Reading

Before the first class, please read

• Big ideas for Capstone design
• Chapters 1 and 2 in the textbook by Mattson and Sorenson

Learning Objectives

At the end of this class you should be able to

• Describe the relationship of ME 491 to the entire capstone sequence
• Explain the basic ideas of team formation in ME 491 and how it differs for team formation for ME 492 and ME 493
• Describe the goal of the design competition for ME 491
• Know where find a description of the big ideas in Capstone
• Describe the purpose of making sketches for the first homework assignment
• Describe the different roles and goals of the public web site and D2L sites for ME 491.

Lecture Slides

• Overview of Capstone
• Introduction to the design competition

What are we going to do in this course?

1. Design, fabricate and test a device to "rescue" Lego minifigures
2. Study design techniques from the textbook by Mattson and Sorension
3. Practice rapid-prototyping as a method of improving design knowledge and implementation
4. Practice teamwork skills
5. Write a project proposal to a capstone sponsor for your team project in ME 492-493

What do I assume/expect you to know?

• Course content from all prerequisites, especially ME 3xx courses
• Standards of professional behavior
  • Knowledge of professional ethics from ME 370
  • A basic knowledge of working in teams
• How to use hand tools or a willingness to learn how.

How are we going to achieve our goals

• See "what we are going to do", above
• Weekly meetings in Shattuck Hall
  • Short lectures
  • In-class activities, mostly in groups
  • Some visitors
• Weekly assignments and mini-projects
• Making prototypes to explore design concepts and verify performance of engineering subsystems.

Sign-up For MELT Workshops

The Mechanical Engineering Lab Team (MELT) is a student group interested in learning about and promoting manufacturing within the BSME program. See the MELT info page for a brief summary and links to the MELT web site.

To support rapid-prototyping in ME 491, the MELT will be offering extra training workshops on laser cutting and 3D printing only for ME 491 students. Use this Google form to sign up for the MELT workshops on laser cutting.