L OUISIANA T ECH U NIVERSITY MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM First-Year Design Experience: Assembling...

LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITYMECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM

First-Year Design Experience: Assembling the “Big Picture” Through

Innovative Product Design

Kelly Crittenden – Louisiana Tech

David Hall – Louisiana Tech

Mark Barker – Louisiana Tech

Patricia Brackin – Rose-Hullman

College of Engineering and Science

ASEE 2009 Annual ConferenceAustin, TX Session 1125

LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITYMECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAMCollege of Engineering and Science

ASEE 2009 Annual ConferenceAustin, TX Session 1125

Ruston, LA 20,000 peopleLouisiana Tech 11,000 studentsSeven Engineering Programs 1,100 studentsScience and Technology 440 students


Fall Winter Spring

Course Semester Credits



ENGR 120 2 ENGR 121 2 ENGR 122 2

MATH 240 3 MATH 241 3 MATH 242 3

CHEM 100 2 CHEM 101 / 103

2 / 1 PHYSICS 201* 3


Freshman Curriculum – all engineering freshmen


Living with the Lab• Each student owns their own “lab” consisting of

– a laptop– tools (multimeter, dial caliper, wire strippers, . . .) $80– software (Mathcad, SolidWorks, MS Office)– a microcontroller (the Boe-Bot) to provide a personal “lab” $100

• Student owned labs provide a way to boost hands-on learning beyond what is possible using traditional university laboratories



Freshman ProjectsLaboratory

Two classrooms designed to support the curriculum (40 students, 24 students)

Classrooms allow us to easily switch between lecture, laboratory and shop activities within a single 110 minute class period.


Engineering 122 Video


“Innovation” books and methods are presented


“Bug List” – from the Art of Innovation


• Individual students keep a list of “bugs”

• At least one new bug for each class period

• At least seven total bugs per student

• Teams of four students combine lists


Electronic Design Journal


• Teams keep an e-journal of their progress

• Many class assignments included in the journal

• Attempt to guide students through the recording process

• Journals turned in at end of quarter


Mind Maps – How to think like Leonardo da Vinci


• Mind Maps and Concept Maps are demonstrated

• Students are given time in class to construct a mind map of their bug as a team

• No right or wrong, just get the ideas flowing and communicate as a team


Nightline Video – “The Deep Dive”


• 20 minute video showing the major creative processes used by IDEO

• Still interesting to students, even after 10 years

• Not very heavy on the actual design though

• Very good brainstorming examples


Pugh Method – decision making


• Pugh charts are used to rank the team’s top ideas

• Simple, begin learning a logical decision making process

• Content is delivered online – supports life-long learning


Prototyping – Fail early to Succeed sooner


• Three main prototyping stages are assigned as homework Spatial – represent components and connections Functional – demonstrate operation Final – ready to take to venture capitalist


Freshman Design Expo


• Teams demonstrate their prototypes to judges and spectators

• Various awards are distributed – DaVinci, Rolex, Shoot the Moon, Can-do, 1st, 2nd, 3rd . . .

• Best ideas encouraged compete in next year’s “Pick of the Litter” business plan competition


Some Facts and Results


• 35 teams of 4 complete the course in the Spring• 15 teams of 4 complete the course in the Fall • 10 teams of 4 complete the course in the Winter• Total of 240 students per year complete the course

• 8 different engineering faculty teach in the ENGR12x series

• Surveys of student confidence and activity levels have been administered over a period of years, pre LWTL implementation and post implementation




• Excerpts from student confidence surveys (1 to 6 Likert):

Item

OLD CourseSpring 06-07

NEW CourseSpring 07-08

Work collaboratively with one or more other students. 5.49 5.36

Generate 3D models of engineering components and assemblies using SolidWorks.

4.55 4.94

Locate specifications and prices for the supplies, parts and systems used in course projects from manufacturers and on-line retailers.

5.23 5.14

Purchase supplies and parts for an innovative product. 5.23 5.05

Use creative techniques to overcome at least one project difficulty. 4.92 5.03

When I set a goal, I keep going after it no matter what the obstacles. 5.15 5.20

I enjoy developing technical tools that improve the quality of life for people.

4.70 5.36

I intend to develop new products/processes during my career as an engineer.

5.14 5.23

I prefer improving products/processes that already exist instead of developing something new.

4.74 4.18

Explain the roles of the ten “Faces of Innovation” as discussed in “The Ten Faces of Innovation” by Tom Kelley.

2.50 4.47

Create a Mind Map to organize ideas around a central topic. 3.26 4.99

Apply the Pugh method to evaluate concept ideas. 2.62 4.38

Conceive a functional prototype of an innovative product that utilizes one or more sensors, actuators or other output devices, and the BASIC Stamp II microcontroller.

2.80 5.00

Design a functional prototype of an innovative product that utilizes one or more sensors, actuators or other output devices, and the BASIC Stamp II microcontroller.

2.82 4.85

Fabricate a functional prototype of an innovative product that utilizes one or more sensors, actuators, or other output devices, and the BASIC Stamp II microcontroller.

2.80 4.96

Test a functional prototype of an innovative product that utilizes one or more sensors, actuators, or other output devices, and the BASIC Stamp II microcontroller.

2.83 5.02

Develop a work plan to manage your time and resources to successfully produce a prototype of an innovative product.

4.31 4.79




• Frequency data reported by the students indicates an increase in how often certain hands-on tasks are performed




The project’s external evaluator commented that:

“There were 33 projects on display. A list of the projects is contained in Attachment E. Each project was assigned a table. Students from the project team displayed posters and gave explanations of their projects. The variety of projects was impressive. Among the 32 projects there were 26 distinct ideas. Students interviewed at the Expo demonstrated the ability to explain their projects clearly. Students also demonstrated pride in their prototypes and what they had learned. Students reported that the design project was difficult and rewarding.”


Acknowledgments

• NSF CCLI Grant No. 0618288• Louisiana Tech University College of

Engineering and Science


Questions?

www.LivingWithTheLab.com


Seven “Threads” Define the Freshman Experience1. SYSTEMS – one major project per quarter

2. ELECTROMECHANICAL – breadboarding, sensors, control

3. FABRICATION AND ACQUISITION – shop activities; locate, specify and purchase components

4. SOFTWARE – Excel, Mathcad, SolidWorks, Programming

5. FUNDAMENTALS • electricity and DC circuits • conservation of energy • basic chemistry and electrochemistry• conservation of mass• statics • engineering economics

6. COMMUNICATION – formatting problem solutions, oral presentations, writing assignments

7. BROADENING ACTIVITES• global and societal issues• professional society meetings and student functions• teamwork and creative problem solving techniques



WhiskerPhotoresistorsIR pairs Temperature Sensor Conductivity Sensor Hall Effect Sensor RF Keychain Transmitter and Receiver LEDs Buzzers Switchable Actuators: Pumps, motors, lights, etc. Continuous Rotation Servos

All students implement these electronics as part of class assignments.

Students can also implement these devices, depending on their chosen project.

GPS sensor

Ultrasonic Range Finder Accelerometer RF ID Tags and Reader GPS Receiver Compass Force Sensor Temperature and Humidity Sensor RF Communication Modules (Boe-Bot to Boe-Bot communication) Embedded Blue Transceiver Appmod (add Bluetooth capabilities to the Boe-Bot) Color Sensor (senses RGB colors at a point) CMUcam Vision SystemLimited Rotation Servos LCD Display Output



CONCLUSION: We have implemented a six semester hour, technology-enabled, project-based experience that impacts over 400 first-year engineering students each year.

• Strong analytical skills• Practical ingenuity & creativity• Good communication skills• Business, management skills• High ethical standards, professionalism• Dynamic, agile, flexible & resilient• Lifelong learners• Able to put problems in their socio-

technical and operational context• Adaptive leaders



History• In 2002 we offered a pilot robotics-centered curriculum to 30 students

• In 2006 we received $498,000 NSF CCLI grant to expand the curriculum to all engineering students

• In the fall of 2007 we implemented the curriculum for all students

Why?• We wanted freshman design to be more than mousetrap cars and straw

bridges

• We wanted to progressively build skills and competence so that freshmen could implement significant projects

• We wanted to make students more innovative


5. FUNDAMENTALS• electricity and DC circuits (A1)• conservation of energy (A1)• basic chemistry and electrochemistry (A1)• conservation of mass (A1)• least squares fitting to calibrate sensors (A1)• statics (A1)• engineering economics (A1)

6. COMMUNICATION• engineering format (A1,A4)• tables and graphs (A4)• oral presentations (A4)• writing assignments (A4)

7. BROADENING ACTIVITES• global and societal issues (A5,A6,A7)• professional society meetings and student functions (A7,A8,A9)• multidisciplinary teams (A4,A8)• creative problem solving techniques for product development (A3)• time and resource management for product development (A10)

A1. Strong analytical skillsA2. Practical ingenuityA3. CreativityA4. Good communication skillsA5. Lifelong learnersA6. Dynamic, agile, resilient and flexible characteristics A7. High ethical standards A8. Leadership skills A9. ProfessionalismA10. Business and management skills

Seven “Threads” define the freshman experience. The outcomes that support these threads are linked to the attributes of the Engineer of 2020 through the curriculum objectives.

1. SYSTEMS• centrifugal pump – model, fabricate and test (A1,A2,A3,A6)• “fishtank” project – control temperature and salinity of water

(A1,A2,A3,A6)• smart product – conceive, design and prototype (A1,A2,A3,A6)

2. ELECTROMECHANICAL• breadboarding skills (A1, A2)• programmable controllers (A1,A2)• multimeters for troubleshooting and measurement (A1,A2)• electromechanical component specifications (A1,A2)

3. FABRICATION AND ACQUISITION• conventional manufacturing processes (A2)• RTD (temperature sensor) – design and microfabrication (A1,A2)• materials and components – locate, specify and purchase (A2)• specify and purchase materials, supplies or components for projects

(A2)

4. SOFTWARE• Excel, Mathcad and SolidWorks (A1,A2)• computer programming for sensing and control (A1,A2)



ENGR 120 – Sample Assignments (Engr. of 2020 Attributes)

1. Systems: Develop a 3D model of a centrifugal pump

Analytical skills; ingenuity; creativity; dynamism & flexibility

2. Electromechanical: Breadboard a circuit and measure currents

Analytical skills; ingenuity

3. Fabrication and Acquisition: Fabricate and test a centrifugal pump

Analytical skills; ingenuity; creativity; dynamism & flexibility

4. Software: Use Mathcad to calculate efficiency of a centrifugal pump

Analytical skills; ingenuity

5. Fundamentals: Calculate power dissipated by a resistor in an electrical circuit

Analytical skills

6. Communication: Calculate the efficiency of a centrifugal pump using engineering format

Communication

7. Broadening Activities

Attend 5 professional student society meetings (high ethical standards; professionalism; dynamism)

Prepare a 2-page paper on waste management and trends for the future (lifelong learning)

Multidisciplinary teams (communication; leadership)

Time and resource management (business and management skills)


Application ENGR 122 (traditional curriculum)

ENGR 122H

(LWTL) Assembly 3.10 11.19 Bending 4.77 3.32 Cutting internal or external threads .55 1.62 Drilling 4.29 13.14 Implementing circuits on a breadboard

.62 21.73

Layout 2.24 10.05 Milling .09 .36 Rapid Prototyping .71 .30 Sawing 2.05 7.77 Soldering 2.17 13.83 Using a dial indicator .17 2.71 Using a lathe .06 1.17 Using a multimeter 2.28 3.55 Using a scale 3.59 2.27 Writing PBASIC programs .02 20.23


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