Rapid Mechanical Prototyping for the Design Lab
Problem statement
Students of all different backgrounds in prototyping and design come into the ME senior year design course. Some have years of experience machining and creating mechanical components and others have never been in a machine shop outside of the classroom. In addition, the problems they are presented with are a wide variety, meaning even a seasoned designer could benefit from a starting point. Having a base point students can jump off from will increase their ability to prototype rapidly. Students wouldn’t have to wait for parts to come in or spend money from their budget that could be put elsewhere. Also, between studying, work, and organization involvement, a student’s time is very valuable. Cutting down research or build time can be beneficial to how much progress can be made on a senior design project. Our campus offers a plethora of manufacturing machines at the Makerspace and TEAMLab, including 3D printers, CNC routers, mills, and lathes. However, these tools are only useful for students if they know how to take advantage of them. Something missing in the senior design lab space is starting level prototypes that tie together what students learn in the classroom with something they can use in their projects. This may look like exploring various sources of power, setting up a pneumatic circuit, or selecting machine element parts such as gears or shafts. The fabrication time of these base prototypes generally take over 50% of a project’s timeline [1]. Time saved from having to build preliminary testing models, simple motors, or circuits, for example, could instead be put into reworking their next design. We intend for students to build on these preliminary prototypes and implement more advanced additions into their final solution. These rapid prototyping workspaces will decrease the total time from initial idea to fully realized solution. [1] M. C. Yang, “A study of prototypes, design activity, and design outcome,” Design Studies, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 649–669, 2005.
Team members
Christian Torres – leader
Elle Cooper – communicator
Corinn Sievwright – accountant
Luke Krupka – admin
Client
Dr. Michael Cheadle, UW – Madison