Frith Practical Engineering Laboratory

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Frith Practical Engineering Laboratory
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The Notion

• First year students today tend to come in with
• goodvirtual skills, but with limited tinkering
• and hands-on experiences with devices
• and consumer products

• A new first year course is being created for
• all incoming engineering students to introduce
• them to design and reverse engineering
• by using a hands-on approach

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Preliminary Considerations

• History
• Proposal first submitted 1992
• Accepted 1996 in revised form
• NSF - SUCCEED Funding 1997
• Fall 1997 Pilot Offering
• Spring 1998 Expansion
• Fall 1998 Full Laboratory
• Spring 1999 Lego RCX Lab

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• Early Observations
• May not be suitable for every first year
  engineering student
• such as the mechanically inclined
• Some of the students have very little knowledge
  of mechanical / electrical devices - Keep it
  simple
• Emphasize hands-on, de-emphasize lectures and
  lab reports
• Use common objects and devices
• Tap industry for donations

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Fall Semester 1997
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Syllabus
Week 1 Introduction Week 2 Team Building
exercises/tool intro Week 3 Camera
Dissection Week 4 Camera Dissection Week 5
Technical Writing Seminar Week 6 Bicycle Lab -
Introduction Week 7 Bicycle Lab - measurements
and Calc Week 8 Bicycle Lab - Take apart Week
9 Computer Hard-drives Week 10 Computer
internals Week 11 PowerPoint Presentation of Fav
Lab
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Kodak Disposable Camera Laboratory
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Bicycle Design Dissection Laboratory
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Computer Hard Disks
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Computers
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Spring Semester 1998
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Spring 1998
Product Design Dissection Kodak FunSaver
Camera Objectives

• To Gain hands-on experience in the assembly and
• disassembly of mechanical systems.
• To speculate on the design and gain an intuitive
• understanding of how the design accomplishes its
• objective, and how it meets any imposed
  constraints
• (cost, ease of use, recyclability, green
  engineering, etc.)

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Camera Dissection Laboratory
Spring Semester 1998 all 1200 students
enrolled in EF1016 - The Engineering Design
Graphics course participated in the Camera
Dissection Laboratory.
Camera Teams at Work
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Camera Dissection Laboratory
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Camera Dissection Laboratory
Students work in teams of two and share the tasks
of physical dissection, sketching, and design
analysis.
Camera Teams at Work
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Sample Instructions for Camera Laboratory
FunSaver Camera Dissection Background and
reference materials assembly drawing, parts
list (pages 2-3), article "Design for
Recyclability Kodak's Single-Use Camera by A.
Van De Moere Manufacturing processes introduced
plastic injection molding Activities
dissection, sketching, detective work,
understanding assembly prints Required tools
bare hands, micrometer Required laboratory time
approximately 2 hours What should you get out of
this? An appreciation for design, an
understanding of manufacturing and assembly
processes, a holistic view of what goes into a
product
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Exploded Assembly of Kodak FunSaver
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Fall Semester 1998
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Fall Semester 1998

• Devices for Fall 1998 Laboratory
• Black Decker Electric Drills
• Computer Hard Drives
• Briggs Stratton Engines
• Computers
• Kodak FunSaver Cameras
• Aero Lab ISE Tour

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Fall Semester 1998

• Other activities for
• Fall Labs Included
• Team Building Lecture Exercises
• Technical Writing and Presentation
• WEB research on design sites
• PowerPoint Presentations

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Fall Semester 1998

• As a result of support from the College of
  Engineering,
• NSF - SUCCEED funding, industry donations of
  product
• and money, as well as a sizable donation from the
  Friths,
• the following activities occured during fall
  semester 1998
• Eight sections of full Laboratory (256 students)
• Renovation of Laboratory Space in Room 3
• in basement of Randolph Hall
• We moved into the new space January 1999

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Spring Semester 1999
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Laboratory Room 3 - Renovation
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Laboratory Room 3 - Previous State
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Laboratory Room 3 - Current State
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Spring 1999 LEGO RCX
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Laboratory Room 3 - LEGO
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Laboratory Room 3 - LEGO
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Student Comments

• What value did you create in this laboratory?
• Learned how to work in a team
• Not afraid of taking things apart anymore
• Gained understanding of how things work
  problems of
• engineering
• Allowing us to find out on our own how to take
  them apart
• How to use various tools
• Better understanding of reverse engineering
• Paying close attention to every step in the lab
  in order
• to put the product back together

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Conclusion

• As a result of the hands-on dissection
• and design analysis experience, Students
• Are more engaged in the learning process, hence
  retain
• more
• Exhibit more self confidence with regard to
  disassembly
• of common products and devices
• Demonstrate more interest in engineering and
  design
• See engineering and design as fun, challenging,
  and
• rewarding activities

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Finis (go take something apart)