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Session 2152

A Multimedia Handbook of Mechanical Devices

Shih-Liang (Sid) Wang

Department of Mechanical Engineering North Carolina A&T State University Greensboro, NC 27411

Introduction

In the past few years, the author has been developing motion simulation courseware based on Working Model 2D (referred as WM2D) and Working Model 3D (recently renamed to visualNastran and is referred as WM3D in this paper) [1]. Visualizing mechanisms in motion is an important aspect of an engineer’s design ability and is also one of more challenging aspects to many engineering students. Students today generally have less experience with machinery, mechanisms, and “tinkering” than engineering students of the past, making it more difficult for them to visualize the motion of mechanisms. On the other hand, students today are comfortable and familiar with interactive software. Additionally, most textbooks and classroom teaching are verbal, deductive, and sequential, and this environment cannot meet the needs of some students who are sensing, visual, inductive, active, and global learners [2]. So using modern software for motion visualization both fills a need for the students and generally suits their background and learning styles.

Over 250 WM2D and WM3D simulation files of mechanical devices have been developed in the past few years. These simulation files cover a wide range of mechanical devices including linkages, gears, cams, tools, machinery, automobiles, construction equipment, furniture, and others. Sources of these devices are from textbooks, reference books, catalogues, service manuals, U.S. patent documents and technical papers. A portion of these files has already been published as a part of a CD bundled to a textbook [3]. This courseware, with its homepage shown in Figure 1, can be used in lectures, as self-paced study, or as reference material for students.

As more simulation files are being developed, the endeavor to create the courseware has evolved to become building a multimedia handbook of mechanical devices. Similar compilations of motion simulations files [4,5] are also being developed in different directions. In Reference [4], over 40 WM3D files are created to highlight the sample problems in a textbook of statics and dynamics. In Reference [5], over 200 animated movie files of mechanisms and machines are generated based on ADAMS™ software.

This type of courseware or multimedia handbook matches the underpinning philosophy of National Engineering Education Delivery System (NEEDS) [6,7], a digital library for undergraduate engineering education developed by Synthesis: A National Engineering Education

Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2001, American Society for Engineering Education

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Wang, S. S. (2001, June), A Multimedia Handbook Of Mechanical Devices Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9583