I doubt that I have learned in any class at Michigan so far as much as I have learned in ME 250 this semester. This has truly been a rewarding experience. At the beginning of the semester we were told that our project would be to design a machine that we would hook up to an RC control box and drive around to collect balls and deposit them in a hole. While it was exciting to think that by the end of the term, this would be something that we had accomplished, I had no idea how this would be something feasible for me to do. I had no idea how to build a machine within tolerances, so that it would fit together exactly as I saw it in my head. I did not know how I could possibly hope to become competent enough to engineer a remote controlled functional machine. Now at the end of all of this, I am positively proud of what I accomplished this semester, and of the machine that my team and I put together. Despite a poor showing in competition, I maintain that we would have had the best functioning robot of anyone and won the competition had we used wheels on the front instead of the ball caster.
I learned this semester how to come up with an idea, and use the design process to bring this idea to life. I learned how to be an engineer. With the help of my teammates, I was able to design a machine to meet certain tasks and qualifications, and then make our design a reality in manufacturing it. It was a fun process seeing it all come together from the Lathe, Mill, and Waterjet. It was particularly enjoyable when we had to make difficult pieces like our aluminum coupling for the metal motors. While this was frustrating, there was an immense feeling of accomplishment when it ended up working, and came together as planned. The best feeling in the world was the first time we drove the machine, and everything just ran so smoothly. If there is one thing that I am utterly proud of in this project, it is the quality of our manufacturing. Everything worked exactly as it should (outside of the ball caster, but that is more of a design flaw). I felt that our design was the most efficient that we could have gone for, but it might have been fun to do something a little more creative and exciting with it. I really had a great time working with my teammates, and because of less enjoyable team experiences in the past, I really realized the value in a solid team. We all got along well, and I have a whole lot of respect for my partners. They are some of the most intelligent and hard working people I have ever met. Our success was largely due to our ability to work together while still doing our own separate things that we were most comfortable doing. There were very few issues that I had with our team, and without my teammates, I could not hope to be as proud of this project as I am.
This course could be improved with more time in the machine shop and in the lab. We simply needed more time in the shop to comfortably manufacture our machine. We finished our machining on the last day without too much concern, but there literally had to be two of us in the lab and shop for at least 4 hours a day every day for us to do this. I was in the lab for more than 4 hours every day except the Saturday and Sunday for the last week and a half and Trevor was still there more than me, I think he might have lived in the shop during this project. We had to have that happen in order for us to complete the project, and I think that is a bit excessive. Also the 8:30 am was just tough, changing that would do wonders. I found it very difficult to get up in time to travel to North for lecture, and when I did, I found it even more difficult to stay awake during lecture. I eventually stopped going, and tried to teach everything to myself, which showed on my exam score. The best way that I could have improved my performance would have been by going to class or by making a better effort to understand and retain what I was learning when I tried to teach it to myself.
In all though, I really did have a good time with this class, am very proud of our machine, and enjoyed working with my teammates. I had a good time developing relationships with the GSI’s during all the hours spent in the lab, and cannot thank them enough for their help. I also took great pleasure in getting the number 4 seed and rubbing it in Davor’s doubtful face, that was a great time. While stressful and I don’t miss it, it was a fun semester.
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