
e
1. Use of Visual Aids
Pts.
Purpose: Does each visual aid have a clearly defined purpose
20
Clarity: All words, graphs, microstructures clearly visible
20
2. Presentation Format
Introduction: Did the speaker clearly introduce the subject
10
Organization: Did the talk flow smoothly with definite, but
smooth transitions between major points
Conclusions: Did the speaker draw clear and concise conclusions
that effectively summarized the presentation
Time: Was the presentation given in the allotted time, 10-15 min
10
10
10
3. Speaker Traits
Voice: Did the speaker show enthusiasm, speak clearly, etc.
20
Mannerisms: Did the speaker block the screen, fidget, say "uh" etc. 20
4. Presentation Content
Procedure: Was the procedure clearly defined?
20
Equipment: Was the equipment listed
10
Depth of Discussion: Was the topic covered thoroughly
20
Error Analysis: Were sources of error analyzed
20
5. Relative Merit
How did the speaker rate relative to other talks. Assign score after
listening all of the talks
10
200
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