Engineering Design & Drawing

In this ‘Capstone’ course students design, engineer and build a prototype for a product. The major emphases are on the design and problem solving process; the writing process; engineering skills; time management skills; patent and speech presentations from established guidelines. The culmination of the final project in the course is threefold: 1) the creation of a product that solves a specific problem; 2) a written product report that outlines the work done on the pathway to developing the product; and 3) a portfolio that includes the engineering journal, product report, drawings, data, meeting notes, etc. This is an engineering research course in which students work in teams to research, design and construct a solution to an open-ended engineering problem. Students apply principles developed in the four preceding courses and are guided by a community mentor. They must present progress reports, submit a final written report and defend their solutions to a panel of outside reviewers at the end of the school year.

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Unit 1:  Course Intro.
Students will set up their engineer’s notebook, begin assembly of their portfolio, create personal business cards, learn proper project management skills, and review a 12 step design process.

Students will be asked to identify the design process steps used in given scenarios, explain the process used to organize a research project, apply engineering notebook standards and protocols when documenting work, define and demonstrate time management skills, and distinguish between when it is appropriate to use technical writing and expository writing styles.

1.1  Introduction to EDD

Unit 2:  Problem Identification
 Students will brainstorm problem statements, write concise problem statements, document research that justifies their problem statement, document the project’s progress, and seek expert feedback regarding their preliminary problem statement.

2.1  Introduction to Problem Statement
2.2  Verify & Justify the Problem

Unit 3:  Research
Students will research cases, investigate the merit of their design solution, research patents, and research innovations and inventions. Students will be asked to create a market research, self-assess their research, create a decision matrix, develop research strategies, write a fictional scenario for an innovation, conduct a trend analysis on a technical problem, and sketch an invention and innovation to a technical problem.

3.1  Research & Development
3.2  Investigate Current & Past Solutions
3.3  Invent or Innovate

Unit 4:  Decision Process
Students will use criteria to create product specifications for their design solution. Students will be asked to evaluate their design solution, select the best solution using a decision matrix, and graphically represent the results of the design solution evaluation.

4.1  Defining Product Specifications

Unit 5:  Design
Students will use 3D modeling software to create working drawings of their design solution. Students will be asked to sketch all parts of their design solution, create a set of working drawings of their design solution, interpret and apply feedback from experts, and refine their design solution.

5.1  Sketching & Technical Drawing

Unit 6:  Build
Students will use safe tool machine practices as they build their prototype for testing. Students will be asked to identify safe practices for the use of tools, create a detailed set of instructions for producing a testable prototype based on their research, identify methods and sources for obtaining materials and supplies, compile a materials list to build their prototype, write a step-by-step procedure for the assembly of their prototype, and build a working prototype that can be tested.

6.1  Building a Prototype

Unit 7:  Test
Students will select a testing method for their design solution. Students will be asked to describe the testing method for their design solution, devise testing criteria to evaluate the success of their testing method, apply statistical analysis to the test results, and implement needed modifications to their design solution based on the test results.

7.1  Test Methods
7.2  Test Designed Solution

Unit 8:  Presentation
Students will gather data and information compiled throughout the project and select the appropriate format to depict all aspects of their design solution. Students will be asked to orally present an effective technical presentation on the chosen design solution to a panel of experts, write a resume, and update their portfolios.

8.1  Project Documentation
8.2  Presentation