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A Re-Design of the OneCar: A Project Based Learning Assignment for First Year Engineering Students

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Conference

2021 First-Year Engineering Experience

Location

Virtual

Publication Date

August 9, 2021

Start Date

August 9, 2021

End Date

August 21, 2021

Page Count

5

DOI

10.18260/1-2--38364

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/38364

Download Count

361

Paper Authors

biography

Matt Caputo Penn State Shenango

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Matt Caputo is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Engineering at Penn State Shenango. His research interests involve Additive Manufacturing, Shape Memory Alloys, Sintering and Engineering Education.

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Georgia Macris Penn State University

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Daudi R Waryoba Pennsylvania State University, DuBois Campus Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-1190-3665

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Dr. Waryoba is a Program Coordinator for the B.S. Engineering, Applied Materials at Penn State DuBois. His research interests include thermo-mechanical processing, synthesis, and characterization of metallic materials, and the relationships between the structure, properties, processing, and performance of these materials; experimental and numerical modeling methods to investigate and elucidate the mechanics occurring during plastic deformation, recrystallization, and grain growth, and factors and mechanisms responsible for the formation and development of deformation and recrystallization texture, microstructure, and grain boundary structure; and the optimization of properties in additively manufactured and sintered powdered metals.

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Abstract

This work focuses on the beneficial educational characteristics of a project based learning assignment, introduced to first year engineering students during their introduction to engineering design course. This project tasks students with re-designing and manufacturing the OnecarTM. The OnecarTM is a commercially available comprehensive Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) kit that utilizes fundamental concepts of mechanics and energy to produce motion in a simple chassis. From this kit, students explore various energy sources, such as solar panels, capacitors, batteries, (Used to power electric motors that produce rotational motion) as well as chemical reactions, compressed air, and elastic potential energy; in order to produce a displacement. Each energy source is based on a scientific principal; such as force and motion, electricity, renewable energy etc.. Students are assigned to a group of 3-4 to work as a “team” of engineers that test the current designs of the OnecarTM and evaluate their functionality based on velocity. Afterwards, students are asked to identify three of the top motion-generating energy sources and rank the performances. Students then design and fabricate new cars with the goal of increasing the velocity. The results of product testing, product re-design, prototyping, and prototype evaluation from the groups will be presented in this work. Additionally, the models and design approaches taken by the students will be highlighted and discussed. Furthermore, supplemental educational components acquired from the project will be underlined. Responses from students’ feedback suggests that they benefited from the project and collectively agree that this work helped them gain awareness into how to manage time, communicate, and collaborate in the group setting.

Caputo, M., & Macris, G., & Waryoba, D. R. (2021, August), A Re-Design of the OneCar: A Project Based Learning Assignment for First Year Engineering Students Paper presented at 2021 First-Year Engineering Experience, Virtual . 10.18260/1-2--38364

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