Problem-Based Collaborative Projects In and Between Freshman and Sophomore Engineering Courses

This work describes our effort at the Delaware County Campus of Penn State to enhance the freshman engineering design and graphics and sophomore engineering computer programming courses by incorporating problem-based collaborative robotics projects in and between these courses. The robotics project in the engineering design and graphics course, ED&G 100, focuses on the mechanical and overall design aspect of a robot, and the projects in the engineering computer programming course, CMPSC 201, focus on the programming aspects. Lego Mindstorms and Handy Board controller have been chosen for building the robots and programming them, respectively. The collaborative projects have been designed with the intention of increasing learning, through collaboration among students and faculty. The projects also encourage teamwork by working with students from different disciplines, promote analytical skills by working to solve an open-ended problem, and provide practical experience and learning by doing through working with robots. To emphasize the importance of communication skills, at the end of the semester each team is also expected to present a report for the final project using PowerPoint. A detailed discussion of this collaborative work and the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach is discussed.

FFT Analysis Using LabView as a Part of Vibration and Preventive Maintenance Class for Senior Level MET students

An existing senior level elective course on vibration in Mechanical Engineering Technology program at Georgia Southern University has been modified significantly. Two major components have been added to this course. Those are theoretical topics on preventive maintenance and laboratory experiments. As a part of laboratory experiments, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was introduced as a possible tool for vibration analysis for the purposes of machine diagnosis. Utilizing the current laboratory set up for the data acquisition systems, LabView software has been used for FFT analysis of signals from various sources. Four different modules were developed and implemented. The modules are as follows: random variation in acceleration of a toy cart due to roughness of the track and pulley, regular uniform wave signal which is generated by the lateral vibration of a cantilever beam at its natural frequency, signal generated by the imported raw data from other sources (e.g. MATLAB) and vibration signal of a shaft mounted on ball bearings in order to detect the defects in the bearing. Each of these modules is illustrated in this paper with suitable examples and suggested student activities and involvements. The results from FFT analysis have been cross checked using other methods and observations. As a follow up, students have been taken to a local industry where significant amount of emphasis is given to preventive maintenance of machineries by vibration data analysis using FFT. Future possible projects include the analysis of vibration data gathered from actual machine shop. This project opens the scope for greater collaborative effort between local industries and classroom activities.

On Improvement of Graduate Mechatronics Course

Colleges and Universities across the world have developed Mechatronics courses, programs, certificates, and even degrees in order to meet the increasing demands of Mechatronics products and engineers. These Mechatronics courses, mainly focusing on undergraduate level, consist of lecture presentations, well-designed laboratory experiments, and team projects. However, how to teach Mechatronics courses at graduate level remains to be an open area for discussion. The challenge is: what subjects should be addressed, at the graduate level, to closely reflect the latest Mechatronics technologies with much broad coverage and fast growing features, while distinguished from an undergraduate-level Mechatronics course. This paper discusses the approaches that the author used when teaching a graduate level Mechatronics course (ME285 Mechatronics Systems Engineering) at San Jose State University (SJSU). The course outline, laboratory experiments, and sample course projects are presented. The goal is to provide graduate students with a challenging, timely, hands-on, minds-on, and enjoyable experience in advanced Mechatronics. A suggestion of future topics for graduate Mechatronics education is also discussed.

Cheap and Fast 2-1/2D Rapid Prototyping via Laser Engravers

Mechanical Engineering curriculum has been changing to increase the amount of design taught to students. Ideally students would manufacture and test their designs, as this process validates the quality of the design and gives invaluable feedback. Designs may not be constructed, however, where there are limitations on time students have for the building phase, where limited shop facilities are available, or where students don’t have the manufacturing skills necessary. Rapid prototyping machines can mitigate these issues, but their initial, support and consumable costs, along with their low productivity, make them inaccessible for most student projects. Even traditional shop construction of designs is of limited feedback value, since a non-functioning design could be the result of faulty design or of poor quality manufacture. This paper will explore the use of a laser engraver machine as a vehicle for low-cost 2D and 2-1/2D rapid prototyping of mechanical designs. Laser engraver machines have low initial (c.$10–20K) and operating costs. They are capable of cutting 2D parts from materials such as paper matte and illustration boards at cutting rates of one meter per minute or more, allowing high throughput of parts cut. Machines typically attach to computers through a printer driver, so operation is as simple as printing a drawing from CAD software. While individual parts are constrained to planar geometry, simple assembly materials (such as glue and small machine screws) allow designs with moving parts to be constructed and tested.

Vertical and Horizontal Academic Projects: A Novel Teaching Technique in the Faculty of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico

Competitiveness of the students is increasing. Students with better skills are graduating from universities all over the world. More and more efforts are being done to improve the skills of the undergraduate students. In the Faculty of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) many lecturers use projects to help students to better understand the concepts and to improve their teamwork skills. However many of these efforts are isolated and have been done in an empirical way. The Manufacturing and Design Center is seeking ways to get students with better skills and bring together the isolated efforts done by many lecturers. Therefore a new technique is being explored for the mechanical design area. This technique is based on the Project Based Learning method. Two main approaches are being explored: the Horizontal Projects (HP) and the Vertical Projects (VP). The basic idea for the HP is to have a Great Design Team (GDT) developing a project in one semester. Students from different subjects of the Mechanical Engineering program compose the GDT. Each of these groups have access to information related to the subject they are attending in a central database. Students work on the different issues according to their subject; e.g. Mechanics of Solids solve issues related to the stress in the different elements of the machine or product developed; the Product Design subject works on the definition of the product specifications, requirements etcetera. Periodical meetings help to evaluate the global progress of the GDT. In the VP one student works on different stages of the project as he/she moves from one semester to the next, all the time working in the same project. The expected benefit of this technique is to provide the student with a better view of the different stages involved in the development of a project. Both techniques are being explored. Each of these techniques has advantages and disadvantages. This paper describes in detail these techniques and the potential applications for other careers within the Faculty of Engineering.

Delivering an International Experience to Students in an Intercultural Engineering Course

At Penn State, Engineering Technology (ET) 420W, Design for Society, is an interdisciplinary study of the engineering design process and the influences of society and culture on design. Students explore sustainability in various countries, examine and describe connections between technological and cultural development, learn and apply the engineering design process in societal and cultural contexts, and focus analytical skills on societal and cross-cultural issues. In 2005, the university’s Capital College offered ET 420W with an option for students to participate in an international study tour of London during spring break. This international experience was designed to provide out-of-classroom activities that would supplement course material. Penn State chose London as a destination since UK industry and government act as leaders in moving the European Union (EU) towards a sustainable society. This paper describes the study tour experience, provides descriptions of its activities, and examines its benefit to both students and the instructor.

Combined Mechanical Engineering Materials Lecture and Mechanics of Materials Laboratory: Cross-Disciplinary Teaching

We have developed a course combining a Mechanical Engineering Materials Laboratory with a Materials Science lecture for a small combined population of undergraduate Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering students. By judicious selection of topic order, we have been able to utilize one lecture and one laboratory for both Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering students (with limited splitting of groups). The primary reasons for combining the Mechanical and Biomedical students are to reduce faculty load and required resources in a small university. For schools with medium or small Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering programs, class sizes could be improved if they could include other populations. The heterogeneous populations also aid in teaching students that the same engineering techniques are useful in more than a single engineering realm. The laboratory sections begin with the issues common to designing and evaluating mechanical testing, followed by tensile, shear, and torsion evaluation of metals. To introduce composite materials, wood and cement are evaluated. While the Mechanical Engineering students are evaluating impact and strain gauges, the Biomedical Engineering students are performing tensile studies of soft tissues, and compression of long bones. The basic materials lectures (beginning at the atomic level) are in common with both Mechanical and Biomedical student populations, until specific topics such as human body materials are discussed. Three quarters of the term is thus taught on a joint basis, and three or four lectures are split. Basic metal, plastic and wood behavior is common to both groups.

Rapid Prototyping Systems: Types, Case Studies, and Integration in a Mechanical Engineering Technology Program

This paper describes the current types and applications of rapid prototyping (RP) systems. The capabilities of various types of RP systems are outlined, as are the benefits these systems offer when compared to traditional manufacturing methods, case studies are presented to show how some companies have reduced development costs and time-to-market by implementing RP technology. Finally, it outlines a plan for implementation of a RP system in a Mechanical Engineering Technology curriculum.

Theory, Simulation, and Hardware: Lab Design for an Integrated System Dynamics Education

This article describes a series of experimental and simulation laboratory sessions that are designed to support a system dynamics course. A novel hardware setup is used in different configurations throughout the eight-lab sequence. The labs incrementally build upon themselves and culminate in the final lab with the stabilization of a coupled dynamic system. The labs augment the fundamental theory taught in class with hands-on experience using hardware and software simulations. We find that the labs that most effectively create and resolve tension between the results of physical experiments, simulation, and theory yield the most satisfying and effective lab sessions. The absence of any one of these three elements diminishes the educational value of the course. End-of-quarter lab surveys are used to quantify our findings.

Starting on the Right Track: Introducing Students to Mechanical Engineering With a Project-Based Machine Design Course

Over the past four years, we have redesigned Harvard’s introductory mechanical engineering course to introduce the principles, practices, and pleasures of mechanical engineering in an accessible format. The main goals of the course are to provide experience in the design process, demonstrate the connection between engineering science and design early in the curriculum, and build student enthusiasm for engineering, serving to attract and retain students. Unlike most introductory mechanical engineering courses, we cover strength of materials and machine elements, material usually presented much later in the curriculum, in order to provide tools for the students to quantitatively evaluate their designs. By providing just enough of this background knowledge to allow for analysis of designs, we demonstrate the connection between engineering science and design early in curriculum and motivate in-depth coverage of these topics in later courses. The laboratories for the course build enthusiasm for engineering by incorporating exciting design projects and introducing students to some of the most attractive mechanical engineering tools. Students learn 3-D solid modeling with CAD software, create prototypes from CAD models using manual and CNC machining, and reverse engineer common consumer products. Using these tools, students build their own hardware prototypes for both a cantilever beam catapult and a model all-terrain-vehicle. These exercises, carefully chosen to reinforce the strength of materials and machine elements concepts, culminate in design contests that enhance the visibility of engineering within the larger university community and increase student interest in the field.