A Guide to Integrating the Product Realization Process into a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum using Desktop Manufacturing Equipment by
Dr. Robert Lindsay Wells
Sponsored in Part by the National Science
Foundation The Mechanical Engineering Department at The University of Texas at Tyler has recently completed a curriculum development project in which desktop manufacturing equipment was used to integrate the Product Realization Process into several courses. Our project concentrated on enhancing an existing Introduction to Manufacturing course (MENG 3219) and the creation of a new elective course in Computer-Aided Manufacturing (MENG 4324). Several other courses, including Senior Design, have also been impacted. As part of our project we are pleased to make these course materials available to other engineering educators in the form of a Guide.
The photograph shows an assortment of items produced by students and staff using the equipment described in the Guide. Perhaps the best example of the Product Realization Process can be seen in the oval shaped letter openers. The product was developed by a team of students from concept through final production. CAD/CAM was used to generate the part drawings, and then to automatically generate the tool paths. The aluminum molds were cut on the desktop CNC milling machine, and the openers were molded from polystyrene on the injection molding machine (the blades were insert-molded). The Guide is organized as follows. First, the class handouts describing laboratory exercises, demonstrations and assignments are presented for Introduction to Manufacturing and Computer Aided Manufacturing. This material gives many clear examples of course content that can be developed around desktop manufacturing equipment. Second, photographs of equipment setups and some class projects created by students in various courses are included to show specifically what can be accomplished. Third, an annotated vendor list for desktop and educational manufacturing equipment is presented to help interested engineering educators quickly locate possible sources for this type of apparatus. Finally, a bibliography of background work and curriculum development research funded by NSF at other institutions is included. The Guide is available for viewing and downloading in PDF format. Please let us know if this material has been of use in your program. Return to the Mechanical Engineering Main Page
Email:
rlwells@uttyler.edu |
