Virtual Laboratories for Vibrations and Mechanisms and Machines Courses

Teaching and learning abstract topics taught in mechanisms and machines, machine dynamics, and mechanical vibrations courses are challenging since the content is highly mathematical and there are not adequate resources available for the faculty and engineering students to visualize the topic in the classroom. Additionally, such courses are delivered in traditional formats and students are passive learners. Although students engage more in laboratories, mechanisms, and machines courses don't have lab components unlike vibrations and control labs or electrical/mechatronics and robotics courses. To address this problem, we developed an open-source virtual lab for the mechanisms and machines and machine design courses in MATLAB Simscape to visualize the 3D motions of illustrated systems and content. The user-friendly virtual lab consists of several submodules including mobility, examples of linkages and machines, motion analysis of machines, SDOF and MDOF vibrations, large deformation, and buckling of beams to demonstrate fundamentals presented in the targeted courses.