Enhancing Mechanical Engineering Education with an Integrated 3-D Printing Approach

I am a first year Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering at the University of Oklahoma. I graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering in May 2018 from OU. I currently work as a TA and RA in a new additive manufacturing lab lead by my advisor, Dr. Yingtao Liu. As I start my career in research, I hope to enhance my creativity and learn to identify and solve problems within my field.

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James Ian Macdonald University of Oklahoma

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Mr. Macdonald is a recent graduate with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma's School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.

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Zahed Siddique University of Oklahoma

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Zahed Siddique is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering of University of Oklahoma. His research interest include product family design, advanced material and engineering education. 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.

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Yingtao Liu University of Oklahoma

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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, advanced manufacturing, and application of lightweight composites and nanocomposites, smart structures, non-destructive evaluation, structural health monitoring and prognostics.

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Abstract

Recent advance of additive manufacturing has allowed the integration of multiple mechanical engineering fields, including design, materials, mechanics, and manufacturing, for enhanced experiential learning and education. This paper reports the education projects and programs being developed at the University of Oklahoma to improve undergraduate mechanical engineering education using 3D printing, emphasizing three core topics: design, solid mechanics, and manufacturing. The interaction of design, materials, solid mechanics, and manufacturing is carried out at two different scales: the coupon level and product level. At the coupon level, mechanical testing samples, such as dogbone samples, are 3D printed using filament deposition modeling (FDM) method following ASTM standards. Nanoparticles, such as zinc oxide nanoparticles, are integrated within the 3D printing filament so that the mechanical properties of raw materials are tailored. By controlling the 3D printing parameters, the manufactured samples have various microstructures and mechanical behavior. Standard mechanical tests following the ASTM standards are carried out to verify the variation of mechanical properties by controlling material formulation and 3D printing parameters. Students obtain hands-on experience in 3D printing and enhance their understanding of the relationship of manufacturing on structural properties and solid mechanics concepts. At the product level, students practice the design of complex mechanical engineering structures by creating novel and complex engineering structures, such as artificial prosthetic hands, and visualize their design by 3D printing and assembly their design into a final product. The design of individual parts and selection of critical parameters, such as tolerance, decides the 3D printability and easiness of assembly. The 3D printing parameters, such as printing speed and printing direction, impact the quality and overall performance of the manufactured product. The testing of manufactured products provides detailed feedback to the design and 3D printing, which are useful for the design optimization and improvement in the following design and manufacturing cycle. This paper reports students learning outcomes from both mechanics and component level. More reliable external evaluation will be adopted once more data on the student learning outcomes are obtained.

Citation
Format

Wang, J., & Golly, N. C., & Herren, B., & Macdonald, J. I., & Siddique, Z., & Liu, Y. (2019, June), Enhancing Mechanical Engineering Education with an Integrated 3-D Printing Approach Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32747

TY - CPAPER
AB - Recent advance of additive manufacturing has allowed the integration of multiple mechanical engineering fields, including design, materials, mechanics, and manufacturing, for enhanced experiential learning and education. This paper reports the education projects and programs being developed at the University of Oklahoma to improve undergraduate mechanical engineering education using 3D printing, emphasizing three core topics: design, solid mechanics, and manufacturing. The interaction of design, materials, solid mechanics, and manufacturing is carried out at two different scales: the coupon level and product level. At the coupon level, mechanical testing samples, such as dogbone samples, are 3D printed using filament deposition modeling (FDM) method following ASTM standards. Nanoparticles, such as zinc oxide nanoparticles, are integrated within the 3D printing filament so that the mechanical properties of raw materials are tailored. By controlling the 3D printing parameters, the manufactured samples have various microstructures and mechanical behavior. Standard mechanical tests following the ASTM standards are carried out to verify the variation of mechanical properties by controlling material formulation and 3D printing parameters. Students obtain hands-on experience in 3D printing and enhance their understanding of the relationship of manufacturing on structural properties and solid mechanics concepts. At the product level, students practice the design of complex mechanical engineering structures by creating novel and complex engineering structures, such as artificial prosthetic hands, and visualize their design by 3D printing and assembly their design into a final product. The design of individual parts and selection of critical parameters, such as tolerance, decides the 3D printability and easiness of assembly. The 3D printing parameters, such as printing speed and printing direction, impact the quality and overall performance of the manufactured product. The testing of manufactured products provides detailed feedback to the design and 3D printing, which are useful for the design optimization and improvement in the following design and manufacturing cycle. This paper reports students learning outcomes from both mechanics and component level. More reliable external evaluation will be adopted once more data on the student learning outcomes are obtained.
AU - Jingyu Wang
AU - Noah C. Golly
AU - Blake Herren
AU - James Ian Macdonald
AU - Zahed Siddique
AU - Yingtao Liu
CY - Tampa, Florida
DA - 2019/06/15
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Enhancing Mechanical Engineering Education with an Integrated 3-D Printing Approach
UR - https://peer.asee.org/32747
DO - 10.18260/1-2--32747
ER -