Production Engineer Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. What Is Difference Between Production Engineering And Industrial Engineering?

Answer :

Production Engineering:– It is a branch of engineering which is a combination of manufacturing technology with management service.

Industrial Engineering:– It is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes such as improvement, development , implementation of integrated systems.

Question 2. What Is Difference Between Jigs And Fixture?

Answer :

Jigs and fixtures are the devices used to manufacture large amount of duplicate parts accurately.

Jigs:- A device that does both functions such as holding the work and guiding a tool is called Jigs. Types –  Drill Jigs and Boring Jigs. 

Fixtures:- It is a production tool that holds, locates and support the work securely so that required machining operations can be performed. Types – Milling Fixture, Profile Fixture.

Question 3. How Did You Reduce The Downtime & Increased The Production?

Answer :

 I reduced downtime & increase the production by using following steps:-

• By providing the maintenance activity on time if the problem comes arise on any machine.
• By providing sufficient raw material/tools/bits on machine.
• I made the best plant layout for machines and arranging them in line according to the next process.
• And, By making time study report of all components those are being manufactured on the machines. After then, I fixed the target for making these components.
• By using Manpower accurately & removing useless work. Also, implementing 5S, Kaizen activities to increase the production and reduce the down time.

Question 4. Difference Between Production And Manufacturing?

Answer :

Manufacturing means a process of converting raw material into finish products by using various processes on machine.

Production means a process of converting inputs into outputs.

Question 5. How Did You Improve The Quality During Production?

Answer :

I improve the quality during production by using following steps:-

• By checking the components after every half hour.
• By checking the accuracy of tools & quality of material used for manufacturing the products.
• By giving run charts to the workers so they can check as they are going to be within tolerance. Run chart provides them continuous production with quality.
• By using good quality of coolant/cutting fluid for manufacturing process.
• By giving good communication channel between the workers and me.

Question 6. How Do You Maintain Discipline On The Floor As The Production Engineer?

Answer :

 I have made a good communication channel between the workers and me. I give the daily production target to the workers which make them busy to complete their work. I give my full attention on shop floor and we take strict action if any worker starts gossiping during working hours.

Question 7. How Do You Plan Various Shifts And Daily Production?

Answer :

We get the weekly/monthly basis schedule from our customers. After getting the same schedule from PPC department, I do plan for various shifts and report to workers by displaying on the notice board after the approval of the production manager. I provide daily target sheets to the workers and also check the sufficient raw material, tools, coolant & unrepaired machine on the workshop.

Question 8. How Do You Install The New Machines And Layout Preparation As A Production Or Process Engineer?

Answer :

Firstly, we make the process plan of the components and according to it, I draw the layout of the machines and make sure that machines should be in arrangement according to the next processes.

Then, I also check to maintain the distance between the machines. We install the machines for maximum time saving and provide proper safety to the workers.

Question 9. How Did You Reduce The Cycle Time Of Machines To Increase The Production?

Answer :

I reduced the cycle time of machines by using following methods:-

• Replace old machines with new one or giving servicing to the old machines on time.
• By using of good quality of tools, coolant and raw material.
• With the selection of active workers and impart training to them.
• By making the time study report of all components those are running on machines.

Question 10. How Many Workers Are Working Under You?

Answer :

I am working as production engineer or supervisor. Around 40/50 workers are reporting to me in my line. We have 2/3 GET and DET those are getting training under me.

Question 11. What Is Difference Between Lean Manufacturing And Jit (just In Time)?

Answer :

Lean Manufacturing:  It takes the concept of JIT and re-examines it from the customer point of view.  Anything that is produced should add something of valuable to the customer’s requirement. For example, if you are making stereo system for a luxury car, you will think from the customer point of view like sound quality, durability, space occupancy, loud or medium sound, etc.

JIT (Just-in-Time):  This methodology is designed to ensure that a product or part would arrive just in time to be used. This technique saves the cost behind the unused inventory, and eliminating the need of piling up inventory.

Question 12. What Is The Least-count Of Vernier Caliper & Micrometer?

Answer :

A) Vernier Caliper Least Count

LC = ( Value of 1 Main Scale Division ) / ( Total number of vernier scale divisions )

LC =  0.1 mm = ( 1 mm / 10 divisions )

LC of Vernier Caliper = 0.1 mm

B) Micrometer are also called Screw Gauge. 

Least count of Micrometer 

Least count of Micrometer

Least Count of Micrometer= 0.01 mm

Question 13. What Is Qms?

Answer :

QMS stands for Quality Management System; it documents all necessary information about company’s design and operational controls, including issue reporting, monitoring, continuous improvement and training, to make sure that company delivers continuous product.

Question 14. What Is Batch Production?

Answer :

Batch production is a manufacturing technique, where components or goods are produced in groups and not in a continuous stream. This methodology is mainly used when similar items are produced together.

Question 15. What Is The Challenge In Manufacturing Products?

Answer :

Main challenge in manufacturing is to develop better production processes, ensure the right material and component supplies at the least cost, decrease production time, eliminate wastage and maintain quality in the final product.

Question 16. What Is Gmp?

Answer :

GMP is a good manufacturing practice and is recognized worldwide for the control and management of manufacturing and quality control testing of foods, medical devices and pharmaceutical products.

Question 17. What Are The Software’s Which Can Be Useful In Manufacturing Unit?

Answer :

In manufacturing unit, software that can be useful are Manufacturing ERP and Material Management. Some of the companies that provide the manufacturing software solution are SAP, Oracle ERP system, etc.

Question 18. What Is Product Report?

Answer :

A product report is a general term used to represent design, manufacturing, quality, sales and repair information about a product.

Question 19. Explain How Can You Calculate Manufacturing Work In Progress?

Answer :

Manufacturing work in progress is when manufacturing firm transforms material into the work in process which includes raw material, labour and factory overhead.  You can calculate all the below factors to know the costing for the manufacturing work in progress.

• Labour costs
• Raw material inventory costs
• Production cost
• Cost of ending work in process for the accounting period.

Question 20. List Out The Factors That Can Affect The Manufacturing Process?

Answer :

The factors affect the manufacturing process are:

Supplies: A well-managed supply and inventory is very crucial in order to run manufacturing process smoothly. The manufacturers must brace themselves up and ready to overcome any unexpected delays in supplies due to weather or transportation hindrance.

Equipment: Equipment’s are the central unit for any manufacturing plant; regular maintenance are utmost necessary to avoid a breakdown in the middle of production. Identify the means of improving the efficiency of every part of the equipment.

Factory Overhead: Without power supply, manufacturing is not possible.  Always keep plan B ready in case of temporary power cut down.

Special Parts: Replacing any special spare parts with different specification may slow down your production, so before ordering any special spare parts ensure it fits your demand especially if it is imported from long distance.

Work Force:  Human resource is equally important and plays a major role in manufacturing unit.

Question 21. What Is Six Sigma?

Answer :

Six sigma is a data-driven methodology and approach for eliminating defects in any process from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

Question 22. What Is Mes?

Answer :

MES stands for a system that manages and controls the production on the factory floor with the motive of reducing the total time required to produce an order.

Question 23. Explain The Term Bom?

Answer :

BOM stands for Bill Of Materials; it is a list of item or parts that makeup a product assembly.  For example, a lawn mower requires a handle assembly, metal deck assembly, a control assembly, motor and blade assembly.

Question 24. What Is Dcr?

Answer :

DCR stands for Document Change Request, a change request which addresses about a problem with a document, SOP (standard operating procedure) or specification and propose a change to fix it.

Question 25. What Is Kanban?

Answer :

Kanban is scheduling system which advises manufacturers about how much to produce, what to produce and when to produce.  In this system, inventory is re-filled only when visual cues like an empty bin or cart is seen.

Question 26. Which One Is The Hardest Material On Earth?

Answer :

Diamond > Carbide > HSS ( High Speed Steel ) > Mild Steel > Low Carbon Steel

Question 27. What Is 5 S ?

Answer :

5S describes how to describe a work space for efficiency and effectiveness by identifying and storing the items.

1S -Sorting – To eliminate all the unnecessary tools, parts and instructions.

2S -Setting in order – Everything should be in its place and the place for each item should be clearly labeled.

3S- Sweeping – Keep the workplace tidy and organized.

4S- Standardizing – Work place and tools should be consistent and standardized.

5S- Self Discipline –  Maintain the self discipline on the floor for effective efficiency. 

Question 28. How Internal Gears Can Be Cut?

Answer :

Internal Gear can be made by shaping with the pioneer cutter.

Question 29. What Is Rake Angle?

Answer :

Rake angle is the angle between the face of the cutting tool ( Rake Face ) and the normal to the cutting direction.

Question 30. What Type Of Machines & Tools Is Used In Automobile Industry?

Answer :

• For Conventional Machines such as Lathe, milling machine, drilling machine, grinders company use the twist drill , twist drill bit with morse taper shank drills of HSS ( High Speed Steel ) material.
• For CNC Machines like CNC Lathe, VMC, company use the bits of carbide material. Bits are made from the high carbon steel, HSS, Carbide. Carbide is used for very hard material.
• HSS drills in sizes such as M2, M35, M42 Grades.
• Carbide tip tools as per ISO standards are in K10,K20,P10,P20, P30 & P40.

Question 31. What Is Heat Treatment And Why Is It Done?

Answer :

Heat treatment can be defined as a combination of processes or operations in which the heating and cooling of a metal or alloy is done in order to obtain desirable characteristics without changing the compositions.

Some of the motives or purpose of heat treatment are as follows:-

• In order to improve the hardness of metals.
• For the softening of the metal.
• In order to improve the machinability of the metal.
• To change the grain size.
• To provide better resistance to heat, corrosion, wear etc.

Heat treatment is generally performed in the following ways:

• Normalizing
• Annealing
• Spheroidising
• Hardening
• Tempering
• Surface or case hardening

Question 32. What Are The Different Types Of Springs And Explain Them Briefly?

Answer :

Springs can be broadly classified into the following types:

Helical Springs: These springs as their name suggests are in coil form and are in the shape of helix. The primary purpose of such springs is to handle compressive and tensile loads. They can be further classified into two types: compression helical spring and tension helical spring each having their own unique areas of application.

Conical and Volute springs: Both these spring types have specialized areas of usage where springs with adaptable rate according to the load is required. In case of conical springs they are wound so as to have a uniform pitch while on the other hand volute springs are wound in a slight manner of a parabolic. 

Torsion Springs: The characteristics of such springs are that they tend to wind up by the load. They can be either helical or spiral in shape. These types of springs are used in circuit breaker mechanisms.

Leaf springs: These types of springs are comprised of metal plates of different lengths held together with the help of bolts and clamps. Commonly seen being used as suspensions for vehicles.

Disc Springs: As the name suggests such types of springs are comprised of conical discs held together by a bolt or tube.

Special Purpose Springs: These springs are all together made of different materials such as air and water.

Question 33. What Are The Different Types Of Brakes And Explain Them Briefly?

Answer :

Brakes can be classified on the basis of their medium used to brake, they are as follows:

Hydraulic Brakes: These brakes as their name suggest use a fluid medium to push or repel the brake pads for braking.

Electric Brakes: These brakes use electrical energy to deplete or create a braking force.

Both the above types of breaks are used primarily for applications where a large amount of energy is to be transformed.

Mechanical Brakes: They can be further classified on the basis of the direction of their acting force: Radial Brakes: As their names suggests the force that acts on the brakes is of radial direction. They can further be classified into internal and external blades. Axial Brakes: In these types of brakes the braking force is acting in an axial direction as compared to radial brakes.

Question 34. What Are Bevel Gears And What Are Its Types?

Answer :

Bevel gears are the type of gears in which the two shafts happen to intersect. The gear faces which are tooth bearing are conical in shape. They are generally mounted on shafts which are 90 degrees apart but they can be made to work at other angles as well.

The bevel gears are classified into the following types on the basis of pitch surfaces and shaft angles:

• Mitre Gears: These types of gears are similar to each other ie. they have the same pitch angles and contain the same number of teeth. The shaft axes intersect at 90 degrees angle.
• Angular bevel gears: When two bevel gears connect at any angle apart from 90 degrees.
• Crown bevel gears: When the two shaft axes intersect at an angle greater than 90 and one of the bevel gears have a pitch angle of 90 degrees they are known as crown bevel gears.
• Internal bevel gears: In these type of gears the teeth on the gears is cut on the inside area of the pitch cone.

Question 35. What Is A Bearing? What Are The Different Types Of Bearings?

Answer :

Bearing is a device that helps smoother movement with minimal friction which in turn helps enhances efficiency and speed. Considering two types of loading, radial and thrust, there are different types of bearings which help handle these loads. The basic difference in the types of loads is essentially due to their ability to handle weight and different kinds of loads for various applications.

Different types of bearings are:

• Ball bearing
• Roller bearing
• Ball Thrust bearing
• Roller thrust bearing
• Tapered roller bearing
• Magnetic bearings
• Giant Roller Bearing

Question 36. What Is A Process Flow Diagram?

Answer :

A Process Flow Diagram is a user friendly, simplified sketch which illustrates general plant streams, major equipments and key central loops and shows the relationship between major components in the system. By using symbols to identify instruments and vessels it describes the primary flow course. They also provide e detail of mass/energy balance data along with stream composition and physical properties, however do not show minor components.

Question 37. Which Is The Hardest Material On Earth?

Answer :

Diamond is currently the hardest material, made up of carbon atoms which cannot move. Carbon is the only atom that can have four electrons in the second shell surrounding the carbon nucleus, precisely why making a diamond the hardest material. However, there also are claims by a few to a new rare material called Wurtzite Boron Nitride which has a structure similar to a diamond but has some other atoms in place of carbon.

Question 38. What Kind Of Pipes Are Used For Steam Lines?

Answer :

Pressure and temperature are two of the most important factors to be considered before selecting the type of material to be used. Steam is a compressible gas due to which the capacity of the pipe line depends on the size of the pipes and pressure of the steam. Since steam at even low pressure can be dangerous, extra care is to be taken. Galvanized pipes are usually not used for steam. Pipes made of mild steel with welded fittings are instead largely used.

Question 39. Explain The Difference Between Pipe And A Tube?

Answer :

A pipe is measured based on its inner diameter (ID) whereas a tube is measured based on the outer diameter (OD). Other than the dimensions there is no major difference between the two.

Question 40. What Is The Difference Between Torque And Power?

Answer :

While power determines the speed of a vehicle, torque determines the times in which that speed can be reached. The greater the torque figure, the faster the acceleration. The more torque in the engine, the faster you accelerate. Power is the rate at which work is done, so it is basically the potential of the engine.

Question 41. What Is Torque?

Answer :

Torque is the force that causes rotation. It is a measure of how much force is acting on an object making it rotate.

Question 42. Explain Why Diesel Engine Is Known As High Torque And Petrol Engine As High Speed Engine?

Answer :

Each power stroke in a petrol engine releases more heat and is converted into mechanical energy due to a higher rate of burning. This is the reason petrol engine has higher power and acceleration.

Diesel engine is a compression ignition engine with higher compression ratio, therefore extreme pressure is high. Since the piston of a diesel engine is larger, more torque is delivered in produced.

Question 43. Why Do Heavy Vehicles Use Diesel Engine?

Answer :

The compression ratio of diesel engine is higher than the petrol engine, the reason for producing higher torque. The efficiency of diesel engine increases with load. Diesel produces slow energy on burning of fuel and the efficiency of the engine increases with load which is why diesel engine is suitable and largely used for heavy vehicles.

Question 44. Explain The Types Of Sensors?

Answer :

• Temperature Sensor:- This device collects information about the temperature from a source and converts it to a form which is understandable by another device or person. Glass thermometer is the best example where mercury acts as the temperature sensor.
• IR Sensors:- This device detects and/or emits infrared radiation to sense a particular phase in the environment. Mostly thermal radiation is emitted by all the objects in the infrared spectrum. This type of radiation is not visible to the human eye but the infrared sensor detects it.
• UV Sensors:- These sensors measure the intensity of the ultraviolet radiation. This form of electromagnetic radiation has wavelengths which are longer than x-rays yet shorter than visible radiation. UV sensors can discover the exposure of environment to ultraviolet radiation.
• Touch Sensor:- A touch sensor acts as a variable resistor based on the location where it is sensed.
• Proximity Sensor:- A proximity sensor detects the presence of objects that are placed in close proximity without any point of contact.

Question 45. Why Gas Containers Are Mostly In A Cylindrical Shape?

Answer :

The ideal shape would be a sphere. The container must have the capacity to withstand the extremely high pressure of liquefied gas. A spherical shape helps in distributing these forces uniformly.

Question 46. How Many Types Of Suspensions Are Used In Automobiles?

Answer :

• McPherson struts
• Leaf spring
• Coil spring
• Torsion beam
• Wishbone
• Air Suspension

Question 47. What Is Dtsi? Why It Is Used In Motor Bikes?

Answer :

Digital Twin Spark Ignition. This is used for a better fuel combustion in the cylinder head which helps provide better efficiency and optimum use of fuel.

Question 48. What Is Meant By Gear Ratio?

Answer :

A gear ratio is a direct measure of ratio of the rotational speeds of two or more interlocking gears.

Question 49. What Is The Percentage Of Carbon Present In Mild Steel , Low Carbon Steel, High Carbon Steel, Pig Iron?

Answer :

• Carbon content in Low Carbon Steel is generally 0.05-0.15%.
• Carbon content in Mild Steel is generally 0.16-0.29%. & Density is 7.85 g/cubic cm.
• Carbon content in High Carbon Steel is generally 0.3-1.7%.
• Carbon content is Pig Iron is generally 3.5-4.5%.