Activities
Activity 7.1 and 6.4
Activity 5.6
5.5b, 5.5a, and 5.2b Conclusions
Activity 5.2a
4.1.cActivity 3.7
Engineers use various tools to make their jobs easier. Spreadsheets can greatly improve the accuracy and efficiency of repetitive and common calculations; therefore, engineers often employ spreadsheet applications in their work.
In this activity you will collect data and use Microsoft Excel to perform statistical analyses and create a statistical chart to display your data. Activity 3.4.a
If you were given the responsibility of going to a store and purchasing a throw rug that had to fit within a room in your home, how would you communicate the shape and size of the room to the salesperson?
Given the sketching skills that you’ve developed, you would probably sketch a top view of the room on a piece of paper. This would be useful, but a sketch alone only communicates shape information. A shape has a size that must be communicated in order to make intelligent design decisions. Information about an object’s size must be conveyed using dimensions. In manufacturing, a part must be dimensioned fully and correctly and to the proper precision. Otherwise, the part may not function properly or may not fit into an assembly as intended. Dimensioning errors can lead to a delay in production time, increased design and manufacturing costs, and a potentially unsafe product. In this activity, you will apply your knowledge of dimensioning to identify dimensioning errors and provide missing dimensions on multi-view drawings. You will also fully dimension multi-view sketches according to dimensioning guidelines. Activity 3.1.a
Modern civilization cannot exist without measurement systems. Measurements are everywhere, and you use them every day. Every time you buy gas, check the outside temperature, or step on a weight scale, measurements are used to represent a quantity. The abilities to conduct, record, and convert measurements are necessary to understand our technological world and to carry on the business of living. The fields of science, engineering, and mathematics use measurements extensively in the processes of discovery and design.
An interesting aspect of measurement is that a single quantity can be measured in different ways. I may describe the height of a horse in hands, feet, or meters. I can give the length of a property line in chains, miles, or meters. The units commonly used to measure a quantity can change with time and across borders. In the past it was not necessary to understand the system of measurement used by people outside of your local area, but today the world is a global marketplace. The United States is the only developed country that does not use the International System of Units. In order to participate in the global market, we must be able to understand and communicate using various measurement systems. An object that is designed in the United States may end up being manufactured in another country. Due to the global nature of technology, engineered objects must often be communicated in SI (modern metric) units. With respect to measurements within the science, engineering, and mathematical communities, accuracy and precision of measurements is extremely important. Often the correctness of a measurement is critical to the work of scientist, engineers, and mathematicians and must be carefully considered. In this activity you will practice taking linear using SI measurements with a metric ruler and correctly recording the measurements to reflect the precision of the measurement. Activity 2.3
Objects to be produced accurately often require more than a pictorial sketch. Multi-view drawings provide an accurate representation of an object which can be used to create a physical object. Typically multi-view drawings are used to show views of the faces of the object as if the viewer is looking directly at that face so that the line of sight is perpendicular to the face. This depicts the surface as the true size and shape.
The idea of orthogonal projections can be demonstrated using a glass box. Place an object in a glass box so that the faces of the object are parallel to the sides of the box. The features of each surface of the object can be projected onto a side of the glass box by drawing lines to indicate the object edges on the glass box surfaces. In this activity you will design and build a box from a flat sheet of transparency film. You will then use your glass box to help you sketch orthogonal projections of an object and create multi-view drawings. Activity 2.1
How do reading the face of a clock and sketching isometric pictorials relate to each other? Picture a cube in your mind. All of the surfaces of the cube form right angles with their adjacent faces. If you were to draw an isometric pictorial of the cube, you would see that the edges point toward 2 and 8 o’clock, 4 and 10 o’clock, and 6 and 12 o’clock. This idea helps when sketching isometric pictorials on writing surfaces that do not have isometric grids.
Isometrics are a common pictorial used both for concept sketches and to represent designs in technical drawings. Activity 2.4
It’s a very common occurrence to see a product advertisement and think, “I thought of an idea for something like that just a few months ago.” People spend a lot of time in their various interest areas and envision ideas for making things work better. Spend some time with someone who has a permanent disability and see how many product ideas come to mind that would provide a degree of freedom to a person who has lost a physical capability. Coming up with wonderful ideas are only the first step in developing solutions to problems. At some point, ideas must be built.
You’ve practiced different techniques for sketching objects so that they appear to have a three-dimensional quality. These techniques are excellent for quickly communicating ideas to both technical and non-technical people. Those who make their living building ideas require a different type of drawing format. A multi-view sketch, also referred to as an orthographic projection sketch, is the standard sketch format used by engineers to communicate ideas to professionals in the building trades. However, pictorials do not provide accurate information about the true size and shape of an object and all of its features. It is often the case that engineered objects have features and edges that are obscured by the standard surface views of a multi-view drawing. These views require hidden lines. When engineers create drawings of cylindrical objects, or objects that have holes, they must represent their axes and axes points with centerlines. Knowing how to sketch and interpret multi-views is an important skill for any engineer. In this activity, you will develop your ability to see and sketch objects as a series of related two-dimensional views. Understanding and using the different line conventions, discussed earlier in this lesson, will help when creating these views. What is it Activity
Engineering and design require creativity and the ability to problem solve. You must be able to gather new information, continually learn, and apply what you know to new situations. Engineers try to think “outside the box” in order to solve new problems or find ways to improve current solutions. In this activity you will act as an engineer and provide an explanation and evaluation of a product that you have hypothetically designed.
Shopping Cart Redesign Design Brief Actvity
How do professional design companies work through a design process? The video you are about to see chronicles the efforts of a world-renowned design firm, as they apply their process to the redesign of a common, everyday product.
One of the best-documented examples of the design process in action took place in Palo Alto, California, at an industrial design firm called IDEO. ABC News gave IDEO the challenge of redesigning the old and familiar shopping cart in just five days. Nightline chronicled the experience and aired the program on February 9, 1999. This short documentary reinforces the idea that fantastic solutions can be produced under very difficult constraints when the designers have a commitment to the problem, a firm understanding of a design process, and a willingness to operate as a team. In this activity you will watch the Deep Dive documentary and record information related to the design process used in the redesign of a shopping cart. |
Activity 7.2
Activity 5.4.a
Activity 5.1
4.1.b
Activity 3.8
This concept of random and systematic errors is related to the precision and accuracy of measurements. Precision characterizes the system's probability of providing the same result every time a sample is measured (related to random error). Accuracy characterizes the system's ability to provide a mean close to the true value when a sample is measured many times (related to systematic error). We can determine the precision of a measurement instrument by making repeated measurements of the same sample and calculating the standard deviation of those measurements. However, we will not be able to correct any single measurement due to a low precision instrument. Simply stated, the effects of random uncertainties can be reduced by repeated measurement, but it is not possible to correct for random errors.
We can determine the accuracy of a measurement instrument by comparing the experimental mean of a large number of measurements of a sample for which we know the "true value" of the characteristic of the sample. A sample for which we know the "true value" would be our calibration standard. We may also need to characterize the accuracy of the measurement instrument by observing historical trends in the distribution of measured values for the calibration standard (this allows for determining the systematic error expected from environmental effects, etc.). The effects of systematic uncertainties cannot be reduced by repeated measurements. The cause of systematic errors may be known or unknown. If both the cause and the value of a systematic error are known, it can be corrected for by "subtracting" the known deviation. However, there will still remain a systematic uncertainty component associated with this correction. Activity 3.5
Today’s consumers are constantly trying to judge the quality of products. But what is quality? How and by whom is quality determined? Some would say the designer creates specifications, which in turn dictate the quality of a product. That quality is also based on the acceptable value of a part within a whole product. Statistics are commonly used in manufacturing processes to control and maintain quality. This activity will allow you to apply statistics in order to analyze and determine the quality of a set of wooded cubes.
In this activity you will collect data and then perform statistical analyses to determine measures of central tendency and variation of the data. You will also represent the data using a histogram. Activity 3.1.b
The United States is the only developed country that does not use the International System of Units. The U S Customary units are the accepted units of measure. However, due to the global nature of the economy, SI units are also common. In order to participate in the global market, we must be able to understand and communicate using various measurement systems.
In this activity you will practice taking linear measurements using a standard ruler marked in US Customary units and correctly recording the measurements to reflect the precision of the measurement. Activity 2.5
Sketching is a valuable engineering skill that needs to be developed through practice. Through practice you will be able to communicate your vision of your idea.
In this activity you will apply the skills that you learned earlier in this lesson to more complex objects. Gossamer Condor Design Brief
What would you do if you had a teacher that expected you to complete an assignment, but refused to tell you what the assignment was? Imagine, too, that the result of this assignment was expected to be submitted in a specific format, which was also not explained to you. Oh yes, and there was a due date. But you were not told what that was either. How could a person be expected to accomplish anything under such conditions?
Engineers need to know what problems they are addressing. They must have an idea about the degree to which the solution should be carried out, along with what the solution should do to solve the problem. The engineer must also work within constraints, such as time and budget. A design brief is a tool that is used to concisely identify the problem, solution expectations, and project constraints. The engineer will often return to the design brief throughout a design process to assess the progress and validity of his or her creative work. Design briefs will be used throughout the Introduction to Engineering DesignTM course. Long term projects will be initiated with design briefs, and as you become a more proficient designer, you will be required to write your own. This activity is designed to guide you through the development of a design brief by observing a design project from start to finish. The information gained in this lesson will not only help you understand how to create a design brief, it will also allow you to observe the design process in action. 1.3 Activity
You have heard the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Visualization through images (as opposed to words) allows people to absorb large amounts of data quickly. Sketching is an important skill for engineers and designers. Sketches provide a means through which one can quickly and clearly communicate ideas. Representing existing objects and new ideas with sketches can make the design process more effective and efficient and greatly enhance the ability of others to understand your ideas.
One of the most important skills necessary to create an accurate sketch that realistically represents an object is the ability to make careful observations of the characteristics of that object. Paying close attention to the underlying basic shapes and the relative proportions of various features of the object will allow you to more accurately reflect the true shapes and proportions of the object in your sketch. Another important key to success in sketching is practice. As is true with most activities (like playing lacrosse, solving Sudoku puzzles, and beating the system in Guitar Hero), the more experience you gain, the better you will perform. So consider carrying a pencil with you wherever you go. When you notice something interesting, something that can be improved, or something you would like to share, make a quick sketch instead of taking a picture. Your sketching skill will improve, you will impress your friends and family with your ability, and you will become a more competent designer. In this activity you will sketch a variety of objects in your engineering notebook. The goal is to produce hand drawn representations of real objects that closely resemble the actual objects and that appear 3 dimensional. In this activity, you will focus on obtaining the correct shape and proportions of each object from a single “straight-on” or orthographic view and add shading to produce a more realistic 3 dimensional affect. You will start with simple forms and progress to more complicated products. Some examples of student-produced sketches are provided. |
Activity 6.2 and 6.3
Activity 4.1.a
Activity 3.9
Today’s consumers are constantly trying to judge the quality of products. But what is quality? How and by whom is quality determined? Some would say the designer creates specifications, which in turn dictate the quality of a product. That quality is also based on the acceptable value of a part within a whole product. Statistics are commonly used in manufacturing processes to control and maintain quality. This activity will allow you to apply statistics in order to analyze and determine the quality (as measured by the consistency of the size) of wooden cubes. The wooden cubes will be used in the Puzzle Cube Challenge in the next Unit. You will design and construct a puzzle cube as part of the challenge. The consistency in size of the wooden cubes will affect the quality of your final product.
In this activity you will collect data and then perform a statistical analysis to estimate measures of central tendency and variation of a product (wooden cubes). You will represent the data using a histogram, establish criteria for an acceptable size of the product, and use the Empirical Rule to eliminate product samples that are outside an acceptable range. Activity 3.6 Fling Machine
There are many ways to solve a problem. Sometimes it is as simple as applying a piece of duct tape. Other times it takes months or years for a product to progress from an idea into full-scale production. In this activity your team will quickly design and build a device that will send a cotton ball as far as possible through the air.
Activity 3.2.a
Engineers of all disciplines are constantly required to work with measurements of a variety of quantities – length, area, volume, mass, force, time, temperature, electric current, etc. It is often necessary to be able to express those measurements in different units. For example, when designing a water distribution piping system, it is important to know how much water pressure is lost as the fluid flows through the pipe. The pressure loss depends on the length of the pipe which is often measured in miles. One formula that is sometimes used to calculate pressure loss requires that the pipe length be input in feet. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to convert miles to feet.
In other situations you may be forced to work between the SI and U S Customary measurement systems. Say, for example, that as a U S company, your product is manufactured and produced based on U S Customary units. However, a European company would like a proposal to incorporate your system into their existing assembly line, the characteristics of which are based on SI units. You must be able to convert between the two systems in order to provide a proposal for a design which includes your company’s U S product. In this activity you will convert measurements among units in both the U S Customary System and the SI system, and you will convert quantities between the two systems of measurement. You will also gain experience with converting units among units that are not specific to one measurement system (such as people and tanks of water) and use the skills you learn to solve everyday problems (such as calculating the cost of gas to travel a given distance). B/C Worksheet
Extension Sketching Activity
Activity 2.2
If you can stand on a straight road and look down the road, it appears as if the sides of the road eventually narrow to one point. The center of the road vanishes when the road meets the horizon. If the road is straight enough and long enough, the sides of the road not only look like they are converging to a single point, but the road seems to appear to vanish as it meets the horizon. A similar effect occurs if you stare upward from the base of a tall building. The vertical edges of the building will appear to angle in toward each other. This effect is called perspective.
The human eye sees the world in perspective. Objects that are further away from the eye appear smaller, and edges appear to recede into the distance. Perspective sketches depict objects in much the same way that the human eye sees the world. There are three different types of perspective drawings: one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective. The different types of sketches are frequently used by architects, industrial designers, and illustrators when representing large scale objects or environments in which the effect of distance must be taken into consideration. In this activity, you will practice your sketching skills by generating perspective views based on provided isometric views of objects. You will also apply your skills by creating one-point and two-point perspective of other imagined or real objects that you choose. 1.7 Activity
What is engineering? Many people have difficulty answering this question. In fact, engineering is a diverse field – there are many disciplines within engineering that can involve the application of a very different body of knowledge and skills. Nearly everything that is not “natural” (i.e., created by Mother Nature) most likely was designed and created with input from engineers. The shampoo you used this morning to wash your hair, the technology that cleans the water you drink, the buildings in which you live, work, and attend school, and the iPhone you use to communicate all involved the expertise of engineers in the initial design, building and testing, and final production.
All engineers are problems solvers. The differences among engineers in varying disciplines are dependent on the types of problems that they solve. In general there are four major disciplines within the engineering field: chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical. Many other engineering disciplines are derived as an extension of or specialization within one of these major disciplines. For example, environmental engineering is a subcategory of civil engineering. Other engineering disciplines have resulted from the combination of aspects of two or more of the major disciplines. Mechatronics is a relatively new branch of engineering that incorporates both mechanical and electrical engineering principles. In this activity you will investigate the four major disciplines of engineering and consider their impact on you and the world. |