It has been a long semester with many hours of time put into the design and manufacturing of our machine, and now that it has finally come to an end, it is to reflect.
In class lectures, we received a thorough introduction to design and manufacturing processes. First, we learned about the creative process behind coming up with an innovative design. We then learned how to visualize our design using hand drawings, like orthographic views, and using computer aided design programs like Solidworks. In our preliminary designs, we were taught to use fundamental design principles, such as simplicity and constraint, to make the most efficient machine possible. Then we came together as a team to decide on what designs we liked and which we could use for our course project. This task always is difficult because every group member has their idea of the direction they want to go with the design, and the group has to narrow the ideas down to one comprehensive design that will work. Once a design is agreed on, the manufacturing process begins. Through training sessions and class lectures, we were given and introduction to machining processes and learned how to use the mill, lathe, laser-cutter, and water jet. These processes proved to be extremely useful in the manufacturing of our machine, which was mostly made on the mill and water jet. My favorite part was the solid plate across the back of our machine spelling out our team name, made on the water jet. Safety was stressed while being taught how to use the machines, which is always important working with heavy equipment.
During the last half of the class, we were very stressed for time. If we knew that it would take as long as it did to master the machines and to get enough hours on them, we definitely would have started in the shop before we did. I learned the importance of building in time for things to go wrong because, especially when working with new equipment, they usually do.
This course on design and manufacturing has probably taught me more about practical engineering than I have learned anywhere else, which is why it has been one of my favorite courses. With saying that, there might be a few things I would do to improve the course. First, I would emphasize to the students that machining needs to be started earlier due to time constraints with getting on machines, especially the mill. During the time leading up to the milestones, our group had a very had time getting mill time when it was needed. This was partly due to that fact that we were all new to the machines. It took a few sessions to get familiar with the equipment so that we could get pieces done quicker. Also, during the introduction of the game, we were made to believe that some tasks on the table were more possible than they actually were. For example, some slides were dedicated to calculations on pushing the tower, but many groups tried this strategy and none were successful. The competition, for the majority of the games, came down to who could move balls from the front edge of the table to the goal. This made the game less exciting than it could have been if other strategies were more reasonably achievable.
I believe that I, as well as my team, did relatively well overall in this course. Our machine turned out to be manufactured well and was very sturdy. One thing we could have done better would have been to get started well before the milestones were due so that mistakes could be fixed in the time period. Also, we could have checked the validity of our calculations to make sure they were correct and that we could achieve our strategy realistically. If we would have realized that pushing the tower would be so difficult, we could have incorporated a design more skilled at other tasks.
In conclusion, this class has been a valuable hands-on experience that has taught me a lot. I never would have envisioned our team being able to build such a machine out of pieces of metal before this class; nonetheless, we did! Had it not been for the significantly bigger hinge on the second table, our team could have been much more successful in the competition. Thanks to the GSI’s for all their help on the project and all the hours they spent in the lab. It’s been fun!
Trevor
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