I learned a lot in my time in ME 250 and surprised even myself
with how much I enjoyed it. The class
does a good job introducing the engineering process, and it gave me valuable
insight into the role of a mechanical engineer in the work force. We got to follow the engineering design
process from start to finish. We analyzed
a given problem and constraints, brainstormed the best concepts, selected a
strategy, made a rough solid model, made a CAD model, manufactured our parts,
assembled the machine, tested it, and had it functional before our deadline. This process will be used throughout our
careers, and I am glad this course gave us the opportunity to get more accustomed
to it.
The most important thing I did in this class was become more
familiar with SolidWorks. I had a little
bit of prior experience with the software, but only enough to know a handful of
basic functions and make a few basic parts.
The lab sessions really expanded on what I knew and taught me how to
make functional assemblies and drawings.
Knowing this CAD system will be helpful in the future when working on
other projects or even looking for a job.
Working in the machine shop was my favorite part of this
class. I really liked making our design
come to life and getting the use the wide variety of available tools and
machinery. Bob and Mark really did a
great job teaching us how to use all the machines, as well as answering my
seemingly endless stream of questions.
Looking back, I can see that my teammates and I made a few mistakes
during the semester. If we got to do it
over again, I would start by reevaluating our design to better utilize the
materials we were given instead of relying on our limited budget. If we had made better use of the kit, our
robot would have functioned the same (if not better, due to weight) and we
would have saved ourselves the money and hassle of driving around town looking
for the parts we needed. Our team also
would have been much better off if we had started our manufacturing about a
week earlier than we did. With the
schedule we followed, we were all in the machine shop about 6 hours a day
during the last week. It would have been
much more beneficial to finish up our manufacturing the week before and leave the
last week for running final tests.
As with any course, there were a few things in ME 250that
could be improved. First, it would be
very helpful to have a grading rubric for each assignment. For the assignments where we had to show off
our manufactured parts, for example, we were unsure if we were being graded on
their completeness, neatness, or accuracy within the tolerances. For the final grading of the robot we were
unsure whether our last minute changes were going to affect our grade because
we didn’t know how far we were allowed to deviate from the computer
models. A rubric provided to us ahead of
time would have cleared up all of this confusion. The only other improvement I could see being
made is an update to the list of fasteners that were supposed to be provided in
the shop. (CTools>Resources>Project>inventory-of-screwsboltsnutswashers.pdf) There were a few times where I went to get a
part only to have the GSI tell me they didn’t carry it. Simply making these minor adjustments to the
class would greatly improve it, and I think the incoming students would really
appreciate it.
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