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Session 1526

Digital and Control Labs for a New Manufacturing Engineering Curriculum

Karl D. Stephan and Vedaraman Sriraman

Department of Technology Southwest Texas State University San Marcos, TX 78666

Abstract: We present work in progress which describes the development or redesign of two courses in the manufacturing engineering curriculum which was founded at Southwest Texas State University in the fall of 2000. Digital electronics and control systems now play roles in manufacturing that are on average as important as traditional mechanical-engineering-based subjects. In this paper, we report results of the first step of a two-step redesign of a Digital Electronics course and plans for a new course in Control Systems and Instrumentation. Student response to the use of new computer hardware and MultiSim® software in the Digital Electronics course is positive, as measured by an independent evaluation.

Introduction

Manufacturing engineering is one of the most interdisciplinary of engineering disciplines, drawing content from mechanical and electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and management, among other subjects. In the rapidly changing manufacturing environment that graduates of U. S. programs currently enter, the study of traditional subjects only such as processes, materials, tooling, etc. does not prepare students for the increasing variety of systems, components, and processes used in modern manufacturing. Accordingly, when the first engineering program at Southwest Texas State University was initiated in the fall of 2000, we made plans to redesign existing courses and develop new courses to meet the educational needs of 21st-century manufacturing engineers.

Background

Southwest Texas State University was founded in 1899 as Southwest Texas State Normal School. Until the school adopted its present status of a university in 1969, its mission was primarily to provide the state of Texas with K-12 teachers. Since about 1980, the focus of its Department of Technology has moved from teacher education and an industrial arts emphasis to industrial and engineering technology, providing training for technologists who find jobs in the increasingly high-tech corridor of Central Texas, which includes the nearby cities of Austin and San Antonio. The “hands-on” nature of technology education is a strength which has played an important role in the development of the new Manufacturing Engineering curriculum.

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

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Stephan, K., & Sriraman, V. (2003, June), Digital And Control Labs For A New Manufacturing Engineering Curriculum Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12325