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Session 2438

Integrating Graphics and the Concurrent Engineering Design Process into Electrical Engineering Education

K.A. Korzeniowski United States Naval Academy

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a laboratory exercise performed by Electrical Engineering majors taking a first course in electrical circuit theory. The goal of this exercise was to familiarize students with engineering drawings, concurrent product engineering and manufacturing considerations within the context of design applications for an electrical circuit theory class. Since much of engineering design culminates in a manufactured product, the ability to read an engineering drawing should be a developed communication skill. This would promote communication between engineers during the entire design process, thus advancing the progress of the design paradigm termed “concurrent engineering”. These skills can be taught by integrating engineering drawings into existing design projects. This paper describes the integration of graphics and rapid prototyping into an electronic circuit design class and the outcome of the project.

I. Introduction

In the context of concurrent product engineering, the end result of an engineering design is a manufactured product. Engineers with backgrounds from different disciplines lend their specialized skills to a project as the product design matures. In the concurrent design environment, the lines of communication are open between engineers during the beginning process of design and throughout the various stages of refinement. This can be fostered at the undergraduate level by introducing engineering students to the primary language of the different disciplines. The problem for Electrical Engineers, is that at many institutions, the curriculum does not leave room for a course in engineering graphics. Although it is not the primary responsibility of Electrical Engineers to produce drawings, as a communication tool, these drawings are important to the design process and the functionality of the device. In the short term, the skill to interpret engineering drawings is necessary for senior projects. Students must be able to communicate with machinists in order to have components built. In the long term, this is a skill needed for industrial work where an engineer will be expected to read drawings, evaluate how their design will be effected by the physical structure of the device and present addendums to the drawings.

This paper describes the integration of graphics into an introductory circuit theory class for Electrical Engineers.1,2 As part of course and the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology (ABET) requirements, students are required to follow a course of study that integrates design into the curriculum.3,4 During the semester the students complete design projects. The topics for the projects are derived from real world applications of the circuit theory taught in the classroom. One such project is described in this paper, a light reflection meter. The addition of the study of the drawings of the physical housing for the electrical device brings the study of the functionality of the device into a broader context.

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Korzeniowski, K. (1997, June), Integrating Graphics And The Concurrent Engineering Design Process Into Electrical Engineering Education Paper presented at 1997 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 10.18260/1-2--6636