Paper ID #24850Senior Mechanical Systems Design Capstone Projects: Experiences and As-sessmentProf. Raghu Echempati P.E., Kettering University Professor Echempati is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Kettering University, (Flint, Mich.). He is a member of ASME, ASEE, and SAE. He has won several academic and technical awards. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2019 Senior Mechanical Systems Design Capstone Projects: Experiences and AssessmentAbstractOrganizing and completing an undergraduate senior design capstone project course that lastsonly ten to
engineering capstone courses around the country will uncover considerabledifferences. Among the differences are:• The course is either a one-semester, three-credit course or a two-semester, four-credit to six- credit course.• The design project is either purely mechanical or is multidisciplinary, with sensor, actuator and micro-computer control.• The design project is industry-sponsored or is proposed by the student design team.• Funding ranges from industry financial support up to several thousand dollars, to $400 - $1000 per 4-person team funded by the mechanical engineering department.• The project can be virtual, i.e., a paper design and slide presentation are the end result, with or without a working virtual prototype. Or
Paper ID #27016Bilge Pumps as Introductory Mechanical Engineering Design ProjectsProf. Richard Wayne Freeman P.E., U.S. Coast Guard Academy Prof Richard Freeman is an Assistant Professor at the United States Coast Guard Academy in Mechani- cal Engineering. He is course coordinator for Engineering Experimentation. He is currently working on projects and capstones involving CubeSats and ThinSats. Prof Freeman has previously taught at North- western University, Valparaiso University and Iowa State University. Prof Freeman can be reached at richard.w.freeman@uscga.edu.Prof. Ronald S. Adrezin, U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Entrepreneurial Mindset within a Three- Semester Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Sequence Based on the SAE Collegiate Design SeriesAbstractMechanical engineering seniors at Lawrence Technological University (LTU) complete acapstone design project: either an SAE collegiate design series (CDS) competition or anindustry-sponsored project (ISP). Starting in 2015, the LTU CDS advisors worked together toredesign the five-credit three-semester sequence. The overall goals of the modifications were toimprove student design, project management and communication skills; integrate SAE CDSprojects into the actual class time; and increase faculty advisor involvement in the classroom. Inparallel with senior design modifications
instead of just seeing them onpaper.”, “got experience of turning a learning concept to a physical working model”.Some students (20%) complained that the project added burdens to their already heavy loaded semester:capstone design research and other courses with multiple lengthy reports, as well as part-time jobs. InSpring semester, time was critical since most students put high priority on their capstone design research.The project was typically assigned 4~5 weeks before the final exam. It could be assigned earlier so thatthe students would have more time to think and be more prepared.Overall, survey results show the project was implemented successfully. The objective of the project wasmet. Students gained lots of hands-on experience about
DynamicsLaboratory; Senior: Capstone Design Project) have been revised to utilize a common designprocess, reporting guidelines, drawing standards, ideation methods, and Innovation Studio.This paper outlines the hands-on integrated design sequence development over time, andhighlights changes made to each of the courses. Assessment of student work in the seniorcapstone course over the years of interest suggests that students are becoming moreproficient in aspects of real-world hands-on design projects and that their ability to workeffectively as a team is improving. Retention is also found to increase over the period ofinterest. Challenges to implementation such as financial resources to support the facilitiesand fabrication materials, qualified teaching
mechanics concepts, such as stress, strain, and fracture. Inaddition, the relationship of 3D printing parameters and the characterized mechanical propertiescan be established, so that the students will have opportunities to obtain hands-on experience insolid mechanics and advanced manufacturing.Design, 3D printing, and product developmentSenior mechanical engineering students are heavily involved in mechanical and product design,particularly in their capstone projects. Well-trained senior mechanical engineering studentsshould be able to sufficiently conduct complex engineering design and meet all the requireddesign criteria. In our study, we created a design project focusing on the artificial prosthetichand. The participating students were required
existing machine to determine thereasonableness of the calculations. This approach “conditionalizes” knowledge and providesstudents with an intermediate design experience before undertaking a major machine designexperience in their capstone course. Furthermore, based on the “backwards design” planningframework for designing courses, the paper suggests that the project should be approachedgradually – in phases – from the first day of class, and extending throughout the semester, toprovide quality feedback to students throughout the entire process, thus increasing the potentialof achieving expertise. The phases were also synchronized with the material presented in class,and with the exams, to further strengthen the knowledge acquired by the students
analytical or numerical schemesduring a design process. However, most of the students’ academic development is centered onderiving tedious equations and solving textbook problems, which are difficult to visualize andphysically understand, and cloud their intuitive nature to comprehend a problem on its entirety.These conventional approaches and methods of disseminating content in the classroom have atendency to exclude diverse learning styles of students. Thus, teaching schemes solely focused oncovering themes verbatim from a textbook or paraphrasing from a slide presentation are hinderingthe students’ ability to understand and apply all the engineering principles in design projects. Suchtechnical concern is observed during their senior year capstone
execute one-semester projects on Modeling Protein Dynamic Motion and/or Design of DNA Nano-structures using engineering principles.These aims fit into the long-term commitment of the faculty to integrate research and educationinto traditional courses, capstone courses, and summer experiences. The research activities alsocomplement the goals of the CSUF Chemistry and Biochemistry Department and MechanicalEngineering Department to increase student persistence and strengthen the lower divisionresearch foundation for capstone research experiences. The course modifications were expectedto support the four student outcomes (i) enhanced preparation for upper division research, (ii)readiness for cross-disciplinary research, (iii) enhanced scientific
content because of its hands-on nature andthe connection of what is learned in the class to real-world applications. Future work, notaddressed in this work-in-progress, will further evaluate the effects of including microprocessorsin these classes by examining student survey data as cohorts move through the newlyimplemented curriculum. Evaluating the use of relevant systems in senior capstone projects bothbefore and after implementation will provide particularly meaningful assessment.1 IntroductionThe advent of inexpensive, easily-accessible microcontrollers, such as the Arduino, has openednew opportunities for integrating hands-on activities related to sensors and mechatronic systemsinto the mechanical engineering classroom. For example, it is
control systems, disease dynamics, and improving pre-requisite knowledge retention. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2019 Work in Progress: Using videos for improvement in knowledge of prerequisite materialAbstractThis work in progress paper outlines a project aimed at increasing the mastery of prerequisitematerial in mechanical engineering (ME) courses. One reason for the failure in an engineeringcourse is a weak foundation of the students' prerequisite knowledge. Although students havecompleted the prerequisite courses, they may not have mastered or cannot recall the necessarysubject matter. Even though most instructors spend at least a week of the semester on review ofprerequisite
learning in a senior/graduate mechatronics course. In [19], theauthors showed how virtual software and hardware environment can provide enhanced learningopportunities for mechatronics engineering technology majors. The project-based approach ofteaching mechatronics was presented in [20]. Development of a senior mechatronics course formechanical engineering students was described in [21]. In [22], the authors presented thedevelopment of an introductory mechatronics course for the students who had completed theirsecond year at the community college and planned on pursuing a bachelor’s degree in anengineering field. In [23], the authors investigated the use of agile methods enhancingmechatronics education through the experiences from a capstone
long-term effects (timely graduation) of dropping any course.The Change of Major Form that also requires the Department Head signature. This allows theDepartment Head to provide a larger vision for working through academic difficulties as well ascollect critical data as to why students are choosing to leave engineering. During the mandatoryadvising each semester, students discuss their career goals, leadership opportunities, student clubactivities, pursuit of a minor, undergraduate research, and internships.Student Excellence Day. During the past three years, students have had the opportunity topresent their senior capstone, research, service, and competition projects late in the springsemester. Engineering students observe and question their
. He is interested in motivation of engineering students, peer-to-peer learning, flat learning environments, technology assisted engineering education and experiential learning. He is the coordinator of the industry sponsored capstone from at his school and is the advisor of OU’s FSAE team.Prof. Yingtao Liu, University of Oklahoma Dr. Yingtao Liu is an assistant professor in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU). Before joining OU, he was an assistant research scientist in the AIMS center at Arizona State University from 2012 to 2014. His research expertise include the development, ad- vanced manufacturing, and application of lightweight composites and nanocomposites
], theauthors presented the development of an introductory mechatronics course for the students whohad completed their second year at the community college and planned on pursuing a bachelor’sdegree in an engineering discipline. In [23], the authors investigated the application ofagile methods enhancing mechatronics education through the experiences from a capstone course.In [24], Consi proposed a versatile platform for teaching mechatronics that considered a middle-ground approach seeking a compromise between free-form and set-piece projects that maximizedexposure to core mechatronics concepts while minimizing peripheral tasks, and importantly,preserving a good measure of creativity, and so forth.3.3 DBR ApplicationsResearch on DBR with applications
” 2 0 e. Blank (no response provided) 2 4 f. Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration 1 0 g. Heat Transfer 1 1 h. Vibrations I with Applications 1 0 i. Mechanics of Materials 1 1 j. Engineering and Environmental Acoustics 0 1 k. Graphic Communication 0 1 l. Capstone Design Project 0 3 m. Thermodynamics
preparation – e.g., capstone projects in the senior year – and because students oftentransfer out of science and engineering majors because of difficulties with solving problems,considerable effort has been directed towards helping students become proficient problemsolvers. To assure that problem-solving skills are mastered, problem solving has become a coreelement in engineering curricula. In U.S. engineering education, ABET (Accreditation Board forEngineering and Technology) criteria for accrediting instructional programs treat problemsolving as one of the critical learning outcomes to be achieved throughout curricula and isdirectly addressed in ABET Outcome 3.1 an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complexengineering problems by applying