2017.

M73

Coimisiún na Scrúduithe Stáit

State Examinations Commission

LEAVING CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION, 2017

___________________

ENGINEERING – MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

(Higher level – 300 marks)

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THURSDAY, 8th JUNE MORNING 9:30 – 12:30

Page 1 of 12
 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. Squared paper is supplied for graphs, as required.

5. Please label and number carefully each question attempted.

Page 2 of 12
Question 1. (100 marks)

Section A – 50 marks

Give brief answers to any ten of the following:

(a) Outline two advantages of LED car headlights over traditional car
headlights.

(b) Identify two metals commonly used to protect steel from corrosion.

(c) Outline two safety devices integrated into modern motor vehicles.

(d) The cardboard EcoHelmet for cyclists, designed by Isis Shiffer,

was awarded the 2016 International James Dyson award.
Outline two advantages of this design, shown opposite.

(e) Give two reasons why stainless steel is suitable for the manufacture of surgical devices.

(f) Explain two methods of quality control which may be carried out during manufacture.

(g) Discuss the contribution that any one of the following has made to technology:
(i) George Devol (ii) Marie Curie (iii) Dugald Clerk.

(h) Most golf clubs are manufactured with either steel or carbon-fibre (graphite) shafts.
Describe two benefits of using carbon-fibre (graphite) shafts over steel shafts.

(i) Wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are widely used nowadays. shaft
Outline one advantage and one disadvantage of wireless technology.

(j) The rotor blades of a helicopter are subjected to high speeds and varying weather
conditions, which could lead to fatigue failure. Explain the term fatigue failure.

(k) Explain the difference between a gap gauge and a plug gauge.

(l) Describe the principle of operation of a double acting hydraulic ram.

(m) The first flight around the world without using fossil fuel,
was completed in July 2016 by the Solar Impulse 2.
Describe briefly how this could be achieved.

Page 3 of 12
 Section B – 50 marks
Answer all of the following:

(n) The advanced technological development of robotic control has

greatly improved many aspects of automobile manufacture.

(i) Explain briefly what you consider to be the main advantages

of using robotic control systems to aid manufacture.
(ii) Other than for welding, list two applications where robots
are used in motor vehicle manufacture.

(o) Describe, with the aid of a diagram(s), one method of

robotic welding commonly used in the automotive industry.

(p) Robotic joints are mainly powered by electric motors,

as shown opposite. A
(i) Identify a type of motor suitable for Part A;
(ii) Describe the main features of this motor;
(iii) Name a suitable drive mechanism for a Cartesian Robot.

articulated robotic arm

(q) Describe in detail any one of the following processes:

(i) Lead by nose;

(ii) Teach pendant;

(iii) Off-line programming.

(r) Describe any two of the following in relation to robotic control in motor vehicle
manufacture:

(i) Closed loop control;

(ii) Degrees of freedom;
(iii) Working envelope;
(iv) Any two safety features of a robotic system used in automobile manufacture.

Page 4 of 12
Question 2. (50 marks)

(a) The construction of Formula One cars and the materials used are strictly controlled by
regulations to maximise the safety of the cars. Front, side and rear impact tests focus on
the car’s survival cell (cockpit), which must be designed to withstand high impact.

(i) Name and describe, with the aid of a diagram(s)

a suitable impact testing procedure to examine the
suitability of the material used in the survival cell.

(ii) Outline, with sketches, the expected results of impact

tests on brittle materials and on tough materials.

(b) The results shown below were obtained from a tensile test on a carbon steel specimen of
12 mm diameter and 80 mm gauge length.

Load (kN) 30 80 126 146 153 147 152 162 181 174
Extension (mm) 0.2 0.5 0.8 0.9 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 5.6 8.0

(i) Using the graph paper supplied, plot the load-extension diagram.

(ii) Indicate the following points on your graph:

• Elastic limit
• Start of necking
• Fracture point.

(iii) Find the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the material.

(c) A portable X-ray testing device is shown.

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

principles of X-ray testing.

(ii) Outline two safety hazards associated with the

use of X-ray testing equipment.

Page 5 of 12
Question 3. (50 marks)

(a) Pizza ovens can be constructed from a variety of

materials such as brick, clay, steel and cast iron.
The pizza oven shown is manufactured from cast iron.

(i) Explain two reasons why cast iron is used in the

manufacture of this pizza oven.

(ii) Distinguish between the composition of cast iron

and the composition of low carbon steel.

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

1600
A
1200
Temperature °C

B E
D
800

400
C

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 % Carbon

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

(ii) Name and describe the significance of point E.

(iii) Explain the process of normalising 1.5% carbon steel.

(c) Surface hardening techniques, such as case hardening and

induction hardening, are often used as heat treatment
processes for drive and transmission systems.

(i) Outline two reasons for surface hardening the teeth

of the gear wheels.

(ii) Describe a case hardening process.

Page 6 of 12
Question 4. (50 marks)

(a) The compression spring shown is made from a Beryllium-Copper alloy

and is age hardened.

(i) Describe the process of age hardening.

(ii) With reference to the spring shown, outline two

benefits of the age hardening process.

(b) The table shows the solidification temperatures for various alloys of metal A and metal B.

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

Start of solidification (°C) 270 332 400 445 492 524 552 580 603 618 630

End of solidification (°C) 270 272 280 300 318 340 368 404 449 510 630

Using the graph paper supplied:

(i) Draw the equilibrium diagram, using the given data, and label the liquidus and
solidus lines.

(ii) For the alloys containing 0% metal B and 100% metal B, explain why the start of
solidification and the end of solidification are at the same temperature.

(iii) For the alloy with 50% metal B determine, from the diagram, the composition of the
phases at 400 °C.

(c) Select any two from (i), (ii) or (iii) below and differentiate between the terms in each:

(i) Amorphous solid structures and crystalline solid structures;

(ii) Solvus and solidus;

(iii) Body Centre Cubic (BCC) and Face Centre Cubic (FCC) structures.

Page 7 of 12
Question 5. (50 marks)

(a) The heavy steel pipe shown is first rolled into shape
and is to be completed by welding.

(i) Select a suitable automated welding process for

joining the seams along the length of the heavy
steel pipe. Justify your selection.

(ii) Describe, with the aid of diagram(s), the main principles of operation for the selected
welding process.

(b) Answer any three of the following:

(i) Describe the term dissolved acetylene.

(ii) Outline the reasons for porosity in welding.

(iii) Describe two hazards which may be encountered in underwater welding.

(iv) Outline three safety features integrated into oxy-acetylene welding equipment.

(v) Give two benefits of using resistance seam welding in the production of house
radiators.

(c) Describe, with the aid of a suitable diagram(s), any one of the following:

(i) The transformer-rectifier circuit used in manual metal arc welding.

(ii) The essential differences between Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding and
Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding.

OR

(c) The Dyson 360 Eye™ robot vacuum cleaner uses battery power to operate and also
incorporates link app technology.

(i) Outline one advantage and one disadvantage of

robotic vacuum cleaners linked to mobile apps.

(ii) Describe the importance of the 360° camera

incorporated in the vacuum cleaner.

Page 8 of 12
Question 6. (50 marks)

(a) Camping tents, canopies and promotional marquees are often constructed using
interlocking flexible tube framing and moulded joints.

tube

joint

(i) Name a process used to manufacture the thermoplastic tubes and a process used to
manufacture the thermoplastic joints.

(ii) Describe the principle of operation for the manufacturing process used to make the
thermoplastic tubes.

(iii) Select a suitable thermoplastic for the frame tubing and give one reason for your
selection.

(b) Many toys, including Lego® bricks, are manufactured from the copolymer Acrylonitrile
Butadiene Styrene (ABS).

(i) Explain the term copolymer.

(ii) Outline two reasons for the use of ABS in the

manufacture of toys.

(iii) Explain the polymerisation process used to produce ABS.

(c) Describe any three of the following:

(i) Calendering;

(ii) Plastic pultrusion;

(iii) Monomer;

(iv) Catalyst;

(v) Compression moulding.

Page 9 of 12
Question 7. (50 marks)

(a) Answer any three of the following:

(i) Explain the term tolerance used in metrology.

(ii) Outline the difference between loading and glazing of grinding wheels.

(iii) Describe the function of a reamer in machining.

(iv) State two advantages of a keyless chuck.

(v) Explain the term rancidity in relation to cutting fluids.

(b) Cutting fluids are commonly used in metal cutting machines.

(i) Identify two types of cutting fluids.

(ii) Describe the impact of cutting fluids on:

• metal cutting machines and
• metal cutting efficiency.

(c) Magnetic chucks, similar to the one shown, are used to hold workpieces during various
machining processes.

(i) Explain, with the aid of a diagram(s), the basic

operation of a magnetic chuck.

(ii) State one advantage and one disadvantage of

magnetic chucks.

OR

(c) The use of 3-D printers, similar to the one shown, is rapidly growing in schools and in
industry. These 3-D printers are operated by computer numerical control (CNC).

(i) Explain why stepper motors are used to control

movements in CNC machines.

(ii) Identify two other modern manufacturing

machines which can be operated using CNC.

Page 10 of 12
Question 8. (50 marks)

(a) Entrance turnstiles are used to control access to train stations and sports stadiums.

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

mechanism which allows a turnstile to rotate in one
direction only.

(ii) Other than a turnstile, identify two applications for

the mechanism described by you in Q8(a)(i) above.

(b) Answer any three of the following:

(i) Describe a mechanism that transmits motion through 90°.

(ii) State two advantages of helical gears over spur gears.
(iii) Outline a suitable use for a cam and follower mechanism.
(iv) Give two uses for a cylindrical roller bearing.
(v) Describe the operation of a capacitor.

(c) A car suitable for wheelchair users is shown opposite.

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

suitable mechanism to allow the sliding door
to open.

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

a mechanism which will allow the ramp
be automated. sliding door

OR

(c) The electronic circuit shown has components, including ICs, soldered on to a PCB.

(i) Explain the terms IC and PCB.

(ii) Outline the procedure for soldering the PCB shown,

making reference to equipment, safety and to ensuring a
high quality joint.

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