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Session 2520

Mechanical Component Design via the Internet

Donald A. Smith, Colter S. Reed University of Wyoming

Abstract

This paper reports initial progress to implement a new paradigm for students in a typical Machine Components Design course in Mechanical Engineering curricula. The basic idea is to have design algorithms for various mechanical components (springs, gears, power transmission shafts, cams, etc.) available to students as Applets on the Internet. The students are then focused on the constraints and functional requirements associated with the particular design problem, and the algorithms attempt to design the specific component using industrial strength design algorithms. The tedium of iterative calculations is placed on the algorithms, allowing the students to concentrate on the parameters appropriate to their specific design application.

I. Introduction

The design of a mechanical component typically involves an iterative approach to determine an appropriate set of parameters that satisfy the requirements and constraints associated with the specific design problem. For example, in the design of an extension or compression spring for a particular application, the engineer must select the following parameters:

1. Type of spring to be designed 2. The material to be used to fabricate the spring 3. One or more pair of force-displacement requirements 4. Other requirements as determined by the specific design problem

From the set of design requirements, the engineer then attempts to implement the design with appropriate selection of wire size and spring geometry so that operating stresses will result in satisfactory performance. These types of design problems tend to be highly iterative. This makes them prime candidates for computer implementation once appropriate design algorithms have been identified. If the component design capability is augmented by a user-friendly interface, these programs can serve to improve the students’ understanding of the design process by allowing them to focus on design constraints and objectives rather than getting bogged down in the details of the iterative calculations. This strategy also permits the students to pursue various "What If ?" investigations of their design without incurring excessive time penalties.

If the component design programs are implemented as Java Applets, students connected to the World Wide Web can access and utilize them from their Internet browser. This strategy circumvents the need to store or recompile the algorithms for individual operating environments; the appropriate algorithm is called from a single server and executed inside the user’s browser.

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Reed, C. S., & Smith, D. A. (2000, June), Mechanical Component Design Via The Internet Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8559