Open learning — a newtraining initiative for CAE

by P. J. LucasWarley College of Technology

The MSC's Open Techprogramme aims to providethe opportunity for adultindustrial training andre-training. One of the keyareas in which a need forinnovative training has beenidentified is in computer-aided engineering.

The Open Tech programme

The Open Tech programme is fundedby the Manpower ServicesCommission until spring 1987 as partof the UK Government's adult trainingstrategy. It is administered by theOpen Tech Unit based in Sheffieldand its main purpose is to expand therange and flexibility of the trainingopportunities available to adults bythe use of open learning.

The programme is based on a rangeof over 100 projects which have beenset up to provide materials and tosupport open learning throughout thecountry in industries where specifictraining needs have been identified.

The programme will help employersand individuals to train, re-train andupdate skills and knowledge in a widerange of industries from low-tech tohigh-tech. Its special focus is toovercome barriers which many adults

face when entering or re-joiningeducation and training, and it doesthis through open learning — learningdesigned for individuals to use at atime, place and pace to suitthemselves. If you like, it concentrateson the learner rather than therequirements of the college orpolytechnic, which are still likely topresent somewhat rigid timetables andsyllabuses.

Areas of particular concern to OpenTech were singled out for specialdevelopment — supervisory andmanagement training, the applicationof new technology to training, thedevelopment of practical trainingfacilities and support for technicalinnovation.

Within the broad areas of supportfor technical innovation and theapplication of new technology totraining, computer-aided engineeringwas identified as a key area wherethere was evidence of a need forinnovative training. Open learning wasseen as the way forward and theproject at Warley College ofTechnology was established andfunded by Open Tech to the value of£563000 to produce an open learningtraining course in CAE.

Open learning

Open learning provides theopportunity for people to learn:

• when they want to• where it is convenient for them• at a pace that is comfortable forthem.

Most adult employees cannot taketime off work to attend trainingcourses and many are unwilling orunable to travel to colleges in theevening after work, and usually suchinstitutions are not open at theweekends. The learning situationtherefore has to be taken to them sothat they can, if they wish, study in the

Computer-Aided Engineering Journal April 1986

evenings or at weekends in as flexiblea way as possible — picking up theirwork when it is convenient andputting it down again when they havesomething else to do.

Since many people would prefer towork at home, a major proportion ofopen learning material is designed tobe studied 'at a distance' byindividuals working on their own. Inmany areas, however, Open AccessCentres have been set up by a numberof projects so that learners can makean appointment or just 'drop-in' to useperhaps some particular hardwarenecessary for their studies — a more'local' mode.

Generally speaking, open learnersare allowed to work at their own pace.Unlike Open University students,learners in the Open Tech programmedo not have time limits in which tocomplete modules of training. Thereare some exceptions to this, but everyeffort is made to give the learner allthe time he or she wants to take fulladvantage of the training offered.

Open learning is therefore:

• flexible• friendly• convenient• understandable.

It is also reckoned to be cost effective.A brief investigation would certainly

support this view. Most Open Techcourses work out at between £3 and £5per hour of study: say an average of£120 for a typical 30-hour package.This might include study modules,audio or video tapes, computer timeand tutorial support and guidance.Compare this with a similar one-weektraining course offered by industry attypically £500 plus travel andsubsistence and loss of productioncosts. The net cost to a companycould be well over £1000 for theweek's training, against £120 for openlearning. Further, if a proportion ofthis is funded by the MSC through the

47

The HEKTOR graphics workstation

Local Grant Aid scheme then the costto an employer is very small indeed.

Computer-aided engineering

Computer-aided design andmanufacture is not that recent aninnovation. Computer numericalcontrol of machine tools was firstdeveloped in the USA in the early1950s, and the first viable computer-aided design system wasdemonstrated, also in the USA, in theearly 1960s. In one form or another,CADCAM has been used in the UK forover a decade — mainly by large firmsin the high technology industries whohad no other way of solving complexdesign and manufacturing problemsand to whom cost was perhaps asecondary factor.

All that is now changing. For, likeevery other aspect of processing,storing and distributing information,computer-aided engineering has beentransformed by the development ofmicroelectronics. CAE systems havebecome cheaper, more compact,more sophisticated, more versatileand much simpler to operate. As aresult, their benefits are now withinthe reach of anyone, in any sector ofthe manufacturing industry, whowishes to take advantage of them.

In terms of productivity and ultimateprofitability, the benefits areconsiderable. The UK's overseascompetitors have recognised thepotential and are acting on it. The UKmust do the same, and stimulatingawareness and providing effectivetraining is a vital part of the process.

48

A new training opportunity in CAE

In November 1983 the Borough ofSandwell, West Midlands, signed acontract with the Manpower ServicesCommission which called for theproduction of an open learning coursein CAE. The course production teamwas to be based at Warley College ofTechnology, and Delta CAE Ltd. wasappointed as the industrial consultantto work with the course team. Thecontract funding was to be spreadover a period of three years andoverseen by the MSC's Open TechUnit in Sheffield.

The aim was to produce a distancelearning course where the learner

Typical modules

would work through specificallywritten study modules, but with twoimportant additional provisions. It wasseen to be essential that the learnergot his or her hands on a computerwith appropriate software and wasable to learn to set up and operatesuitable machinery such as computernumerically controlled machine tools.

At this point it is worth emphasisingthat the focus for this course was tohelp re-train and update employedadults in industry, and therefore thecourse team have been careful torelate the material, software andhardware to the industrial workplaceand have avoided the use ofequipment that is not found inmanufacturing companies. This hasmeant that for practical training onmachine tools only proper productionversions are suitable for the learners,and equipment such as bench-mounted training lathes andsimulators have not been consideredsufficiently 'real life' to be of greatvalue. The machinery used by thelearners must be as similar as possibleto that found in their own companies.Only in this way can the training be asrelevant and immediately useful aspossible.

The same philosophy applies to thecomputing. A system had to bedevised that enabled the learner togain access to sophisticated softwareused by industry on a computer ofsufficient power to support it.Microcomputer-based, low-poweredsystems and simulators were just notsufficiently relevant to the workplace(except perhaps for productionmanagement systems). The selectionof a suitable computer was relativelystraightforward. A Prime 550 Mark IIsuperminicomputer was chosen with2 Mbytes of local memory and300 Mbytes on disk. The softwarechosen for use by the learner wasDOGS for two-dimensional draftingand design, GNC for partprogramming, DUCT for three-dimensional surface modelling,BOXER for three-dimensional solidmodelling and SPICE for electricaldesign and analysis, and, although thelatter will probably be changed for aPCB/VLSI design package, all thesepackages are well known and used byindustry.

This computing resource at WarleyCollege now provides 24 hours a day,7 days a week access for learners. Thenext question was how the learnerscould access it from anywhere in thecountry. The answer was to use thetelephone to enable learners to 'dialin' to the computer whenever andfrom wherever they wanted. The

Computer-Aided Engineering Journal April 1986

computer was therefore fitted with 15modems arranged in a hunting packrunning at 1200/75 baud. All that wasneeded now was a suitable graphicsworkstation that could be pluggedinto the telephone system. Of coursecomputer graphics workstations areexpensive and certainly too expensiveto expect someone to buy just fortraining, and so a low-cost version hadto be developed.

After a lot of investigation and blindalleys the course team got togetherwith the Open University to see if itsHEKTOR III microprocessor could beadapted to provide the graphicsemulation required. In the event acontract was placed with the OpenUniversity, which commendablyproduced a successful EPROM to avery tight deadline. This enabled theHEKTOR graphics workstationcomplete with keyboard, monitor,modem and mouse, ready to plug intoa telephone socket, to be provided forthe princely sum of £595 — some one-fifth of the price of the lowest-pricedequivalent workstation then on themarket.

The scene was now set for theenvisaged learning situation, and thecourse team have been hard at workdevising and writing the studymodules. Under the present contractwhich expires at the end of September1986, 11 modules will be producedhaving the titles listed in the panel.Against each title, the list includes themodule target study time and theadditional resources applicable to thatparticular module.

It should be noted that unlimitedtutorial support by telephone fromeach learner's personal tutor isincluded in the fee, and the pricesshown are those recommended by thecourse team but may vary in differentparts of the country. Also the cost ofthe practical training is excluded fromthe module fees and these arenegotiated directly with the learner'slocal practical training centre. The costof computer connect time is includedin the fee but, of course, thetelephone costs are not. The latter willdepend on whether a nearbycomputer is available or whether thelearner has to dial in to a computersome distance away.

The modules are attractivelypresented and include a study guide,test-yourself questions and answers,activities and case studies. Each maybe studied by itself or as an integralpart of the course.

There are no formal prerequisitesfor studying the material. However, toget the most out of it learners shouldbe numerate, have a technical

Modulenumber

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

910

11

Course

Subject

Introduction to, .?cpmputer-aide,d - « .̂

engineeringComputer-aided two-

dimensional draftingand design

Computer numericalcontrol of machinetools

Computer-aided partprogramming

Three-dimensionalcomputer-aideddesign — surfacemodelling

Three-dimensionalcomputer-aideddesign — solidmodelling

Integrating CAD withCAM

Computer-aidedelectronic design,manufacture and test

RoboticsFlexible manufacturing

systemsDatabases and

standards

Targetstudytime

20h

30h

30h

30h

30h

30h

30h

30h

20h20h

30h

modules

Hands-oncomputingtime

none

20h

none

20h

25h

25h

20h

20h

nonenone

20h

CNGpracticaltraining

none

none

15h

5h

none

none

none

none

nonenone

none

Currentrecommended .price \

£50

£120

.. £60 pluspracticaltraining costs

£100 pluspracticaltraining costs

£120

£120

£120

£120

£60£80

£120

qualification of some sort, shouldknow how to read an engineeringdrawing, have a basic knowledge ofthe usual machining processes andshould know how a manufacturingcompany is organised. Learners do nothave to know anything aboutcomputers, and programming skillsare not required.

For those that want it, assessmentfor BTEC qualification will be availableas an 'optional extra'. The assessmentwill be carried out using the computerworkstation and 'records of success'will be presented for each modulesuccessfully studied.

Eventually, when all the modules areavailable a BTEC Continuing EducationCertificate in CAE will be established.

The current situation shows anumber of regional delivery agentsoffering the Warley material. At thetime of writing the modules so farproduced are supported by:

• The North East Open LearningNetwork• Blackpool and Fylde College(Lancashire)• Hull College of Further Education(Humberside)

• Staffordshire Open LearningSystem• Birmingham Open LearningDevelopment Unit• Coventry Open Tech Unit• Devon Open Tech• Trowbridge Technical College(Wiltshire)• Eastek (East Anglia and Essex)• Entek (Greater London)• Polytechnic of Wales• East Lanes Technology Unit

and, of course, Warley College ofTechnology.

The list is still growing and it ishoped that eventually the majority ofthe UK will be serviced.

The project has already attractedattention from abroad, particularlyfrom the EEC, which has, through theCouncil for Educational Technology,selected Warley to represent the UK ina European consortium of newtraining initiatives.

Further information about anyaspect of this article can be obtainedfrom any of the above organisations orfrom the author at the Open Tech Unitat the address below (Tel. 021-5447446).

P.). Lucas is Course Director for the Open Tech course in computer-aided engineering at theOpen Tech Unit at Warley College of Technology, Pound Road, Oldbury, Warley, Sandwell,West Midlands B68 8NA, England.

Computer-Aided Engineering Journal April 1986 49