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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Christopher G. Braun

satisfaction of designing,building and using working electronic systems. The enthusiastic response from both the studentsand industry employers indicates this approach may be of interest to other sites.The impact of this facility has been several fold. First, all of our electronics specialty studentsare exposed to production processes as a natural part of their Junior year electronics laboratoryprojects. They enter the job market with skills and experience that is important to manyemployers. Second, as students progress to their Senior year, they then use their production skillsto implement many of their laboratory and Capstone Design projects. This enables them toattempt projects that could not be done otherwise due to complexity and/or cost. As a

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

T.R. Hsu; P. Reischl; P. Hsu; J.C. Wang; F. Barez; B.J. Furman

the designated bin.Finally, the HC11 will return the stepper motor to its original position. After the cycle iscompleted a new part is again placed onto the conveyor , and the control cycle repeats.The student is required to interface all components to the HC 11 microcontroller board ,write application program in C language, compile and download the program from a PCto the HC11 for the demonstration of the microprocessor controlled parts sorter [2].ME 190 Mechatronics System Design ME 190 is the capstone course in the stem open to senior level students, and is intendedas the follow-on course to ME 106. It is an open-ended project oriented course whichexpands on the fundamentals presented in ME 106 and emphasizes the application

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Christopher G. Braun

week per labcredit hour compared 3 hours in lecture per week for 3 credit hours. Likewise, the costsfor faculty and teaching assistants are far greater per lab credit hour than for lecture.However, learning by doing is imperative for all engineering students. Just as I wouldnever consider a surgeon competent without any hands-on experience, I believe that allengineers must have experience in the real-world skills to implement their designs. Formany of our students, laboratory and capstone projects are where the book learningbecomes active knowledge by understanding how to make use of their education.The traditional engineering laboratory requires students to meet three hours a week in aroom. There they work on a very focused laboratory project

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Sema E. Alptekin

course provides an overview of the building blocks ofautomation -- sensors, stepper motors, actuators, robots, vision systems, programmable logiccontrollers, and communication networks. A seven-station automation laboratory affords studentsthe opportunity to work with industrial-grade equipment and to apply theoretical conceptsintroduced during formal lecture sessions. Undergraduate students learn how to:• program robots to accomplish tasks,• design a pneumatic circuit to sort parts,• write a ladder logic program to move ping-pong balls between various points, and• develop a C program to control stepper motors based on input received from different sensors. Capstone (IME 461, 462 Senior Projects

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Robert L. Avanzato

. Design projects of thisnature have generally been the hallmark of senior design and capstone courses. This Page 2.199.1investigation explores the use of the design project thread in the freshman and sophomore levelcourses. The student interest and motivation level has been strong, and the success suggestsfurther experimentation and application of hands-on, collaborative, context-driven coursestrategies.The CompetitionThe rules and regulations defining the Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut) annual fire-fighting home robot national competition are distributed to the students on the first day of thecourse. This contest establishes the focus and

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Brian A. Alenskis

background information or quantity of case studies.Furthermore, ethics cases can be created and scheduled where they relate to or fit well aroundparticular host topics. Also, scheduling can complement or accommodate other course activities,such as examinations or projects. Not to be overlooked, is the simple benefit of “breaking the routine” of the course. Theoccasional ethics session gives the students a change of focus, if not pace. They generally enjoythe opportunity to discuss the “grayer” professional issues with which they have just wrestled intheir analyses.The Purdue Component Specifics The sophomore-level course chosen for the interspersed ethics component was MachineElements (MET 214), the capstone A.S. MET course. No previous ethics

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Charles U. Okonkwo

Processes 3MET 345 Advanced Manufacturing Processes 3MET 346 Numerical Control Point to Point & 3 Continuing Path ProgrammingMET 401 Statistical Process Control 3MET 416 Applied Computer Integrated Manufacturing 3MET 444 Production Tooling 3MET 451 Introduction to Robotics 3MET 460 Manufacturing Capstone Project 3MET 461 Manufacturing Capstone Project II 3Current Emphasis Area Requirements (12)Computer Integrated Manufacturing Engineering TechnologyCourses

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Vivek Badami; Mike Allen; Johnny Graham; Howard Phillips; David Schmidt; Curtis Ensley; Art Edwards; Silvia G. Middleton; Kimberly A. Buch; J. William Shelnutt; Patricia Tolley

) through feedbackand continuous improvement, evolution of the course sequence to meet the changing needs of allstakeholders, while maintaining the integrity of the foundational purpose. ENGR 1201 is an introductory two-semester hour course in which students are assignedto multidisciplinary teams to work on a semester-long conceptual design project whilesimultaneously receiving instruction and assignments in basic computing skills, personaldevelopment, team skills and tools, project planning, creative problem solving, introduction todisciplines, professional practice, and technical presentations. With few exceptions these topicsare related to the semester design project, and exercises are designed to complement the project’sprogress. The

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Bahador Ghahramani

-time study at their place of work and during their free time. Mostgraduate candidates are expected to complete the EMGT degree requirements in three years byregistering for at least four courses per year and completing the capstone project as an additionalcourse in the final year. Those candidates who have more hectic work schedules are able tosatisfy a MS degree within five years. UMR’s program in EMGT was recognized and awarded as number one among all NTUuniversity programs by students and site coordinators. In NTU, the MS degree in EMGTrequires 33 semester credit hours covering two broad course categories. These two categoriesconsist of Core Courses (including a Capstone Project course) and Elective Courses. Elective

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Craig Gunn

are promoted with these younger students. The very contact with upper classmen willgain a transfer of knowledge along with a tangible reason for taking many of the courses in thecurriculum.There is one last area that may not have received much discussion but can produce interestingresults. Most colleges and universities have final projects, courses, or capstone design coursesthat culminate the entire body of courses taken by the student. A future project hopes to introducefreshmen to members of the senior design class and allows these freshmen to sit in on some ofthe proceedings of meetings, work sessions, and company visits the connection between whatthey are going to face in their classes and the final real world projects may clarify much

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Susan M. Bolton; Scott D. Bergen; James L. Fridley

isrequired.Figure 1 illustrates the potential knowledge areas and skills relevant to an ecological engineeringcurriculum. The specific sequence of required course work and electives, and the strategy forfulfilling minimal requirements in a four, or perhaps five, year program need furtherinvestigation. The figure shows two paths of knowledge feeding into a capstone designexperience. Capstone design projects allow students to synthesize and apply knowledge gainedfrom their course work to solve real world problems in cooperation with local agencies,companies, and other academic programs. Projects for a capstone design course in ecologicalengineering could include wetland, stream and habitat restoration, mitigation of developmentprojects, and bioremediation

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Kirk E. Hiles; David L. Walters; Vincent Wilczynski

is a capstone experience for the mechanical engineering and naval architecture/marineengineering students. Through this project, the students are exposed the dependence of academic courses, for they seehow material covered in one discipline is used in another discipline. The project is design driven, for thestudents have to design their own system, and experience the joys and/or frustrations of transferring adesign done on paper into a working system. The necessity for and results of experimentation arehighlighted in the project, for it is only through experimentation that the system's performancecharacteristics can be identified. Similarly, it is through experimentation that the designs are verified

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Wayne C. Christensen; Robert B. Roemer; Donald S. Bloswick

design for safety.The remaining texts, while perhaps excellent texts in classical design, contained relatively little(from a few paragraphs to a few pages) on safety and health issues. One text in this lattercategory is that used at the University of Utah in the senior level engineering capstone designcourse. At the University of Utah, safety and human factors material is included through a set ofspecial lectures, handouts, and homework assignments. Students are required to perform apreliminary hazards analysis as part of a homework assignment during the middle of the termand their final project must include a more detailed failure modes and effects analysis. Studentsare also provided with information relating to ergonomics and are required to

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John Valasek

Session 2502 A Safe, Responsible, and Accountable Approach to Teaching Airplane Design John Valasek Western Michigan UniversityPapers relating to the teaching of capstone aircraft design courses typically focus on eitherpedagogy1 (suggested topics and tools) or on how aircraft design should be incorporated into theoverall aerospace engineering curriculum 2-4. This paper proposes that the topics of flight safetyand professional responsibility and accountability be given increased emphasis in existingaircraft design courses. The

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

J. M. Mendel; H. H. Kuehl

D 3 D, CD CD = Capstone Design EE/ MS 438L (3/D) 471 (3) Course 448 (3/D) 472 (3) 477L (4/CD) 473L (3/D) D = Design Course 2 D, CD Da wide variety of areas of manufacturing, research, development, and design, ranging fromelectric motors to fuzzy logic. A primary objective of EE 105

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Ray Adams; Paul Duesing; Ajay Mahajan; David McDonald

and technology. The implementation plan, which involves introducingstudents to the use of this equipment in fundamentals courses and then reinforcing its use inadvanced courses and a capstone senior projects course sequence, moves the student from thebasic to advanced levels of cognitive learning.Modern instrumentation equipment was therefore added to several laboratories so that thestudents would use it in both fundamental and advanced courses. The process of upgrading theinstrumentation capability of these laboratories was supported by an Instrumentation andLaboratory Improvement (ILI) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and grantsfrom the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation. The followingsections

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Charles N. Eastlake; Alfred L. Stanley

Session 2502 Establishing a Computer-Aided Manufacturing System to Extend the Capability of Traditional Aircraft and Spacecraft Design Courses Charles N. Eastlake, Alfred L. Stanley Embry-Riddle Aeronautical UniversityThe Aerospace Engineering Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’sDaytona Beach, FL, campus has just completed the initial implementation of a ComputerAided Manufacturing (CAM) system within its long established capstone aircraft andspacecraft design course sequences. This paper details the development process whichwe went through in order to establish that capability.1. Why do we need it

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Cal Caswell; Mel I. Mendelson

apparent that the values andmethodologies were different between the architecture instructor and the engineering andbusiness instructors. The architecture instructor treated the course as a "capstone" project course,where the instructor's job was to foster creativity and to advise the students on their projects.The instructor did not believe in preparing lectures, grading assignments and neglected thecourse assessment and the evaluation of learning, which have become a major concern in highereducation. The engineering and business instructors provided lectures on the principles of thecourse, and graded the assignments and team projects.The above differences in teaching methods created stress among the instructors, which wascarried into the

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John K. Gershenson

local “clients” who, receive the productsat the end of class for their personal use. Past projects have included rain shields for wheelchairs,devices to load wheelchairs into the back seat of a two door car, and wheelchair attachments toallow clients to stand up. This class teaches the students to use a structured design process, givesthem confidence in their ability to finish the product development, and allows them to interactwith clients. In the second capstone class, students spend the entire semester completing anindustrially sponsored design project. Each student group is given a different paying client whohas clear objectives for the students to meet by the end of the semester. This class increases thestudents’ self-confidence and gives

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Thomas W. Graver; Leon F. McGinnis; David W. Rosen

research on campus. Our goal is to provide students an opportunity for exposureto and experience with a range of manufacturing technologies. Just as traditional machine shopson campus introduce students to the realities of design and manufacture, time spent in the RPMlab can greatly enhance students' educational experiences -- and increase their ultimate value asengineers and scientists.The availability of RPM technology has benefits beyond the direct impact on manufacturingeducation. Currently, the RPM lab is the only place at Georgia Tech where students can go forfast physical prototypes of complex parts and mechanisms. We are convinced that this willbecome a critical resource for capstone design courses and interdisciplinary team projects

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Bob Lahidji

properties7. Failure criteria8. Design for fatigue strength9. Design of mechanical elements--screws and fasteners10. Design of mechanical elements--welded joints11. Design of mechanical elements—bearings12. Design of mechanical elements—gearsRecommended Text:Shigley, J.E., & Mitchell, L.D. (1989). Mechanical engineering design. McGraw-Hill BookCompany.Method of Course Evaluation: 2 Exams 30% (15% each) Final exam 20% Quizzes 25% Assignments/Project 25%Laboratory Experience in ET Program According to Dr. Israel3, the laboratory experiences should provide students with theability to do the following:1. Become familiar with test equipment2

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Jian Edward Zhang; Lucy King

,demonstrate and teach the components of CIM which they have learned in class, to off-campus audience. This allows them to obtain a deeper understanding of the topics. It will also givethem the opportunity to play mentoring roles to the younger students. The CIM on WHEELS wasdisplayed at SME-AutoFACT ’96 Exhibition in Cobo Hall, Detroit, Michigan, November 12-14,1996.II. Introduction CIM on Wheels (CIMoW) provides a facility for capstone hands-on projects in the CIMand Robotics courses to enhance the standard of education at GMI and better prepare thegraduates for the highly technical, automated work environment of the future. It furnishes anarena for the integration of CIM fundamental principles and technology. "...workers must have

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Ph.D., Richard H. Turpin; Joseph A. Shaeiwitz

equipment. Traditional undergraduate coursework and standardcapstone design courses do not normally provide student experiences with these types ofproblems. In the two-semester, capstone design course in chemical engineering at West VirginiaUniversity, a three-part case study is used to develop skills in solving process performanceproblems leading up to the typical process design problem. The production of ally1 chloridediscussed here is an example of such a case study. In the first step, the production in a portion ofthe process must be increased. In the second step, a process retrofit based upon the result ofdebottlenecking is implemented. Finally, in the third step, a new process design is required. Inother case studies, the first step

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Michael A. Paolino; Leonard A. Van Gulick

Session 2260 INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE LAFAYETTE COLLEGE ENGINEERING CURRICULUM Leonard A. Van Gulick, Michael A. Paolino Lafayette CollegeAbstractThree key features serve to internationalize the Lafayette College undergraduate engineeringcurriculum. Semester-long study abroad opportunities for students in all Lafayette B.S. engineering degree programs. A five-year, two-degree program in which B.S. engineering students acquire in-depth knowledge of a foreign language and culture and complete a semester-long capstone experience working abroad

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

James L. Hales

Page 2.177.3paper in 1995, DeWitt and Skvarenina indicate they arrived at a similar laboratory curriculumwhen developing a power distribution course at Purdue[1]. Various software packages have been used with the power systems courses, some writtenby students (as term projects or as a senior-year or capstone project) and others written andmarketed commercially. Currently we are using ETAP, a commercial package developed byOperation Technology, Inc., of Irvine, California. THE POWER SYSTEM SIMULATORPurchasing Decision After reviewing the departmental objectives and past experience, alternatives for newpower systems/rotating machines laboratories were considered. The following observationswere made: 1

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Barbara Mirel; Atul Prakash; Leslie A. Olsen; Elliot Soloway

to timeconstraints of a school term, and to bring the course more in step with industry approaches by thefollowing:• educating students on techniques for defining a vision of the product (what is it doing and for whom),• placing greater emphasis on the client’s and user’s perspective, the interface design, and interface’s effects upon the rest of the code, and• conducting iterative usability testing, starting early in the project cycle.From inception to completion of the software, these important issues are addressed by teachingstudents to write well-reviewed specifications and user documentation, by beginning this early inthe term, and by using these documents to inform the design.Problem With Software Design CoursesIn the computer

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1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Ann D. Christy; Marybeth Lima

Page 2.437.6questions, pointing out inconsistencies, and making constructive suggestions. The progressivefour-level competency matrix enabled students to think about and evaluate their learning and therole of higher order cognition. The self assessment narrative and course evaluation questionnaireprompted further evaluation of the material learned and the learning process itself.In the previous quarter, the instructor observed senior capstone design project presentations madeby current AE 625 students. In comparing these students’ presentations to the AE 625presentations, oral communication skills had improved. This was especially apparent in thosestudents who did not have strong presentations the previous quarter. In addition, the

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

John W. Prados

features.The quantitative criteria require that an engineering curriculum include the equivalent of 1.0 yearof mathematics and basic science; 0.5 year of humanities and social sciences, not counting com-munication skills courses; and 1.5 years of engineering topics including a strong engineering de-sign stem that begins early in the curriculum and culminates in a major, integrative (capstone)design experience. The qualitative criteria require that the students’ educational experiences in-clude development of appropriate computer skills; development of written and oral communica-tion skills; understanding of the ethical, social, economic, and safety considerations in engineer-ing decisions; application of probability and statistics to engineering

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

T. Taylor; T. Egolf; R. Klenke; M. Salinas; J. Stinson; H. Carter; Vijay K. Madisetti; James H. Aylor; Anthony J. Gadient

. Each module represents a unit of a course that is Page 2.124.7independent of other modules in the course (aside from prerequisite requirements). A typicalmodule is designed to provide three hours of lecture time. As illustrated in Figure 3, a moduleprovides Level 3 material through detailed hands-on labs, and notes that describe actual designprojects (i.e., case studies). Level 4 is achieved through a capstone design project that is acomprehensive hands-on top-down design laboratory that covers the entire system design processand spans several modules.There are many advantages to encapsulating a focused amount of material in a modular

Collection

1997 Annual Conference

Authors

Deran Hanesian; Angelo J. Perna

forward by the formation ofnumerous NSF sponsored Educational Coalitions the Freshman Engineering Design programshave become an integral part of the curriculum. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT),as part of the NSF sponsored Gateway Coalition, a consortium of ten engineering institutions,has instituted such a program and developed numerous discipline and interdisciplinary courses.The basic intent of these programs is to move the traditional exposure to design concepts fromsenior year capstone courses into the entire undergraduate curriculum, beginning with enteringfreshmen. The overall objective is to introduce freshmen to the open-ended nature of designproblems, to give students “hands-on” experience, to expose students to teamwork