Undergraduate Engineering Machine Design Projects

This paper reports on engineering design projects involving undergraduate engineering students. The paper focuses on a set of design projects assigned to an undergraduate, junior-level mechanical engineering machine design course and will also provide a brief summary of design projects assigned over the past 20+ years. The projects are varied and include many different types: gear drives, optimization, and designs of various frames, and also projects where students design a custom machine of their choosing allowing for a great deal of creativity. The typical project defines a set of Design Functions and Design Requirements. Students work in teams of 3 throughout the semester. Each team must produce a detailed set of engineering drawings as well as a final design report. Various software tools are used, and the final design is presented orally in class. The design project is extremely valuable in teaching the importance of project organization and timing, as well as tolerancing, manufacturing techniques, fits, and producing detailed engineering drawings. Finally, the design projects support ABET Student Outcomes 5 (Ability to function effectively on a team) and 7 (Ability to acquire new knowledge). These outcomes are assessed via an in-class survey, and results are reported here.