scholarly journals PIVOT FOR THE PANDEMIC: COMPARISON OF TOY AND SCIENCE DEMO DESIGN PROJECTS IN A FIRST YEAR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING COURSE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J B Milne ◽  
Roydon Fraser ◽  
J Baleshta ◽  
Michael Collins
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Practice ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Course Redesign ◽  
Student Teams ◽  
Actual Design ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Toy Design

The first year course, “ME 100: Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Practice, 1”, was redesignedfor the Fall 2017-2019 offerings. The goals of the redesign were to include: a major design project, opportunities for individual communication assessments, and opportunities for development of professional skills. A toy design project was piloted in Fall 2017 as a unifying course theme. In thisproject, industrial partners come to discuss the engineering and design that happens in the toy industry.  They also help critique student work as they design a toy of their choosing. With the impacts of COVID 19 the decision was made to pivot to a challenge to design new classroomphysics demonstrations. The course redesign has generally been successful. Both projects have been well received by students, faculty, and industry partners, with students reporting on an end-of-term survey that it was engaging and doable, and that it helped develop their confidence andunderstanding of design, and mechanical engineering. The demo project was generally slightly better received, with 2-8% more students agreeing to statements about the usefulness and appeal of the project. Both projects, the toy project especially, serve as a vehicle to discuss differentaspects of design and professionalism. Challenges exist with giving students guidance at the start and throughout the project to ensure that all student teams have suitably scoped projects. There is also the challenge of helping students develop a design mindset, as several groups struggle with performing the justified decision making necessary to actual design a toy.

scholarly journals Providing a Uniform Design Experience in an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo A. Salustri ◽  
W. Patrick Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Uniform Design ◽  
Design Engineering ◽  
Specific Design ◽  
Design Work ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Design Experience

The design experience of 3rd year undergraduates in Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University, and the assessment of student design work, was found to be disjointed and highly variable across the program. To attempt to address this, the authors are constructing courseware to help instructors of non-design engineering courses embed rich and consistent design projects into their courses. A “lightweight” Fast-Design process was developed. Course-specific design project examples of the process are being developed for five 3rd year courses using this design process. Current versions of all courseware are freely available. This paper details the nature of the courseware and how it was designed, developed,and deployed for the project. To date, one case has been deployed, two developed, and two more are under development. While results are so far only anecdotal, there is reason to believe that our approach can noticeably improve the design experience of students in non-design engineering courses.

Providing a uniform design experience in an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo A. Salustri ◽  
W. Patrick Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Uniform Design ◽  
Design Engineering ◽  
Specific Design ◽  
Design Work ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Design Experience

The design experience of 3rd year undergraduates in Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University, and the assessment of student design work, was found to be disjointed and highly variable across the program. To attempt to address this, the authors are constructing courseware to help instructors of non-design engineering courses embed rich and consistent design projects into their courses. A “lightweight” Fast-Design process was developed. Course - specific design project examples of the process are being developed for five 3rd year courses using this design process. Current versions of all courseware are freely available. This paper details the nature of the courseware and how it was designed, developed, and deployed for the project. To date, one case has been deployed, two developed, and two more are under development. While results are so far only anecdotal, there is reason to believe that our approach can noticeably improve the design experience of students in non-design engineering courses.

scholarly journals PROMOTING INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE THROUGH A CORNERSTONE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECT

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Dick ◽  
Thai Son Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Intercultural Competencies ◽  
Student Teams ◽  
Intercultural Exchange ◽  
Stakeholder Input ◽  
Design Proposal

Abstract – First-year engineering students at Vancouver Island University in Canada and second-year engineering students at Tra Vinh University in Vietnam have been brought together to work on a cooperative cornerstone design project as a means to introduce intercultural competencies early in the students' academic experience.  Student teams at each institution were partnered, whereby a design proposal developed by a team at one institution was constructed by their partner team at the other institution. Each team provided stakeholder input early in the design stage, and team pairs established a change management structure to respond to challenges occurring during the construction phase of the project. We explore the challenges and successes of the students experience as they navigated the linguistic, cultural, technical, and geographic barriers towards successfully completing this major design project.  

A Web-Based Online Collaboration Tool for Formulating Senior Design Projects

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sainath Varikuti ◽  
Jitesh H. Panchal ◽  
John M. Starkey
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Online Collaboration ◽  
Team Cohesiveness ◽  
Faculty Mentor ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Senior Design ◽  
Project Outcome ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
The Impact

A well formed senior design project is known to have significant benefits in terms of project outcome, student motivation, team cohesiveness, engagement, and student learning. Defining a good problem statement, forming a team of compatible and appropriately skilled students, and selecting an appropriate faculty mentor are critical aspects of project formation. Therefore, students in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University are encouraged to suggest project ideas, form teams, and have them approved by the course coordinator before the semester starts. While there is significant literature on senior design projects, most of the existing work is focused on activities after the problem is defined and the teams are formed. There is a lack of mechanisms and tools to guide the project formation phase in senior design projects, which makes it challenging for students and faculty to collaboratively develop and refine project ideas and to establish appropriate teams. To address this challenge, we have implemented an online collaboration tool to share, discuss and obtain feedback on project ideas, and to facilitate collaboration among students and faculty prior to the start of the semester. Through an online survey and questionnaire to students, we are exploring the impact of the collaboration tool on the senior design project formation process. In this paper we present the design of the tool and the results from our ongoing study in the senior design class at Purdue Mechanical Engineering.

scholarly journals ENGINEERING DESIGN: THOUGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Proulx
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Engineering Practice ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Design Philosophy ◽  
Engineering Department ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Industrial Needs

According to the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, all engineering programs in Canada must include a minimum of 15% of activities allocated to design. One can assume that these activities vary in content and scope between different programs. In this context, how can we define engineering design? Is there a recognized academic definition? Should our design goals be aligned with industrial needs and practice and if so, what should be the content of our design activities and how should they be structured? How is it possible to reach academic design goals given the limited resources available in our engineering schools? These are some of questions that will be addressed in this paper with the intent of better understanding the very important aspect of design’s engineering practice. Additional topics include: the change in design philosophy and approach resulting from a major program reform in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Université de Sherbrooke as well as the importance of industrial partnerships in design projects.

scholarly journals INTEGRATED TEAM DESIGN PROJECTS AT CARLETON UNIVERSITY

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul V. Straznicky ◽  
R. G. Langlois ◽  
M. McDill ◽  
R. Miller ◽  
S. A. Sjolander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Systematic Design ◽  
Design Project ◽  
The Future ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Team Design ◽  
Integrated Team

The engineering design curriculum is receiving much-deserved attention at all universities in Canada and abroad, and many interesting approaches to design education are under development. One such approach is the topic of this paper. Its key feature is a 4th-year integrated team design project at M&AE, a culmination of systematic design education that starts in the first year. The paper will describe this approach, the accomplishments and the plans for the future.

Providing a Uniform Design Experience in an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Program

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo A. Salustri ◽  
W. Patrick Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Uniform Design ◽  
Design Engineering ◽  
Specific Design ◽  
Design Work ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Design Experience

The design experience of 3rd year undergraduates in Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University, and the assessment of student design work, was found to be disjointed and highly variable across the program. To attempt to address this, the authors are constructing courseware to help instructors of non-design engineering courses embed rich and consistent design projects into their courses. A “lightweight” Fast-Design process was developed. Course-specific design project examples of the process are being developed for five 3rd year courses using this design process. Current versions of all courseware are freely available. This paper details the nature of the courseware and how it was designed, developed, and deployed for the project. To date, one case has been deployed, two developed, and two more are under development. While results are so far only anecdotal, there is reason to believe that our approach can noticeably improve the design experience of students in non-design engineering courses.

Grading and Motivation of Student Teams Working on Industry-Sponsored Mechanical Design Projects

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Beale ◽  
P. A. Simionescu ◽  
David Dyer
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Mechanical Design ◽  
Technical Skills ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Auburn University ◽  
Student Teams ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
Engineering Personnel

Abstract The guiding principles adopted for teaching the Comprehensive Mechanical Design course in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Auburn University are presented. These were introduced to better serve the need for well-trained engineering personnel, where technical skills must be combined with good communication and management skills.

scholarly journals Hands-on Explorations as Background Research for First-Year Design Projects

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Trivett ◽  
J. Rathlin
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Mechanical Systems ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Preliminary Work ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Mechanical Devices

Collectively and individually, first-yearstudents in Mechanical Engineering lack familiarity withreal mechanical systems. Individual students have notedthat they have not grown up able to simply “take stuffapart”. As a result, the mechanical engineeringundergraduates have minimal skills or knowledge ofcommon mechanical devices. The foundations course forthe Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics at theUniversity of Waterloo has adopted the role of giving newstudents opportunities to interact with hardware in an“Engineering Clinic” environment.This paper will provide a preliminary work-inprogressreport on the activities and the role theseactivities played in the student experience. The paper willreport on the delivery of the activities, and the initialstudent reactions to the hands-on activities in this context.

A Project to Develop Initiative and Innovation through Laboratory Improvement

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sorin Cioc ◽  
Constantin Ciocanel ◽  
K. Cyril Masiulaniec ◽  
Douglas Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Process Improvement ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
First Year ◽  
Group Project ◽  
Continuous Innovation ◽  
Senior Design ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Technology And Education ◽  
Thermal Sciences

In an effort to cultivate initiative and innovative spirit, a new project was introduced in an undergraduate mechanical engineering laboratory, exemplified here by the Thermal Sciences Laboratory. In this project, each student lab group (typically a group of four) had to suggest improvements to a specific laboratory. There were no other imposed restrictions; improvements could be in any area, such as hardware, software, work procedure, technical presentation, and so on. By having the project run in parallel with the typical labs, several objectives were attained. First, students were exposed to the ideas of continuous innovation and product or process improvement. Second, being a group project, students were exposed to the practical aspects and important advantages of teamwork and brainstorming. Third, due to the latest innovations in technology and education, laboratory-based work is always in need of enhancement; students engaged in performing lab work are well positioned to understand the possible shortcomings, and thus propose improvements; each student should be able to have at least one contribution, ranging from very small to significant. Lastly, some of the best solutions can be followed by senior design projects in which the proposed improvements are further developed and implemented in the laboratory. This paper shows how the project was organized, and also presents results obtained during its first year of implementation.

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