The modules are available as PDF and AVI files.

Module 1
From 2D Sketches to 3D Objects
• PDF module
• AVI movie
Module 2
Advanced Basics with NX4
• PDF module
• AVI movie
Module 3
More Mating with NX4
• PDF module
• AVI movie

Module 4
A Pump Project
• PDF module
• AVI movie
Module 5
A Vice Grip Project
• PDF module
• AVI movie, part 1
• AVI movie, part 2
Module 6
A Toy Train Project
• PDF module
• AVI movie, part 1
• AVI movie, part 2

Supporting Papers
• R. Pop-Iliev and S. Nokleby. 2007. Digitally enhancing the project-based approach to engineering education. Proc Intl Conf on Engineering Design, Paris. (PDF)

• R. Pop-Iliev and G. Platanitis. 2007. Just-in-time implementation of open-ended take-home miniature design engineering projects. Proc PACE Conference. (PDF paper) (PDF presentation) (AVI movie 1) (AVI movie 2) (AVI movie 3)

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

This module systematically introduces the fundamentals of project management, widely used tools and methods, and management processes that actually occurs in the industrial process. The contents of the module include: essential concepts-, time management-, quality management-, cost management-, risk management-, and maintenance management of project management. Six real cases are presented in Chapter 7 as case study materials. The reasons of the successes and failures of these cases are presented.

The whole module can be downloaded as a zip file (about 3.5MB). It contains 11 PDF files that are live-linked to each other. These should be kept in the same directory.

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

This module can be used for self-study learning, as lecture material and background reading, to support further learning (links and references), and to verify one’s level of understanding of usability principles and application (via the review test).

This site is based on a supporting module of the CSS (Children’s Sensory Stimulation) centre project, funded by the Canadian Design Engineering Network and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.

As of 26 May 2006, the module is delivered as a website in English and French.

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

This CDEN module consists of a collection of design management, analysis and communication tools that can be applied individually or in conjunction with others during the execution of a design project. Following the analogy of a toolbox that contains wrenches and screwdrivers, not all tools are necessary for every project nor are tools always used to their full potential. The key to using the toolbox effectively is to be familiar with the capabilities and limitations of each tool, then apply the tools appropriate to the project to the degree with they offer benefit. The focus of this module is to provide a selection of design tools suitable for use by a first year engineering design class.

The module is provided as a series of PDF files:
1. Introduction to the module
2. Introduction to engineering design
3. Documenting the design process
4. Design criteria checklist
5. Work breakdown and scheduling
6. Failure modes and effects analysis and a sample FMEA chart
7. Prioritization matrices
8. Evaluation matrices

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

Teaching concept evaluation in engineering often utilises engineering based problems. Unfortunately, first year students typically lack the experience and familiarity with the range of engineering methods and topics that are a prerequisite for the introduction of the traditional design process. To compensate for this, many problems tend to be comprised of clear, theoretically based textbook problems centered on formulaic manipulation. As such, these “tame” problems rely on will traveled solution paths that always end up with the same answer providing little value in highlighting the benefit of the traditional design process.

To appreciate the design process it is necessary for students to attack problems where there is no identifiable solution path or where they have no concept of what the answer might be. The problems need to encourage students to nurture their synthesis skills (i.e. their ability to bring together different points of view) rather than their analysis skills, which are already nurtured in the rest of their curriculum. These “wicked” problems are difficult to introduce at the first year level as the students typically lack adequate engineering experience. However, “wicked” problems can still be explored by utilizing the knowledge students have already developed simply to function in the world around them.

Problems that require the understanding of consumer behaviour or moral judgment can easily form “wicked” problems that first-year students can tackle. Therefore, this module consists of two non-engineering problems that provide a solid foundation for concept evaluation. The first is a marketing problem that deals with the survival of small drug stores in the 21st century. The second is a legal problem that requires students to make a moral judgment. To extend concept evaluation further into the traditional models, a new method of introducing design reviews and traditional engineering concept evaluation tools are included. To introduce traditional engineering concept evaluation tools, questions that relate the drug store and legal cases to these tools are introduced.

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

The first module introduces the value of successful design to the company, the notion that product design is a risk-management process, the formation of an effective design team and an introduction to the five stages of design.

The second module presents the idea generation stage of the design process. This stage is largely an introduction to marketing, but it is essential to the design engineer because it connects the customer to the engineer’s design process.

Techniques and procedures for identifying, quantifying and assessing market needs and wants, determining the attributes required and desired, estimating market size and the impact of attributes on size, determining necessary functions, and establishing the engineering characteristics of any product that addresses identified needs are introduced. Attribute sensitivity functions and the House of Quality in QFD are presented with practical exercises. The notions of wants, needs, attributes, characteristics, requirements, constraints and specifications are defined. The latter part of idea generation is concerned with finding individual concepts that provide the attributes necessary to meet the needs of the identified market segment. No attempt is made to integrate these concepts into a product because in this stage, possible solutions and not best solutions, are sought. At the end of this stage, concepts are screened using Pugh’s concept screening tool. The module is intended for two weeks of classroom instruction in conjunction with two laboratory sessions, two assignments and a two-week project. The module is intended for 2nd year engineering students. While this material has been taught to 2nd year E&CE students, this module is intended for students in all disciplines.

The third module is presents conceptual design, the second stage of the design process. In this stage, the previously defined concepts are combined, modified, refined and integrated into a sensible, concept-level design or configuration of the product. The module presents various tools for conceptual design including morphological charts, concept sketching, process flow diagrams and others. The conceptual design stage culminates in concept scoring to find the best combination of concepts to take forward to the next design stage.

The three modules are accompanied by selected cases for case-based teaching, assignment problems and laboratory sessions. The modules have numerous examples throughout.

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

The systems perspective is that everything interacts with other things. Yet we tend to design our products in isolation from the environment in which they will operate. This module introduces students to one method of performing systems design; that is, designing so as to take into account the interactions of a product with its environments and the interactions between its elements. Systems designing is an important technique especially in large and complex engineering projects, and in trying to develop sustainable technologies.

The module also looks at how to design systems, covering the topics:

• Define the overall system
• Identify inputs and outputs
• Conceptualize solution systems
• Identify subsystems
• Define subsystem flows
• Systems recursion and iteration

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

This module presents main issues surrounding design for the environment. Every product must be dealt in some way at the end of its life. Main approaches (reduction, reuse, remanufacture, recycling, and disposal) are discussed. Each method is explained with respect to cost and environmental impact. Examples and case studies are included. Sustainable design as a method is also discussed. A new tool developed by the authors for qualitative life cycle assessment is presented, with a detailed example.

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

It offers an entry-level note-style treatment of the main topics in an engineering design syllabus. The material is presented concisely using predominantly bullet-points and short statements, and is particularly useful in providing many explanatory images, including system and process diagrams and drawings.

Topics covered includes basic design, product design, specifications, design methods, conceptual design, human factors/ergonomics, management, design teams, administration, concurrent engineering, design for x (DFX), computer aided design (CAD), geometrical modelling of parts, geometrical modelling for design, and computer aided engineering (CAE).

The target audience of this module includes students taking introductory courses in design, and students interested in a summary overview of the PDP. The module provides a very general introduction to product development processes and the role of engineering design therein. It is meant to lead into more detailed modules on specific topics. Topics introduced in this module include: definitions of design, stages and gates, concurrent engineering, teamwork and collaboration, technical communications, usability and user-centred design, product lifecycle, end of product life. Furthermore, the process of designing as part of product development is introduced, including: project initialisation, problem analysis, ideation, conceptual design and evaluation, systems design, recursion to subsystems, and detailed design.

[Description and screenshot taken from the wiki page for this module. Materials are used under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.]

The paper explores a view of research on creativity in design not based on traditional cognitive science models. Research from the creative cognition standpoint is reviewed with an example and the problem of applying it to the design case is explained. Creative techniques used in design lack a scientific base and lack an evaluation of their effectiveness. They emphasise the generation of ideas and not the generation of tangible solutions. The argument states that design research should be looking neither to the act of idea generation nor to the act of form generation and reinterpretation but to the enacted use environment in which designers operate and from which functions emerge. Departing from new models in cognitive science two hypotheses are formed. The first claims that the creative outcome in design may be based on an enacted experience of use and not on a rationalisation of imagery or represented forms. The second claims that diagrams created during the design process, mainly in its first stages, may serve the purpose of problem finding and not of problem solving.

[Description taken from the abstract for this paper. Paper made available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 license.]

Listening to the voice of the customer is made complicated when the roles of the customer are carried out by more than one individual or stakeholder (a stakeholder performs one or more of the decision-making roles normally enacted by a single customer). The issues surrounding multiple stakeholder requirements are examined with particular reference to small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and the rehabilitation industry; this industry is concerned with products that enable the elderly and disabled to live more independently. A series of case studies has been conducted to identify the current practices of rehabilitation companies and the suitability of accepted design methods for incorporating the voice of the customer into the design process. The results of the study indicate that smaller companies within the rehabilitation industry do not use formal methods of design or market research; this is partly attributable to their limited resources and experience. An outline is given of a method developed by the CACTUS Project to enable resource-limited companies in the rehabilitation industry to incorporate the voice of the customer into their design. The method is currently being tested. It is hoped that the CACTUS approach will be applicable to other industries with similar characteristics and multiple stakeholders.

[Description taken from the abstract for this paper. Paper made available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 license.]

Most sustainability problems are system problems (for example, transport or food consumption) and almost insoluble without completely new ways of thinking. To address sustainability issues, which in broad terms are the key issues of our times, designers need to be able to understand design problems in context, envisage and describe better future systems and then design products that could be part of a new improved system.

This resource has been developed at the University of Leeds as part of the Royal Academy of Engineering supported scheme of Visiting Professors in Engineering Design for Sustainable Development and is intended for teachers, tutors, lecturers, academics and researchers. A major aim of the Royal Academy of Engineering scheme is to create transferable case studies.

The resource contains materials needed to deliver and assess a sustainable design project where students research a problem area, envision a future in the problem domain, define a brief for a product that could be part of that future and design a product that responds to the brief. It has been developed as a 100 study-hour project as part of the University of Leeds undergraduate programme in Product Design.

[Description and screenshot taken from the University of Leeds' website for this resource. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 2.0 Licence.]

The electronics industry is continually under pressure to maximise profits. To do this, an organisation will strive to reduce development and manufacturing costs and time, produce the best quality products and, therefore, satisfy the customer.

Implementing tools and philosophies to be used during NPI can fulfil these requirements within the NPI process. For the purposes of this study, we will consider three areas that the tools affect:

Quality Engineering Tools. These work throughout various stages to ensure the product is of the best quality.

Product Design Tools. These would be used predominantly during the design functions, to ensure that the right product is specified and designed and to reduce design time and costs.

Manufacturing Tools. These would be used during the manufacturing phases, including process design and prototyping, to reduce manufacturing costs and times.

[Description and screenshot taken from The University of Bolton's website for this topic. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Licence.]

You can get access to these resources by registering for free. By registering on this page, you will receive a user name and password to download open access teaching resources. They are the ones with the blue OER logo next to them. The files are approximately 3MB and will take some time to open. The external links to other resources in the case studies will only work if your browser security settings allow that.
The open access teaching resources are aimed at undergraduates on materials-related courses across different science, engineering and design disciplines. Most do not require the use of the CES EduPack. They include interactive case studies, data booklets and material property charts.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Granta's Teaching Resource website. The case studies are made available under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 License.]

The performances of materials in the following types of environment are covered:
water and aqueous environments
acids and alkalis
fuels, oils and solvents
halogens and gases
built environments
flammability
UV radiation
thermal environments

Further reading references are also given.

Some of the tools and theories that will be explored here to understand the potential links and interactions with C-K theory are: Web 2.0 collaboration tools, computer supported cooperative work (CSCW), knowledge management and Henry W Chesbrough’s Open Innovation model.

[Description taken from the abstract for this paper. Paper made available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

C-K design theory or concept-knowledge theory is both a design theory and a theory of reasoning in design. It defines design reasoning as a logic of expansion processes, i.e. a logic that organises the generation of unknown objects. The theory builds on several traditions of design theory, including systematic design, axiomatic design, creativity theories, general design theories, and artificial intelligence-based design models.
Claims made for C-K design theory include that it is the first design theory that:
1. Offers a comprehensive formalisation of design that is independent of any design domain or object
2. Explains invention, creation, and discovery within the same framework and as design processes.

The name of the theory is based on its central premises: the distinction between two spaces:
• a space of concepts C
• a space of knowledge K.

The process of design is defined as a double expansion of the C and K spaces through the application of four types of operators: C→C, C→K, K→C, K→K

[Description and screenshot taken from the Wikipedia page for this article. Text is available under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported License.]

Blow molding (also known as blow moulding or blow forming) is a manufacturing process by which hollow plastic parts are formed. In general, there are three main types of blow molding: extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, and stretch blow molding. The blow molding process begins with melting down the plastic and forming it into a parison or preform. The parison is a tube-like piece of plastic with a hole in one end in which compressed air can pass through. The parison is then clamped into a mold and air is pumped into it. The air pressure then pushes the plastic out to match the mold. Once the plastic has cooled and hardened the mold opens up and the part is ejected.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Wikipedia page for this article. Text is available under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported License.]

Rotational molding, also known as rotomolding, rotocasting or spin casting, is a molding process for creating many kinds of mostly hollow items, typically of plastic. A heated hollow mold is filled with a charge or shot weight of material, it is then slowly rotated (usually around two perpendicular axes) causing the softened material to disperse and stick to the walls of the mold. In order to maintain even thickness throughout the part, the mold continues to rotate at all times during the heating phase and to avoid sagging or deformation also during the cooling phase. The process was applied to plastics in the 1940s but in the early years was little used because it was a slow process restricted to a small number of plastics. Over the past two decades, improvements in process control and developments with plastic powders have resulted in a significant increase in usage.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Wikipedia page for this article. Text is available under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported License.]

It is written for the benefit of someone who has (or can gain access to) basic hand and power tools. The sections of the document are arranged in logical order presuming a minimal knowledge of the metalworking trades in general or of springmaking in particular, and cross-linked to provide a forward path that leads from this point through the entire manufacturing process. There’s a glossary of spring terminology and an addendum, which should help you to define terms and find additional resources. Three basic types of springs are described: compression, extension, and torsion, alongside clock and power and other types of springs.

Polymers are materials composed of long molecular chains that are well-accepted for a wide variety of applications. This unit explores these materials in terms of their chemical composition, associated properties and processes of manufacture from petrochemicals. The unit also shows a range of products in which polymers are used and explains why they are chosen in preference to many conventional materials.
This particular section focuses on design in polymers, specifically the manufacturing and process methods including fabrication, rotationally moulding, vacuum forming, blow moulding and injection moulding.

[Description and screenshot taken from the OU page for this course. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

The experience in the design and analysis of aircraft wheels and brakes, brake systems, brake control systems, and antiskid systems is summarised.

The static and fatigue strength of aircraft wheels, calculation of brake service life, brake dynamics, techniques for increasing brake energy absorption capacity, and design of the basic antiskid system elements are also examined.

The book can be read online or downloaded in pdf, EPUB, Kindle, and plain text formats.

The site contains the book chapters as pdf files as they are completed and revised and are divided into the following 7 chapters.

Table of contents:

[1] Introduction to Design
[2] Exploration
[3] Users, Experts, and Institutions
[4] The Architecture of Artifacts
[5] Aesthetics in Design
[6] Variety
[7] Problem Solving and Design

The course covers the theory, tools and techniques of problem analysis for software systems development, covering both information systems and control systems.

Topics include: requirements specification, object-oriented analysis, business process modeling, analysis of non-functional requirements, lifecycle of engineering projects, project management, waterfall and V-models.

Architects, landscape designers, interior designers and product designers are typical designer jobs. They often develop visual themes, to position themselves and their designs in the market. Many clients purchase products of or engage these designers because their products match with the sense of their identity. For example urban planners expect the landscape designers to develop landmarks, to improve the attractiveness of the city, neighbourhood or region. In addition to the visual requirements the design should improve the liveability of the community, preserve the environment and protect sensitive areas. Requirements usually not met by the visual themes of the designer. Most design teams are not composed of visual designers only but also include marketing people, design engineers, manufacturing- and O&M specialists. The design engineers, manufacturing- and O&M specialists ensure that the product meet the criteria of professional correctness, which may be specified in professional codes and standards.

The consequences of something breaking can be a pest, or utterly disastrous, as when the pedal drops off one’s bike, but without it, biting and crunching, breaking into crisp packets, pulverizing coal, oil drilling and many other processes would be impossible. The most dramatic failures are catastrophic, but sometimes they can be very gradual even in the most brittle materials. This TLP discusses what determines when a material will break, and whether failure will be catastrophic or more gradual. The emphasis here is on brittle fracture, and although all of this is relevant to metals, the details of ductile fracture are not discussed.

On completion of this tutorial you should understand:
• that materials break by cracking;
• what determines whether a material will crack or not;
• what determines whether cracking is catastrophic or more gradual;
• the concepts of the fracture energy, strain energy release rate, fracture toughness and stress intensity factor.

Questions and links to further reading are also included.

[Description and screenshot taken from the DoITPoMS page for this TLP. (c) University of Cambridge used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

For those interested in ABET accreditation and reaccreditation, it touches on the themes of
(1) professional and ethical responsibility, (2) integrating ethics into design projects, and (3) generating awareness of the social and global impacts of engineering. Students and faculty consulting this module will find the capstone course presentation, background information pertinent to engineering ethics in Puerto Rico, and exercises that help students develop an active and practical understanding of how ethics fits into engineering practice.

The module is available to download as a pdf file and as an EPUB file for viewing in handheld devices. A presentation of this module given in March 2008 at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez is also provided.

Caution: This module is incomplete. Authors plan to add more content shortly.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Connexions page for this module. This work is licensed by William Frey under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 3.0), and is an Open Educational Resource.]

Before you start it will be helpful to have an understanding of solute partitioning and the formation of dendrites. The TLP on Solidification of Alloys covers these topics.

On completion of this tutorial you should:
• Understand the meaning of the Biot number, how it affects the temperature profile in a casting, and the resulting microstructure.
• Be able to explain the formation of the microstructure observed in a cast ingot.

• Be familiar with some common methods of casting, their advantages and disadvantages, and be able to choose a suitable process for manufacturing a variety of metallic components.

Questions and links to further reading and websites are also included.

Description and screenshot taken from the DoITPoMS page for this TLP. (c) University of Cambridge used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

There are no specific prerequisites for this TLP, but it would be useful to be familiar with stress and strain, elastic strain and Plastic deformation, Young modulus, E and yield stress, σY. While a basic knowledge of mechanical deformation is assumed, this teaching and learning package covers all the fundamentals of beam mechanics.

On completion of this tutorial package, you should:

• Understand the stress distribution within beams subject to bending or torsion.
• Be familiar with the concepts of the radius of curvature of a section of a beam (and its reciprocal, the curvature), second moment of area, polar moment of inertia, beam stiffness and torsional stiffness.
• Be able to calculate the moments acting in a beam subject to bending or torsion.
• Be able to calculate the deflections of a beam on bending and the angle of twist of a bar under torsion.
• Be able to predict the effect of plastic deformation, at least with simple beam geometry.

Questions and links to further reading and websites are also included.

[Description and screenshot taken from the DoITPoMS page for this TLP. (c) University of Cambridge used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

After studying this unit you will be able to:
• Explain the difference between industrial and engineering design with reference to familiar products; and for specific products explain whether it is the product’s form or its function that enhances its value in the marketplace.
• Understand the concept of a product design specification (PDS), and be able to indicate some to the factors which should be included in producing one.

• Describe the role of marketing in developing the PDS for a product.
• Classify products simply in terms of their basic shape.
• Describe the difference between the hot and cold working of metals and give the advantages of each.
• Indicate which types of manufacturing process are suited to producing different shapes of product.
• Indicate which processes are likely to be used for producing a particular product using a specific material or class of material.
• Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the different classes of manufacturing processes.
• Outline the concept of surface engineering for improving the properties of a component.

The unit looks at the manufacturing process, casting, forming, cutting, joining, making the gearwheel, and surface engineering.

The unit takes on average 20 hours to complete.

[Description and screenshot taken from the OU page for this course. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

Structural integrity is the study of the safe design and assessment of components and structures under load, and has become increasingly important in engineering design. It integrates aspects of stress analysis, materials behaviour and the mechanics of failure into the engineering design process.
After you have completed this unit you should be able to:
• differentiate between and describe dissolution, degredation and corrosion as they affect the deterioration of structural materials;
• predict electrochemical behaviour between dissimilar metals;
• explain galvanic corrosion in terms of the electrochemical series;
• distinguish between the hoop and longitudinal stresses in a pressure-vessel wall, and specify them in terms of the pressure, wall thickness and diameter of the vessel;
• describe the loads in the various parts of a structure and the most likely load path;
• indicate the procedures needed in practical failure analysis;
• specify the failure mechanisms possible when a nominally ductile material fails in a brittle fashion;
• relate crack formation to the loads on a component, bearing in mind the importance of stress concentrations in the component concerned;
• provide a likely sequence of events involved in the failure of a part made from several different components;
• describe the problem of fretting wear at a bearing joint;
• describe the key circumstances of a particular accident or disaster, and relate the sequence of events to specific causes supported by the relevant evidence.

The unit is split into 3 parts:
[1] Engineering for purpose
[2] Environmental deterioration
[3] Case study: The Silver Bridge

The unit takes on average 20 hours to complete.

[Description and screenshot taken from the OU page for this course. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

Complex systems have many components – hardware, software, people, machinery, buildings, all of which interact – and many stakeholders with requirements to be met. The essence of systems engineering is that it combines technical, interpersonal and managerial knowledge and skills. By studying this course, practitioners and anyone responsible for or working in the systems engineering environment will gain an understanding of the principles, tools and techniques of a multi-functional approach to increasingly complex systems planning.

The aim of this unit is to answer five questions:
Why is systems engineering important?
What is modern engineering?
What is systems?
What is systems engineering?
What approach to systems engineering does the course adopt?

The unit takes on average 25 hours to complete.

[Description and screenshot taken from the OU page for this course. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

One example that is investigated in this unit concerns how to devise lighter bicycle frames, and the way to assess the merits of alternative materials from which to make them. There is no single way to move from a problem like this to possible solutions. In fact there are often several ways to set about finding several solutions, but there are a few general factors that are important to the search. First it is important to appreciate the needs from which a problem arises. For the bicycle frame it’s not just a lighter material that is required, but rather it is one that can be deployed to bear specific loads imposed on a fully functional frame. Next it is valuable to understand the challenge well enough to be able to specify the nature of solutions, perhaps using the formal languages of engineering, mathematics, science and problem solving. For example, it is unwise to take part in a discussion on ‘the best materials for bike frames’ without a technical appreciation of both the job a frame has to do and the relevant attributes of the candidate materials. Establishing what you don’t yet know usually starts by recognising how effectively you can tell someone else where the challenges arise. You must be able to communicate with a wide range of people, sometimes ‘calling a spade a spade’, and at other times describing precisely what the word ‘spade’ actually means.

After studying this unit you should be able to:

View solutions as belonging to particular categories, broadly classified as:
innovation by context
innovation by practice
routine

See how external factors affect engineering projects, and appreciate the range of engineering involved in meeting the basic needs of our society.

Recognise and apply a range of problem-solving techniques from each stage of the engineering design cycle, to include the following:
physical modelling
mathematical modelling
iteration
use of reference data
refining an engineering specification.

Identify when models are likely to be useful and when they are no longer valid.

Recognise and distinguish between the following technical terms:
differential equation
simultaneous equation
boundary condition
constraint
finite element analysis (FEA)
mathematical model
physical model
prototype
demonstrator
anthropometric
ergonomic
product specification
functional specification

The unit takes on average 40 hours to complete.

[Description and screenshot taken from the OU page for this course. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

In order to get the most out of this unit, you need to be familiar with, or at least not worried by, simple mathematics, and recognise some related concepts such as chance and probability. Working through the first self-assessment question (SAQ) will give you an indication of the skills and attitudes involved. If you find you are having a lot of difficulty with SAQ 1, put this unit aside and select a more appropriate unit from the topic list. As well as providing an introduction to models, the unit looks at systems modelling in practice.

After working through these materials you should be able to:
• describe and use a general classification of models
• outline and discuss the process of systems modelling, where models are used as part of a systemic approach to a range of different situations
• recognise that systems models may be used in different ways as part of a process for: improving understanding of a situation; identifying problems or formulating opportunities; supporting decision making

The unit takes on average 4 hours to complete.

[Description and screenshot taken from the OU page for this course. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

Kinematics is the study of motion. Statics is the study of forces on stationary objects. Dynamics is the study of forces on moving bodies. These are the analytical tools used by the design engineer. The aims of the course are therefore two fold. Firstly, it aims to teach the basic analytical methods, that is, the fundamental concepts and techniques of solid engineering mechanics. Secondly, it aims, in a limited way, to show the implementation of these methods in engineering design. The limited time available to study the course has meant that the course team have had to lay the emphasis on the analytical methods. The underlying assumption has been that, if students acquired a solid foundation in analysis from this course, then its implementation in design would become apparent both in future courses and in the mechanical engineering that surrounds them every day.

Course materials:
Block 1: Geometry of mechanisms
Unit 1: Mechanisms
Unit 2: Mechanisms 2
Block 2: Statics
Unit 3: Forced and moments
Unit 4: Modelling with free-body diagrams
Block 3: Kinematics
Unit 5: Motion
Unit 6: Velocity diagrams
Block 4: Dynamics
Unit 7/8: Dynamics
Block 5: Acceleration
Unit 9A: Compensation forces
Unit 9B: Acceleration diagrams
Block 6: Structures
Unit 10: Stress analysis
Unit 11: Structural components
Block 7: Energy and momentum
Unit 12/13: Energy and momentum
Block 8: Vibration
Unit 14: Vibration
Block 9: Design study
Unit 15: The mechanics of an electric lift

The unit takes on average 135 hours to complete.

[Description and screenshot taken from OpenLearn page for this material. (c) Open University used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

Having studied this unit you should be able to: recognise that functional artefacts have had input from a designer, with greater and lesser degrees of engineering input; identify that engineering designers work within constraints of finance, materials properties, desired functionality, human factors, etc.; understand that design exploits models of the product being designed, whether those models are physical mock-ups, computer-based models, or mathematical models which explore an element of the product’s performance; understand how models of the design process are formulated, and how they can be applied to understand the development of a particular product or product family; understand design-related terminology such as innovation, context, uncertainty and style.

The learning unit is divided into 7 parts and takes on average 28 hours to complete.

[1] Design and designing
[2] Design and innovation 1: the plastic kettle
[3] Models of the design process
[4] Conceptual design
[5] Concept to prototype
[6] Design and innovation 3: the Brompton folding bicycle
[7] Conclusions

It looks at the terms for classifying forming processes and the characteristic values and basic laws of metal forming including flow stress, plastic strain, plastic flow under combined stresses, flow curves, average flow stress and energy considerations. This lecture is a necessary prerequisite to understand the more specific treatment of metal forming subjects such as forging, impact extrusion and sheet metal forming in the subsequent TALAT lectures 3401 to 3805.

A general background in production engineering and machine tools is assumed.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

The lecture introduces terms, definitions and brazeable alloys and looks at the brazing process and different brazing methods – torch brazing, flux-dip brazing, furnace brazing, and vacuum and controlled atmosphere brazing. The properties of brazed joints and quality control testing methods are also detailed.

Basic knowledge of aluminium alloys designation system, surface treatment and corrosion behaviour is assumed.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

The lecture includes examples of aluminium forgings and covers classification of forms for die forgings, tolerances for aluminium forgings, design rules, dimensional precision of die forgings and designing for material flow and grain structure.

A general understanding of metallurgy and deformation processes is assumed.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

It also helps to understand the effects of material and loading parameters on fatigue; to appreciate the statistical nature of fatigue and its importance in data analysis, evaluation and use; shows how to estimate fatigue life under service conditions of time-dependent, variable amplitude loading; how to estimate stresses acting in notches and welds with conceptual approaches other than nominal stress; and provides qualitative and quantitative information on the classification of welded details and allow for more sophisticated design procedures. Background knowledge in materials engineering, design and fatigue is required.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

It also introduces the design analysis process with methods of verification and partial safety factors; describes the characteristic of loads and load combinations on structures; introduces the subject of load and resistance factors in the verification methods; and describes the basic structural design properties of aluminium alloys versus steel. Some background and experience in structural engineering and design calculations; basic understanding of the physical and mechanical properties of aluminium is assumed.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

It aims at generating interest in and a common understanding of the product development process; informing about the basic principles and terminology used in connection with systematic design in order to facilitate the use of the four product design examples presented in this course (see TALAT lectures 2102.01, .02, .03 and .04). The lecture is recommended for those situations, where a brief, general background information about aluminium is needed as an introduction of other subject areas of aluminium application technologies. This lecture is part of the self- contained course “Aluminium in Product Development”, which is treated under TALAT lectures 2100.

[Description and screenshot taken from TALAT page for this material. (c) European Aluminium Association used under the terms of their CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.]

The resources here include the lecture hand out (zip file) which includes embedded tutorial questions, some powerpoints for structuring lectures , flash animations to step through modelling process for electrical circuits and a large data base of CAA developed on webct (here provided in zip files for quiz 1 and quiz 2). The files import into webct and self extracts. The lecture notes also contains a brief overview on usage for lecturing staff.

The main focus is on electrical and mechanical systems, but there is also some discussion of dc motors, fluids and heat as well as an introduction to time series modelling. The main emphasis is on why modelling is important and how to go about doing this from first principles (e.g. Kirchhoff’s laws, Newton’s Laws, etc.). Given the focus is on new students arriving at University, there is no attempt to develop models beyond second order.

These were developed at the University of Sheffield and authored by J. A. Rossiter from the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Open Engineering Resources Project page for this resource. (c) The University of Sheffield used under the terms of their CC BY 2.0 license.]

You can use this guide together with manufacturers catalogues to specify and select a clutch that will meet your needs. If you are not very familiar with the standard types of clutch available from stock then review the sections on Uses of clutches and Types of clutch available from manufacturers. Reference should be made at every stage of the selection process to the Product Design Specification (PDS) for the system (all the relevant factors should be described in a well written PDS). The characteristics of clutches available “off the shelf” often may constrain the design of the system that requires the clutch so be prepared to change your design to match a manufacturer’s clutch. The guide also specifies the environment and the requirements for the clutch, how to choose a clutch, and a list of clutch suppliers.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The purpose of this guide is to enable the user to determine the attributes required of an electric motor to meet a specific power transmission need and then to select one from those offered by manufacturers. It has been compiled as part of a series, which covers typical elements of a system.

In this guide only conventional power transmission motors will be considered. This covers AC and DC motors between about 30 watts and 30 kilowatts. Other motors will be dealt with in other guides. The guide looks at the selection procedure, factors affecting motor selection, and motor selection and specification.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The purpose of this guide is to enable the user to determine the attributes required of a gearbox to meet a specific power transmission need and then to select an appropriate gearbox from those offered by manufacturers. It has been compiled as part of a series which covers typical elements of a system. It is not concerned with the detailed design of a gearbox which will be covered in other guides in this series. Before embarking on the selection procedure it is necessary to ensure that the need for a gearbox, has been carefully considered. The guides at higher levels in the Mechanical Power Transmission Series provide assistance in this process. The successful selection of a suitable gearbox is the result of matching the requirements of the power transmission system with one of the range of boxes offered by the manufacturers. Thus information about the system and information about available hardware is necessary.

The guide looks at the selection procedure, types of gearbox and their characteristics, general characteristics, factors affecting gearbox selection, and manufacturers.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

You can use this guide to determine what kind of a seal will meet your needs and then to select a seal from those offered by manufacturers. If you are not very familiar with the standard types of seal available from stock then review the section on standard seal types available from manufacturers. Reference should be made at every stage of the selection process to the Product Design Specification (PDS) for the system (all the relevant factors should be described in a well written PDS). The characteristics of seals available “off the shelf” often constrain the design of the system components that require the seal so be prepared to change their design to match a manufacturer’s seal.

The guides looks at how to: specify the environment and operating conditions, specify the performance of the seal, select the type of seal required, select the material for the seal, choose a seal from a manufacturer’s catalogue, review your choice of seal. There is also a list of seal manufacturers.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This guide gives information on how to design a shaft when fluctuating loads are to be considered. It gives details on how to: Determine External Loads; Choose Preliminary Dimensions; Identify Critical Shaft Sections; Determine Stresses; Combine Stresses; Choose Failure Criterion; Choose Material and Material Properties; Determine Fatigue and Safety Factors; Compare Stresses and Strength; Specify Shaft. This guide should be used in conjunction with the guide, How to design a Shaft for Strength and Rigidity. There is also a list of suggested further reading.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This guide gives information on how to design a shaft for strength and rigidity. It gives details on how to: determine the loads on the shaft; choose provisional dimensions for the shaft; identify critical sections; calculate internal forces and moments; introduce safety factor; choose material; calculate deflection; compare factored stresses with strength of material; specify shaft.

References are also provided.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

You can use this guide to determine the attributes required of a rolling element bearing to meet a specific power transmission need and then to select one from those offered by manufacturers. If you are unfamiliar with rolling element bearings then review the page on Bearing types and characteristics. This guide comes in the following sections:
1. Introduction 2. Specify the factors that determine the choice of the bearing 3. Decide the required type of bearing 4. Determine the equivalent load and speed 5.  Determine the equivalent bearing life 6. Determine the dynamic load rating 7. Select a bearing and check.

Other information includes details of bearing manufacturers, references and standards, and a list of the notation and symbols used in the guide.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This guide gives an insight into the types, terminology used, selection procedure and uses of standard chain drives. The most common applications for chains drives are discussed and a simplified strategy is given to help the infrequent user select an appropriate chain system using information from a manufacturer’s catalogue. Chain drives are an important and widely used type of mechanical element. They have two major uses, that is, for power transmissions and for materials handling purposes on conveyors. In addition, specific types of chain are used for supporting loads and for lifting purposes. As a transmission, chain drives can operate efficiently at high loads and they may be used where precise speed ratios are required. Selecting the best type of transmission drive will depend on the specific requirements of the application. Certainly, chain drives are widely used throughout mechanical engineering and, therefore, deserve to be very seriously considered at the preliminary stages of design.

This guide includes the sections: Preliminary Selection, Types of Chain, Factors Affecting Roller Chain Selection, Lubrication of Chains, Roller Chain Terminology, Standard Sizes, Chain Power Ratings, Chain Nomenclature, Roller Chain Selection Example,  and Chain Costs. Other information includes suggested further reading and details of leading chain manufacturers.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The purpose of this guide is to enable the user to determine the attributes needed of a planar mechanism to meet a specific combination of output requirements and then to select the appropriate type. It has been compiled as part of a series which covers typical elements of a system. In this guide only planar mechanisms driven by “constant” velocity rotating input are considered. Other aspects of mechanism design will be dealt with in subsequent guides. The guide gives information on the types of planar mechanism and factors influencing type selection. It also has a list of specialist manufacturers and an appendix with information on direct electrical drives.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

You can use this guide to determine the attributes required of a belt drive to meet a specific power transmission need and then to select a drive from those offered by manufacturers. The successful selection of a suitable belt drive is the result of matching the requirements of the power transmission system with one of the range of belt systems offered by the manufacturers. Thus, information about both the system and the hardware available is necessary, and the selection process entails six consecutive stages:

1. Gathering information about the system
2. Deciding on influential factors
3. Establishing limits of acceptability for factors
4. Collating information from manufacturers
5. Selecting a suitable element
6. Seeking follow-up advice

The guide also has information on how to specify the environment and operating conditions and the performance of the belt drive, how to select the belt drive required, and how to install the belt drive. Other information includes details of belt drive types currently available, power ranges, belt drive manufacturers, and suggested further reading.

Reference should be made at every stage to the Product Design Specification (PDS) for the system (all the relevant factors should be described in a well written PDS). Note that, before embarking on the selection process, you should ensure that the need for a belt drive, as distinct from other forms of drive, has been carefully considered. The Guides at higher levels in the Mechanical Power Transmission Series provide assistance in this process.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

You can use this guide to select standard gears from catalogues. If you are unfamiliar with standard gears first review the sections on standard gears and gear terminology. Gears can either be obtained as standard components from a manufacturer’s catalogue or alternatively specially designed and manufactured. Smaller sized gears, especially instrument gears, tend to be more readily available from catalogues and larger, less used gear types tend to be produced as specials; usage is claimed by leading manufacturers to be approximately equally divided. For practical reasons, gear catalogues tend to display only geometric and materials data of stock gears rather than specific operational information. This is because functional behaviour will vary with an application and so it is not feasible to give comprehensive data covering all operational conditions within a catalogue for a complete product range. The guide describes a practical approach which ensures that gears selected from a catalogue are technically suitable for a specific application. Technical considerations usually produce a number of viable alternatives so cost may well be the decisive factor influencing the final selection.

The guide details how to: establish the requirements; choose the number of teeth, type and material for the gears; calculate the pitch-line velocity and tooth bending stress; select suitable gears by considering materials and cost. Other information includes notation for calculations, a worked example, details of gear manufacturers, and a bibliography.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The purpose of this guide is to draw together the fundamental principles, which should be considered in the design of a rotary power transmission system so that it will perform effectively as an entity. If you are unfamiliar with the design of rotary power transmission systems then review the section on concepts and definitions. The selection of individual system elements e.g. motors, gearboxes etc. is presented in other Guides in this series. The four sections of this guide are: consider the load on the system, match the load to the supply, consider other characteristics of the system components, and find real system elements.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The aim of this guide is to provide procedures to enable the user to design a bolted connection where the dominant load acts parallel to the axes of the bolts making the connection (and therefore perpendicular to the connecting faces of the parts which constitute the joint). The guide provides sufficient additional data to enable the threaded elements to be selected and specified. Typical joint configurations where the threaded fasteners are in tension/bending, simple tension or shear are shown in the following figures:

Figure 1. Types of Bolted Connection covered by this Guide

Two approaches are included. The first covers “statically loaded joints” and the second “dynamically loaded joints”. The first approach is essentially a simplified version of the second and can be adopted when the variation of the axial load at the joint in service can be regarded as negligible and the number of times that the axial load is applied to the joint throughout its working life is less than 105 applications. The guide assumes that the component parts being connected are sufficiently rigid so as to not subject the threaded fasteners to bending stresses when the joint is being tightened or when it is under load in service. The guide does not consider the design of threaded connections where the threaded fastener is subject to lateral shear – clevis joints for example. In these cases, the threaded fastener is subject to high bearing stresses on its diameter and, invariably, bending stresses accompany the lateral shear stress. These situations are considered to be outside the scope of this guide.

Section 2 looks at the limits of the guide in greater depth. The guide advises in general terms on aspects of good practice relating to the positioning of fasteners in a joint. The number and position of fasteners to be used in a given situation tends to be influenced by other features of the design work being undertaken and there is a wide variety of possibilities which are difficult to categorise in a brief guide such as this. The symbols and nomenclature used throughout the guide are defined as they occur. No derivations of equations are presented; such derivations are available for those who require them in the Bibliography at the end of the guide.

Section 3 covers the selection of bolted connections which are statically loaded. This enables the user to design safe connections for static loading using a flow chart approach. Section 4 gives the necessary background and equations for determining the load distribution and corresponding stress levels imposed on the component parts of a joint subjected to fatigue loading. It also includes a table of screw thread strength reduction factors, which should be used in conjunction with the other strength reduction factors used in designing against fatigue. A second flow chart is included, giving the reader a step-by-step procedure for the safe design of bolted joints capable of sustaining fatigue loading. Section 5 examines and discusses the relationship between applied torque and induced load and the distribution of stress in normal threaded fasteners. Section 6 deals with ISO grading of threaded connector materials. Section 7 looks at the common thread system as well as touching on past systems. Section 8 shows how to select fasteners with the best characteristics for many applications.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This guide aims to provide specialist knowledge across a range of manufacturing technologies to enable the correct process selection to be made from the breadth of possibilities and also to provide technological and economic data on a range of important manufacturing processes. Manufacturing PRocess Information MAps (PRIMAs) give detailed data on the characteristics and capabilities of each process in a standard format under general headings including: material suitability, design considerations, quality issues, general economics and process fundamentals and variations. A distinctive feature is the inclusion of process tolerance capability charts for processing key material types.
This guide is largely based on the manufacturing process selection and costing text published by the authors (1). In this guide the reader is introduced to a systematic approach to process selection supported by a sample of ten PRIMAs only. Space does not permit the inclusion of all the available PRIMAs and the method for detailed costing of component designs given in reference (1). A computer based (PC) version of the authors’ component costing method is available for educational purposes only from the SEED website at http://www.cad.strath.ac.uk/~bill/seed.htm. Topics covered by this guide include a process selection strategy and PRIMA selection. Sample PRIMAs and a case study are included.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This guide is concerned with explaining the system of tolerances and fits contained in the British Standard No 4500 Part 1 and how to use this system. This is a national standard which embodies the international standard No R286.

Note that the numbers in parentheses refer to the ‘List of Definitions” and the Introduction refers to these and to Figures 1 and 2.

Reference is made throughout to the application of tolerances to “shafts” and “holes” and an impression is often created that the system of tolerances described in BS 4500 is suitable only for use with circular features (1). This is not the case and the system can be applied to features having parallel planes. Common examples of such use are the applications to bar stock of square, rectangular and hexagonal section and to keyways and splines.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This guide explains what product design specifications (PDS) are, why they are important, and how to write one. The guide includes links to examples from a PDS written by a group of students who were specifying the design of a lawn-edge trimmer. This is a typical first-time PDS, not an ideal model. The students missed out several sections, and did not put figures on as many of their specifications as they should have done. This guide was commissioned by the SEED Curriculum Development Editorial Board.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This guide aims to: determine the optimal dimensions of a cam mechanism to produce a given motion and satisfy the kinematic constraints imposed by limiting pressure angle and profile curvature as well as the artificial limitations associated with a particular application, such as space restrictions; determine the spring force needed for force closure; use cam design to illustrate the principles of preparing and applying design data for solving multi-variable problems which do not yield readily to mathematical analysis. It is recommended that the ‘Unit Design – Cam Mechanisms‘ guide be read first. See the References Section for further citations, including software. This supplement is intended to provide background information for tutors using SEED ‘Unit Design – Cam Mechanisms‘ guide for undergraduate design assignments. It includes additional explanations and figures, supplies cross-references, identifies manufacturers and outlines possible assignments. It is assumed that the students have access to micro-computers and can use a suitable spreadsheet package.

The guide includes the sections:

• The Cam Mechanism
• Cam Laws
• Forces on the Follower
• Pressure Angle
• Profile Curvature – Undercutting
• Design Procedure for Optimum Cam Size
• Validation
• The Spreadsheet
• General Approach to Cam Design
• Outlines for Assignments

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The manufacturing phase follows the detail design phase, within the ‘Design Activity Model’ (reference 1) shown in Figure 1. However, manufacturing considerations need to be addressed from the outset of the project and it is essential that students be made aware of this distinction. Design educators must include manufacturing considerations as an essential part of the curriculum, and emphasise the need to integrate design and manufacture. Students should be asked to consider manufacture as well as form, fit and function, and be able to compare costs (reference 2) of alternative manufacturing methods, including assembly. These are too often considered later in the product development stage when expensive modifications may be required to alleviate quality or production problems.

Students should also understand that, in practice, many companies have traditionally had separate lines of management, at operational level, for product design and process or manufacturing system design. More progressive companies are implementing project teams which include design, manufacturing and other disciplines from the outset of the project.

The report provides an introduction, topic definition, educational objectives and chapters on when taught and how, manufacturing considerations, manufacturing processes, manufacturing costs, manufacturing information, and influence of automated manufacturing systems. Also provided are references, suggested further reading and figures.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this report. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

During the SEED ’83 Design Seminar, held at Southampton University, delegates proposed, unanimously supported and set up a Working Party to make recommendations on the content of a curriculum for engineering design in undergraduate courses. Although the importance of design was being increasingly acknowledged nationally, it was realised that definitive guidelines in regard to a recognised core curriculum for design teaching were conspicuous by their absence. The delegates to the SEED ’83 seminar considered it essential to respond to this challenge and meet the need. The Working Party subsequently submitted two reports which were discussed in detail.and accepted respectively by the SEED ’84 Seminar held at Lanchester (Coventry) Polytechnic and the SEED ’85 Seminar held at Liverpool Polytechnic. A synopsis of the first report (1) is given in this document in the ‘Introduction‘, whilst the second report is included in its entirety together with suggestions arising from the SEED ’85 Seminar.

Design is central to engineering and hence the majority of engineering graduates are likely to have contact with it during their subsequent careers, whilst others will become professional designers. Consequently, and because of its importance to the economy, a well founded ‘appreciation’ of design is essential for all engineering undergraduates and is the theme of this paper. This view is reflected in the more recent demands by the Engineering Council for the mandatory inclusion of both ‘Engineering Applications’ (2) and ‘Design Studies’ (3) for accreditation of engineering undergraduate courses. This development has brought in its train increased demands for design teaching. Whilst every encouragement must be given to such developments, a cautionary note must be sounded in that damage will be done to the understanding and practice of design unless it is taught in a balanced and comprehensive way.

The proposals in this report represent the views of a large percentage of those who teach design at tertiary level, the majority being Chartered Engineers, many of whom continue to practice as consultants. They therefore see the proposals as being directly relevant both to teaching and practice and not the untried exhortations of non-practitioners. Furthermore, the proposed curriculum is itself designed to provide a sound basis for many of the needs of EA2 and of the Engineering Council’s request for design studies.

This report includes the following sections:

• Preface
• Working Party Members
• Introduction
• View of Design
• Requirements for a Design Curriculum
• Definition of Terms
• Proposed Teaching Strategy
• Teaching and Practice
• Time Requirements
• Current Reports
• Concluding Comments
• References
• Appendix A – Description Of The Design Activity Model
• Appendix B – Definition Of Topics

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this report. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This document forms part of the SEED curriculum development series of publications and is principally intended for use by teachers and lecturers in engineering design in the preparation of teaching material for the topic of conceptual design. Conceptual design is a key phase of the design process. It is during this stage that the product concept which will eventually be taken forward to manufacture is formulated and selected. The thoroughness with which this activity is carried out significantly influences the quality of the final product and, as a consequence, its eventual success or failure. In practice, the resources put into conceptual design are often inadequate. It is necessary, therefore, to impress upon students not only the importance of the phase but also the approach required to achieve a robust concept.

This document addresses a strategy for the teaching of conceptual design rather than the specific procedures involved in the conceptual design of a product. The message it aims to present is equally applicable to mechanical, electrical, civil and other engineering disciplines. Consequently, the term “product” as used though out the document should be interpreted as referring to buildings, processes, systems, circuits etc. as well as consumer and industrial artefacts. Similarly, “manufacturing” should be interpreted as also referring to construction.

The report provides an introduction, topic definition, rationale, educational aims and objectives and chapters on the conceptual design curriculum, teaching and assessment of conceptual design and a bibliography and references.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this report. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The Market Phase is the first major phase in the total design activity and is followed by the Specification Phase. Indeed, the Product Design Specification (PDS) produced during the Specification Phase may be described as a statement of market needs. It forms the essential foundation for competitive design and greatly influences the probability of a successful outcome. The PDS must itself be soundly based and this necessitates a thorough market investigation. The market phase and PDS formulation are therefore closely related, which is the justification for the title of this document. Whilst there appears to be a growing awareness of the importance of the PDS in some areas of industry and academia, the approach by which they are formulated in practice is frequently lacking in breadth and thoroughness. It is necessary to impart to students not only the importance of the PDS but also the modus operandi for creating a reliable document. The key is information and its processing.

This booklet identifies the information areas requiring exploration, and a structured, albeit flexible, approach to processing information in order to formulate a PDS. It also provides guidance on the compilation of the PDS itself. The booklet may be used as a text upon which to base lectures, for exercises in market information processing and specification formulation, and as an aid at the commencement of design projects. The approach is applicable irrespective of engineering discipline although the terminology used may vary. For example, the term ‘brief’ in civil engineering is synonymous with ‘specification’ in electrical and mechanical engineering. Hence the term ‘product’, used throughout this document, may refer to any outcome from a design project be it a civil engineering structure, chemical engineering process, mechanical engineering system, electronic circuit, on an industrial or consumer product.

The report provides an introduction, topic definition, rationale, educational aims and objectives and chapters on the market and specification phases in total design, the market phase, the specification phase, when and how taught, a demonstration exercise and references.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this report. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The purpose of this guide is to enable the user to determine the optimum dimensions and to specify the sprung force closure of a disc cam mechanism, which produces the required output motion, whilst satisfying the kinematic constraints imposed by the maximum pressure angle and profile curvature. Cam mechanisms are used to convert a simple input motion, such as a shaft rotating at nominally “constant” speed, into a complex output motion. The output motion from cam mechanisms is versatile as the displacement, velocity and acceleration are all controlled accurately; it can also include stationary periods. Each movement can be specified independently of the remainder of the operating sequence. Besides the familiar application of the cam-operated valves of petrol engines the mechanism is used in textile manufacture, automatic assembly, wrapping machinery and many special-purpose devices. This guide assumes that the procedure given in SEED Design Guide “Planar Mechanisms” has been followed. Books and commercial software packages, which cover the design, dynamics and strength of most configurations of the cam mechanism, are cited in “Sources of Information“.

The guide includes the sections:

• Prepare the Timing Chart
• Construction and Operation
• Terminology
• Dimensions and Notation
• Output Motion
• Non-Dimensional Parameters
• Cam Laws
• Cam Law Selection
• Minimum Cam Size From Kinematic Constraints
• Space Constraints and Configuration
• Application of a Spreadsheet
• Optimum Cam Size
• Force Closure
• Dynamic Design

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

This document forms part of the SEED curriculum development series of publications and is principally intended for use by teachers and lecturers of engineering design in the preparation of teaching material for the topic of detail design. It addresses a strategy for the teaching of detail design rather than the specific procedures involved in the detail design of a product. The message it aims to present is equally applicable to mechanical, electrical, civil and other engineering disciplines. Consequently the term ‘product’ as used throughout the document should be interpreted as referring to buildings, processes, systems, circuits etc. as well as consumer and industrial artefacts. Similarly, ‘manufacturing’ should be interpreted as also referring to construction.

The report provides an introduction, topic definition, rationale, educational objectives and chapters on when taught, detail design curriculum, teaching and assessment and a bibliography and references.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this report. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

The printed version of the class notes was a book of over 400 pages long. The notes were derived in part from course notes developed by Fred Martin for a class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but a considerable amount of new material has been added, and every subject area has undergone major revision for use at Rice. The many people who contributed to the book are listed in the acknowledgements. The majority of the 1998 printed book is available here, largely in its original form. It should be considered a work in progress. In particular, web navigation within the book is, to put it kindly, inconvenient, primarily because some of the sections are quite long. Sections covered by the book includes:

• Assembly Manual – The Assembly Manual is still printed, and is included here as a pdf file. Information on wiring sensors, motors, and cables used for an ELEC 201 robot is included on this web page.
• Basic Mechanics – Describes basic mechanics, friction, and the simple machines that comprise the building blocks of more complex machines, like robots.
• Basic Electronics – Introduces the concepts of charge, current, voltage, and electronic components to the uninitiated.
• Hardware – Describes the functionality and architecture of the ELEC 201 RoboBoard, assuming minimal prior background in electronics.
• Motors – A brief primer on the dc motors used in the course.
• Batteries – Discusses battery technology in general, the battey used in ELEC 201, and the battery charger operation.
• LEGO Construction – The secrets of using LEGO Technics building materials to construct robust machines, including gear trains.
• Sensors – Explains the principles of operation and applications of various robotics sensors in the ELEC 201 kit; specific wiring diagrams are in the Assembly Manual.
• Interactive C – A reference manual for the C language dialect that has been developed for the ELEC 201 course. Students new to programming or the C language will find the the new IC Tutorial worthwhile.
• Control – Investigates how to program a mobile robot to face up to the uncertainties and challenges of practical operation.
• Assembly Language Programming – How to program the Motorola 68HC11 microprocessor using assembly language; for enthusiasts only, not something ELEC 201 students need to know.
• Circuit Board Data – Schematics and printed circuit board layouts.

A glossary and a short bibiliography to other sources of information are also provided.

Note:
• The instructions for assembling the circuit boards is still printed so that students can check off the steps as they proceed. To avoid confusion, the possibly incorrect assembly instructions have been removed from the online book, but are available as Postscript and pdf files.
• The presentation of Interactive C in the book is still valid, but the student may find the new IC tutorial more helpful initially.
• Material that changes yearly, such as dates, the game, registration details, etc., has been moved to the web pages under the tabs at the left. Some additional non-essential, dated information has been removed pending its revision.

[Description and screenshot taken from the Rice University page for these course notes. This work is licensed by Jim Young under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 2.0), and is an Open Educational Resource.]

The course offers a holistic view of the aircraft as a system, covering: basic systems engineering; cost and weight estimation; basic aircraft performance; safety and reliability; lifecycle topics; aircraft subsystems; risk analysis and management; and system realization. Small student teams retrospectively analyze an existing aircraft covering: key design drivers and decisions; aircraft attributes and subsystems; and operational experience. Oral and written versions of the case study are delivered. For the Fall 2005 term, the class focuses on a systems engineering analysis of the Space Shuttle. It offers study of both design and operations of the shuttle, with frequent lectures by outside experts. Students choose specific shuttle systems for detailed analysis and develop new subsystem designs using state of the art technology.

Guest lecturers include Aaron Cohen, Dale Myers, John Logsdon, Tom Moser, J. R. Thompson, Bass Redd, Allen Louviere, Henry Pohl, Robert Seamans, Bob Ried, Walter Guy, Robert Sieck, Sheila Widnall, Philip Hattis, Christopher Kraft, Wayne Hale, Anthony Lavoie, Peter Young, and Gordon Fullerton. This course was administrated by shuttle astronaut and MIT Professor Jeff Hoffman and Professor Aaron Cohen, who was the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project Manager. Guest speakers provide the majority of the content in video lectures, discussing topics such as system design, accident investigation, and the future of NASA’s space mission.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The Blender 3D Design course is intended to offer students an introduction to the world of computer generated 3-D modeling and animation. As an introductory course, it provides a basic understanding of the skills and techniques employed by 3-D designers in a wide range of applications. The course will explore basic mesh modeling, applying textures and materials to 3-D objects, lighting, animation and rendering. It should provide a good basis for further independent study in architectural, engineering, and theatrical modeling and game design. It is self-paced, meaning that you can pick and choose the Learning Units, Video Tutorials or PDF tutorials as you see fit. The sequence of Learning Units are a suggested path of learning Blender but users are welcome to use this material in any way that suits theirr purposes. There are 2 progressive levels of study in this course: Beginning Level and Intermediate Level. Learning Units 1 through 12 comprise the Beginning Level Course and Learning Units 13 through 24 comprise the Intermediate Level Course (Note: The Intermediate level Course is currently under development.)

To take this course, you must have access to a personal computer on which you can download all of the required software (free) and execute all of the required assignments. Please note that the course as presented here does not contain the full content of the course as taught at Tufts. The included content is based on material the Tufts faculty and instructors choose to include, as well as factors such as content preparation, software compatibility, and intellectual property and copyright restrictions. Tufts are working on a replacement OCW Blender course, which will reflect the new 2.5x version of Blender. It will include additional learning units, new video and PDF tutorials, and different projects.

[Description and screenshot taken from Tufts OCW page for this course. (c) Tufts University used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course is a core requirement for the Masters in Engineering program, designed to teach students about the roles of today’s professional engineer and expose them to team-building skills through lectures, team workshops, and seminars. Topics include: written and oral communication, job placement skills, trends in the engineering and construction industry, risk analysis and risk management, managing public information, proposal preparation, project evaluation, project management, liability, professional ethics, and negotiation. The course draws on relevant large-scale projects to illustrate each component of the subject. Outside professionals will give seminars relating their experiences and knowledge. Topics discussed will include getting work, responding to requests for proposals, project evaluation, management conflict resolution and negotiation. There will be a presentation and discussion on professional ethics for engineers, with a corresponding class exercise. Other assignments in this section are the “Chase an Engineer” exercise and profiling an industry company.

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .xls.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course introduces the fundamentals of machine tool and computer tool use. Students work with a variety of machine tools including the bandsaw, milling machine, and lathe. Instruction is given on MATLAB®, MAPLE®, XESS™, and CAD. Emphasis is on problem solving, not programming or algorithmic development. Assignments are project-oriented relating to mechanical engineering topics. The course revolves around students building and ‘racing’ their own Stirling engines, which is covered in greater detail in the projects section.

This course was co-created by Prof. Douglas Hart and Dr. Kevin Otto.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The purpose of this procedural guide is to enable the user to determine the attributes of an appropriate shaft coupling for a mechanical power transmission system and hence to select one from a manufacturer’s catalogue. It has been compiled as part of a series which covers typical elements of a system. It deals with the coupling of two shafts which are co-linear, or very nearly so. It does not cover shaft-hub connections, clutches, universal joints or torque limiters. The guide gives details of the selection procedure, types of shaft coupling and misalignment and factors affecting coupling selection.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

Connections can either be obtained as standard components from a manufacturer’s catalogue or alternatively specially designed and manufactured. Smaller sized connections tend to be more readily available from catalogues and larger, less used types tend to be produced as specials. This guide is only concerned with the selection and subsequent use of standard components. It enables the user to specify the attributes of a connection to meet specific needs and then to select a connection from those offered by manufacturers. The types of connections most commonly used are illustrated and discussed. The guide takes a practical approach that ensures the technical suitability of connections for specific applications. Technical considerations usually indicate a number of viable possibilities so cost may well be the decisive factor influencing the final selection.

The guide looks at whether your connection is really necessary, common connections, how to determine the operating conditions, how to specify the factors that influence the choice of connection, the performance required, and the type of connection. There is also a worked example, a list of major manufacturers, a bibliography and suggested further reading, and notes on the design of Shaft-Hub Connections.

[Description and screenshot taken from the SEED Curriculum for Engineering Design page for this guide. (c) The Design Society used under the terms of their (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license.]

According to the United States Agency for International Development, 20 million people in developing countries require wheelchairs, and the United Nations Development Programme estimates below 1% of their need is being met in Africa by local production. This course gives students the chance to better the lives of others by improving wheelchairs and tricycles made in the developing world. Lectures will focus on understanding local factors, such as operating environments, social stigmas against the disabled, and manufacturing constraints, and then applying sound scientific/engineering knowledge to develop appropriate technical solutions. Multidisciplinary student teams will conduct term-long projects on topics such as hardware design, manufacturing optimization, biomechanics modeling, and business plan development. Theory will further be connected to real-world implementation during guest lectures by MIT faculty, Third-World community partners, and U.S. wheelchair organisations.

Topics covered during the course includes wheelchair biomechanics and ergonomics, design for human use, manufacturing processes and strategies, product design, material science, mechanics of materials and welding, human-powered machines, hand-cycle designs and racing.

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .xls, .mp4 and .rm.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course.
(c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This class is jointly sponsored by the MIT Museum, Massachusetts Bay Maritime Artisans, the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Center for Ocean Engineering, and the Department of Architecture. The course teaches the fundamental steps in traditional boat design and demonstrates connections between craft and modern methods. Instructors provide vessel design orientation and then students carve their own shape ideas in the form of a wooden half-hull model. Experts teach the traditional skills of visualizing and carving your model in this phase of the class. After the models are completed, a practicing naval architect guides students in translating shape from models into a lines plan. The final phase of the class is a comparative analysis of the designs generated by the group.

Special software is required to use the video lectures in this course: .rm. These videos are also available from VideoLectures.net.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The course presents a systematic approach to design and assembly of mechanical assemblies, which should be of interest to engineering professionals, as well as post-baccalaureate students of mechanical, manufacturing and industrial engineering. It introduces mechanical and economic models of assemblies and assembly automation at two levels. “Assembly in the small” includes basic engineering models of part mating, and an explanation of the Remote Center Compliance. “Assembly in the large” takes a system view of assembly, including the notion of product architecture, feature-based design, and computer models of assemblies, analysis of mechanical constraint, assembly sequence analysis, tolerances, system-level design for assembly and JIT methods, and economics of assembly automation. Class exercises and homework include analyses of real assemblies, the mechanics of part mating, and a semester long project. Case studies and current research are included.

Specific objectives for students include: understanding a systematic approach to analyzing assembly problems; appreciating the many ways assembly influences product development and manufacturing; see a complete approach that includes technology, systems engineering, and economic analysis; and get a feeling for what is technologically feasible.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The course focuses on the use of mathematical models to assess interactions between humans and the natural environment. By the end of the course, students should be able to formulate and use mathematical models to assess human impacts on the environment and assess the economic value of natural resources.
This course provides a review of physical, chemical, ecological, and economic principles used to examine interactions between humans and the natural environment. Mass balance concepts are applied to ecology, chemical kinetics, hydrology, and transportation; energy balance concepts are applied to building design, ecology, and climate change; and economic and life cycle concepts are applied to resource evaluation and engineering design. Numerical models are used to integrate concepts and to assess environmental impacts of human activities. Problem sets involve development of MATLAB® models for particular engineering applications. Some experience with computer programming is helpful but not essential.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The unit contains text, images and videos and aims to provide an understanding of invention, design, innovation and diffusion as ongoing processes with a range of factors affecting success at each stage. You will gain an understanding of the factors that motivate individuals and organisations to invent, and the creative process by which individuals come up with ideas for new inventions and designs, and you will gain an understanding of the obstacles that have to be overcome to bring an invention to market and the factors that influence the successful diffusion of an innovation into widespread use. A bibliography is also provided.

The unit is divided into three parts. (1) looks at the technological products in your home or at work and considers their development history and their impact on the lives of the users, then the key concepts associated with the process of invention, design, innovation and diffusion are defined. (2) considers what motivates individuals and organisations to invent in the first place and how individuals come up with ideas for new designs and inventions. (3) examines how technical, financial and organisational obstacles have to be overcome in order to bring an invention to the market. Once on the market a number of factors influence how well an innovation will sell.

The unit takes on average 55 hours to complete.

This course explores the basic questions of architecture through several short design exercises. Working with many different media, students will discover the interrelationship of architecture and its related disciplines, such as structures, sustainability, architectural history and the visual arts. Each problem will focus on one of these disciplines and one exploration and presentation technique. Students will create additions to modernist structures, guest houses that operate off the grid in remote locations, places to experience art, and finally a project that will combine aspects of these projects into a community project in the Boston Seaport Area.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The course introduces the principles of user interface development, focusing on three key areas. (1) Design: how to design good user interfaces, starting with human capabilities (including the human information processor model, perception, motor skills, colour, attention, and errors) and using those capabilities to drive design techniques: task analysis, user-centered design, iterative design, usability guidelines, interaction styles, and graphic design principles. (2) Implementation: techniques for building user interfaces, including low-fidelity prototypes, Wizard of Oz, and other prototyping tools; input models, output models, model-view-controller, layout, constraints, and toolkits. (3) Evaluation: techniques for evaluating and measuring interface usability, including heuristic evaluation, predictive evaluation, and user testing.

Any number of Java® development tools, such as the Java® Development Kit or Eclipse®, can be used to compile and run the .java files in this course.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The guide comes in 3 parts: approaches to product design in Delft, design methods, and competences in design. Each part is available to download in .pdf format: Introduction, Overview, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 or viewable as a SlideShare presentation.

Topics covered by the guide includes the product innovation process, the design cycle, engineering models of product design, the Fish Trap Model, creating product ideas and concepts, planning and design, and concept development.

The Guide presents an overview; short descriptions of approaches and methods. For beginner designers it is necessary to study more detail using the references mentioned in the guide.

It aims to inform consumers of design (i.e., all of us) about this crucial characteristic of design. The unit is derived from the OU course T211 on Design and Designing, but as well as stimulating interest in areas of concern for producers of design it might also provide an introduction to engineering, manufacturing and business studies.

The unit contains text, images, exercises and videos covering the principles of user-centred designing, inclusive design, ergonomics and human factors, user research techniques, interaction design or making usable products, and looking at users interaction with products. A bibliography and further reading list is also provided.

The unit takes an average of 12 hours to complete.

This class provides an introduction to quantitative models and qualitative frameworks for studying complex engineering systems. Also taught is the art of abstracting a complex system into a model for purposes of analysis and design while dealing with complexity, emergent behavior, stochasticity, non-linearities and the requirements of many stakeholders with divergent objectives.

The class project for Spring 2007 is concerned with designing a system for transporting and storing spent nuclear fuel (SNF). This is an important problem in contemporary society. Nuclear power plants and research facilities around the United States have been producing SNF – as a byproduct of the production of electric power – a quite toxic substance, for some years. Until now, most SNF has been “temporarily” stored on site at the nuclear facilities. The nuclear power plant operators want that material removed. The current plan is to relocate it from about 130 sites around the country to a below-ground repository, thought to be geologically stable, at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The course will address the many complex system design questions, moving towards developing design alternatives using systems thinking principles, which are critical for understanding and approaching complex sociotechnical systems of the type described here.

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .xls.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course covers topics in surface modeling: b-splines, non-uniform rational b-splines, physically based deformable surfaces, sweeps and generalized cylinders, offsets, blending and filleting surfaces; and solid modeling: constructive solid geometry, boundary representation, non-manifold and mixed-dimension boundary representation models, octrees. Other topics also covered are: non-linear solvers and intersection problems, robustness of geometric computations, interval methods, finite and boundary element discretization methods for continuum mechanics problems, scientific visualization, variational geometry, tolerances, inspection methods, feature representation and recognition, and shape interrogation for design, analysis, and manufacturing.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course teaches creative design based on the scientific method through the design, engineering, and manufacture of a detailed inlaid tile. This is an introductory lecture/studio course designed to teach students the basic principles of design and expose them to the design process. Throughout the course, students will be introduced to the terminology and concepts that underlie all forms of visual art; which – in many ways – forms the basis for the design of all physical objects. Along with learning mechanical skills, thinking both critically and visually, and working with different media, the students will consider how the arts grow out of and respond to particular cultural contexts and ideas; and how these thinking patterns can be applied to virtually all types of design.

The focus of this course is to learn the Peer Review Evaluation Process (PREP) by creating inlaid tiles that are of deep significant meaning to the team members that create them. The homework projects will help teams of three students to design and build their tile projects whose elements are manufactured by students on an abrasive waterjet machining centre from digital solid models of the tiles that the teams create. At the end of the course, the tiles will be exhibited in the student art gallery.

Students will also be introduced to a number of different solid modeling and design tools. In addition to commercial professional design tools such as SolidWorks® and CorelDRAW®, the students will be introduced to a new design environment where the objects in the design can be parameterized algorithmically.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course introduces you to modern manufacturing with four areas of emphasis: manufacturing processes, equipment/control, systems, and design for manufacturing. The course exposes you to integration of engineering and management disciplines for determining manufacturing rate, cost, quality and flexibility. Topics include process physics, equipment design and automation/control, quality, design for manufacturing, industrial management, and systems design and operation.

Class objectives are: internalize the attributes along which the success or failure of a manufacturing process, machine, or system will be measured: quality, cost, rate and flexibility; provide exposure to a range of current industrial processes and practices used to manufacture products in high and low volumes; apply physics to understand the factors that control the rate of production and influence the quality, cost and flexibility of processes; understand the impact of manufacturing constraints on product design and process planning; apply an understanding of variation to the factors that control the production rate and influence the quality, cost and flexibility of processes and systems; understand the role of control in processes and systems, especially in view of the presence of noise (variation); and provide exposure to a range of manufacturing system constraints.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The course contains intensive coverage of precision engineering theory, heuristics, and applications pertaining to the design of systems ranging from consumer products to machine tools. Topics covered include: economics, project management, and design philosophy; principles of accuracy, repeatability, and resolution; error budgeting; sensors; sensor mounting; systems design; bearings; actuators and transmissions; system integration driven by functional requirements, and operating physics. There is an emphasis on developing creative designs, which are optimized by analytical techniques applied via spreadsheets. This is a projects course with lectures consisting of design teams presenting their work and the class helping to develop solutions; thereby everyone learning from everyone’s projects.

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .xls.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The course considers the growing popularity of sustainability and its implications for the practice of engineering, particularly for the built environment. Two particular methodologies are featured: life cycle assessment (LCA) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The LCA methodology is a rigorous, quantitative approach to environmental impact evaluation that tallies the impacts of products throughout their lifetimes; it has been used successfully in a number of industries (particularly packaging and manufacturing) but less frequently in the built environment. The LEED rating system awards points to projects for achieving specific goals considered relevant to sustainable design, and rates built projects according to the total number of points achieved. The fundamentals of each approach will be presented. Specific topics covered include water and wastewater management, energy use, material selection, and construction.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

For students and teams who have started a sustainable-development project in D-Lab (SP.776), Product Engineering Processes (2.009), or elsewhere, this class provides a setting to continue developing projects for field implementation. Topics covered include prototyping techniques, materials selection, design-for-manufacturing, field-testing, and project management. All classwork will directly relate to the students’ projects, and the instructor will consult on the projects during the weekly lab time. There are no exams and teams are encouraged to enroll together.

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .rm.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

In this course, students work in small teams of 5-6 members to design and prototype new toys. Students work closely with a local sponsor, an elementary school, and experienced mentors on a themed toy design project. Students will be introduced to the product development process, including determining customer needs; brainstorming; estimation; sketching; sketch modeling; concept development; design aesthetics; detailed design; prototyping; and written, visual, and oral communication. At the end of the course, students present their toy products at the Playsentations to toy designers, engineers, elementary school children and the MIT community.

For more information about this course, see the 2.00B website.

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .mov, and .mp4.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course introduces you to modern manufacturing with four areas of emphasis: manufacturing processes, equipment/control, systems, and design for manufacturing. The course exposes you to integration of design, engineering, and management disciplines and practices for analysis and design of manufacturing enterprises. Emphasis is on the physics and stochastic nature of manufacturing processes and systems, and their effects on quality, rate, cost, and flexibility.

Topics include process physics and control, equipment design and automation/control, quality, design for manufacturing, industrial management, and systems design and operation. The group project requires design and fabrication of parts using mass-production and assembly methods to produce a product in quantity.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This course is a first subject in engineering design. A major element of the course is design of a robot to participate in a challenge that changes from year to year. This year, the theme is cleaning up the planet as inspired by the movie Wall-E.

From its beginnings in 1970, the 2.007 final project competition has grown into an Olympics of engineering. See this MIT News story for more background, a photo gallery, and videos about this course.

After taking this course students should be able to: generate, analyze, and refine the design of electro-mechanical devices making use of physics and mathematics; describe and list uses in mechanical systems of common machine elements including fasteners, joints, springs, bearings, gearing, clutches, couplings, belts, chains, and shafts; apply experimentation and data analytic principles relevant to mechanical design; and communicate a design and its analysis (written, oral, and graphical forms).

Special software is required to use some of the files in this course: .zip, .sldprt, .xls, .swj, .sldasm, .rpt, .xlo, .igs, .rm, .ord, and .dxf.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The book is over 200 pages long, although some of the later sections are incomplete or draft, and is available as a PDF, postscript or LaTeX file.

Physical metallurgy encompasses the relationships between the composition, structure, processing history and properties of metallic materials. The seminar from which these images are taken seminar introduces metallurgy in a particularly “physical” way. The students do blacksmithing, metal casting, machining, and welding, using both traditional and modern methods. The seminar meets once per week for an evening laboratory session, and once per week for discussion of issues in materials science and engineering that tie in to the laboratory work. Students begin by completing some specified projects and progress to designing and fabricating one forged and one cast piece.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

Product Design and Development is a project-based course that covers modern tools and methods for product design and development. The cornerstone is a project in which teams of management, engineering, and industrial design students conceive, design and prototype a physical product. Class sessions are conducted in workshop mode and employ cases and hands-on exercises to reinforce the key ideas. Topics include identifying customer needs, concept generation, product architecture, industrial design, and design-for-manufacturing.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

The course aims to introduce students to the creative design process, based on the scientific method and peer review, by application of fundamental principles and learning to complete projects according to schedule and within budget. The subject relies on active learning through a major team-based design-and-build project focused on the need for a new consumer product identified by each team. Topics to be learned while teams create, design, build, and test their product ideas include formulating strategies, concepts and modules, and estimation, concept selection, machine elements, design for manufacturing, visual thinking, communication, teamwork, and professional responsibilities.

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]

This is an advanced course on modelling, design, integration and best practices for use of machine elements such as bearings, springs, gears, cams and mechanisms. Modelling and analysis of these elements is based upon extensive application of physics, mathematics and core mechanical engineering principles (solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, manufacturing, estimation, computer simulation, etc.). These principles are reinforced via (1) hands-on laboratory experiences wherein students conduct experiments and disassemble machines and (2) a substantial design project wherein students model, design, fabricate and characterize a mechanical system that is relevant to a real world application. Students master the materials via problems sets that are directly related to, and coordinated with, the deliverables of their project. Student assessment is based upon mastery of the course materials and the student’s ability to synthesize, model and fabricate a mechanical device subject to engineering constraints (e.g. cost and time/schedule).

[Description and screenshot taken from MIT OCW page for this course. (c) MIT used under the terms of their CC-NC-SA license.]