摘要：A vital part of enhancing the ability of students to learn about advanced fabrication techniques is identifying the barriers to the student’s entry and excelling in the manufacturing field. In the Manufacturing and Mechanical Technology fields, there exists an intimidating experience gap or barrier between professionals and novice students. The students’ participation in the design and fabrication of a fixture for manufacturing a mechanical part will aid in eliminating this barrier by making fuel cell’s bipolar plates production accessible to inexperienced technology students. The process of manufacturing a fixture for the production of hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen purifier plates required a careful planning and step-by-step methodological implementation. Through the use of our designed fixture, it is now possible to teach students how to use a CNC milling machine with relative ease while also allowing for precision part machining. The setup of the fixture allows students to observe the necessary measures to properly machine a part while also teaching them the benefits of fixtures in the manufacturing industry. In summary, the purpose of this paper is to provide the students with applied learning experience through involving them in the design and fabrication of a multi-disciplinary mechanical fixture and the utilization of practice oriented teaching resources in a full scale learning environment.

摘要：Bipolar plates perform as current conductors between cells, provide conduits for reactant gases, facilitate water and thermal management through the cells, and constitute the backbone of a fuel cell stack. Currently, commercial bipolar plates are made of graphite composite because of its relatively low interfacial contact resistance (ICR) and high corrosion resistance. However, graphite composite’s manufacturability, permeability, and durability of shock and vibration are unfavorable in comparison to metals. Therefore, metals have been considered as a replacement material for graphite composite bipolar plates. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of terminal connection design and bipolar plate material on PEM fuel cell overall performance. The study has indicated that single cell performance can be improved by combining terminals into metallic bipolar plates. This terminal design reduces the internal cell resistance and eliminates the need for additional terminal plates. The improved single cell performance by 18% and the increased savings in hydrogen consumption by 15% at the current density of 0.30 A/cm2 was attributed to the robust metal to metal contact between the terminal and the metallic bipolar plates. However, connecting metal terminal directly into graphite bipolar plates did not exhibit similar improvement in the performance of graphite fuel cells because of their brittleness that could have caused damage in the plates and poor contacts.