*P31*

Pre-Leaving Certificate Examination, 2017

Triailscrúdú na hArdteistiméireachta, 2017

____________________

ENGINEERING – MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

(Higher level – 300 marks)

____________________

TIME: 3 HOURS

Page 1 of 11
 INSTRUCTIONS

1. Answer Section A and Section B of Question 1 and FOUR other questions.

2. All answers must be written in ink on the answer book supplied.

3. Diagrams should be drawn in pencil.

4. Graph paper is supplied for graphs, as required.

5. Please label and number carefully each question attempted.

Page 2 of 11
Question 1. (100 marks)

SECTION A – 50 marks

Give brief answers to any ten of the following:

(a) Outline two environmental factors that increase the rate of corrosion in steel fixings.

(b) The screen of the mobile phone shown is made from

glass. Outline one advantage and one disadvantage
of using glass screens.

(c) Describe the flotation process as a method of ore

separation.

(d) Identify two hazards associated with using adhesives on plastics.

(e) Explain the association between conductivity and the metallic bond.

(f) Identify three applications for pneumatic control in engineering.

(g) What contribution did any one of the following make to technology?

(i) Marie Curie (ii) Trevor Baylis (iii) Jonas Hesselman.

(h) Outline two methods of securing nuts in order to prevent loosening due to vibration.

(i) Explain the meaning of any two of the following abbreviations:

(i) uPVC (ii) HSS (iii) http (iv) GRP.

(j) Describe the importance of the evaluation stage during the process of design.

(k) Give one reason to anodise aluminium.

(l) Describe the term elastic memory with reference to thermoplastics.

(m) Identify three advantages of using rapid

prototyping techniques in the design of new
products.

Page 3 of 11
 SECTION B – 50 MARKS

Answer all of the following:

(n) (i) Industrial robots have been used in the automotive

manufacturing industry since their development
by George Devol in the early 1960s.
Describe briefly what you believe a robot to be.

(ii) Robots can usually be classified as Manipulators or Teleoperators.

Compare each type of robot.

(o) Robots generally follow one of three main configurations.

Explain two of the following configuration types:

• Articulated Arm Configuration

• SCARA Configuration
• Gantry Configuration

(p) (i) AC motors rather than DC motors are used to power robots.
What are the benefits of using AC motors in robotic control?

(ii) The motors are mostly used with the following drive mechanisms.
Compare each mechanism listed.

• Lead Screws
• Gear Drives
• Belt Drives

(q) Explain each of the following types of Robotic Control programming methods:

(i) Teach pendant,

(ii) Lead through or lead by nose,

(iii) Off-line programming.

(r) Discuss briefly the advantages and

disadvantages of using Industrial robots
in the automotive industry.

Page 4 of 11
Question 2. (50 marks)

(a) Bumpers on most modern automobiles have been made of a combination

of polycarbonate (PC) and Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) called PC/ABS.

(i) Describe two critical properties to

be considered in the selection of
these polymers in the manufacturing
of car bumpers.

(ii) Describe, with the aid of a diagram(s),

a mechanical test suitable for measuring
the toughness of the material used in
the bumper.

(b) The results shown below were obtained from a tensile test on a non-ferrous alloy
with a 10 mm diameter and 50 mm gauge length.

Load (kN) 15 25 40 60 80 100 108 109 106 97

Extension (mm) 0.06 0.10 0.16 0.26 0.39 0.65 0.90 1.00 1.20 1.40

Using the graph paper supplied, plot the load-extension diagram and determine:

(i) The ultimate tensile strength (UTS).

(ii) The 0.1% proof stress.

(c) (i) Outline three advantages of using non-destructive tests (NDT) in industrial
engineering.

(ii) Describe, with the aid of a diagram,

a non-destructive test suitable for
testing weld quality.

Page 5 of 11
Question 3. (50 marks)

(a) The machined slideways of the lathe bed shown will be subjected to wear.

(i) Identify a suitable heat treatment process to

harden the steel preventing wear on
the slideways.

(ii) Describe, with the aid of a suitable diagram(s),

the heat treatment process selected.

(b) A simplified portion of the iron-carbon equilibrium diagram is shown.

1600

A
1300
B
Temperature °C

C
1000
D Y
700

X
400

100

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
% Carbon

(i) Name the regions A, B, C and D.

(ii) Identify points X and Y.

(iii) Describe in detail point X, with reference to each of the following:

• Phase change
• Composition
• Temperature.

(c) Describe any two of the following heat treatment processes:

(i) Annealing.

(ii) Normalising.

(iii) Carburising.

Page 6 of 11
Question 4. (50 marks)

(a) Explain any two of the following:

(i) A cooling curve for an alloy.

(ii) The difference between an interstitial solid solution and a substitutional solid
solution.

(iii) The meaning of the term solvus.

(iv) The difference between amorphous structures and crystalline structures.

(b) The table below shows the solidification temperatures for the various alloys of metal
A and metal B. The melting point of metal A is 1083ºC and the melting point of
metal B is 1455ºC.

% of metal B in the alloy 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Start of solidification (°C) 1083 1160 1220 1270 1320 1350 1379 1400 1430 1441 1455

End of solidification end (°C) 1083 1085 1091 1111 1130 1170 1221 1270 1329 1380 1455

Using the graph paper supplied:

(i) Draw the thermal equilibrium diagram.

(ii) Label the diagram and describe its main features.

(iii) State the melting point of metal A and metal B.

(c) Distinguish, with the aid of suitable diagrams, between two of the following crystal
defects:

(i) Dislocation.

(ii) Substitute defect.

(iii) Vacancy.

Page 7 of 11
Question 5. (50 marks)

(a) The garden bench shown is fabricated from mild steel which is scrolled and welded
in a factory. The welds are then smoothened and the bench is powder coated to
protect it from corrosion.

(i) Select a suitable welding process used in the

manufacture of the mild steel bench and outline
one reason for your selection.

(ii) Describe, with the aid of a diagram(s), the key

principles of the welding process selected.

(b) Answer any three of the following:

(i) Describe three important safety features that minimise electrical hazards
associated with manual metal arc welding.

(ii) Explain the function of dissolved acetylene in oxy-acetylene welding.

(iii) Describe one type of welding suitable for the automated welding of steel
panels in motorcar manufacture.

(iv) State two functions of the slag produced in manual metal arc welding.

(v) Why is tungsten inert gas welding suitable for welding aluminium?

(c) Describe, with the aid of a suitable diagram, the main features of one of the
following:

(i) Seam resistance welding.

(ii) Submerged arc welding (SAW).

OR

(c) Outline the advantages of using robotic control for each of the following
applications:

(i) Spray painting vehicle body parts.

(ii) Placement of electronic components on

circuit boards.

(iii) Testing gas pipelines.

Page 8 of 11
Question 6. (50 marks)

(a) The window section shown is manufactured from a thermoplastic material which is
then cut to the required lengths to form windows and doors.

(i) Select a manufacturing process suitable for

making the profile and state one reason why
you have chosen this manufacturing process.

(ii) Describe, with the aid of a suitable diagram,

the operation of this process.

(b) The compression moulding machine shown is used to produce products such as a
plug socket casing.

(i) State two reasons why compression

moulding is suitable for the manufacture
of an electrical fitting.

(ii) Explain the principle of operation of

a compression moulding machine.

(iii) Name and describe briefly the

polymerisation process used to produce
the plastic for the plug socket casing.

(c) Describe how polymer properties may be enhanced by any three of the following:

(i) Stabilisers.

(ii) Glass or carbon fibre.

(iii) Plasticisers.

(iv) Lamination.

Page 9 of 11
Question 7. (50 marks)

(a) Answer any three of the following:

(i) Identify two safety precautions that reduce the formation of a built-up edge
while turning on a centre lathe.

(ii) Distinguish between oblique cutting and orthogonal cutting.

(iii) Explain one main function of a feeler gauge.

(iv) Describe the main features of a Morse taper sleeve.

(v) State the function of a reamer.

(b) The main types of material chip formed in metal cutting are illustrated below.

A B

(i) Identify the type of chip formed at A and the type of chip formed at B.

(ii) Describe the type of material that results in the chip formed at A and the type
of material that results in the chip formed at B.

(iii) Outline three functions of cutting fluids in effective metal cutting.

(c) Describe, with the aid of suitable diagrams, the differences between gang milling and
straddle milling.

OR

(c) (i) Describe three safety features

integrated into the design of
a CNC lathe or a CNC milling
machine.

(ii) Explain the role of simulation

in CNC machining.

(iii) Describe the advantages of CNC

machining in industrial engineering.

Page 10 of 11
Question 8. (50 marks)

(a) A ratchet and pawl mechanism is used

to tension the clothesline shown.

(i) Describe, with the aid of a diagram,

how the mechanism shown may be
operated to tension the line.

(ii) It was discovered that the clothesline

was too heavy to tension with the
ratchet and pawl when fully loaded.
Describe, with the aid of a diagram, another mechanism that might make
tensioning easier.

(b) Explain any three of the following:

(i) The advantages of using vee-pulley belts over flat belts.

(ii) Toggle mechanism.

(iii) Chain and sprocket.

(iv) Light dependent resistor (LDR).

(v) The functions of the electronic transistor.

(c) It is proposed to design a model based on the three wheeled vehicle shown.

(i) Describe, with the aid of a diagram(s),

a rear wheel drive propulsion unit for
the car.

(ii) Describe clearly, with the aid of a

diagram(s), a suitable steering
mechanism for the car shown.

OR

(c) With reference to the circuit shown:

(i) Identify the electronic

components A, B, C A
and D. D

(ii) Describe the function

of components B and C
C
in the circuit.

Page 11 of 11
Blank Page