After taking ME250 I’ve developed a stronger appreciation for people involved in the design and manufacturing process of even everyday objects. The level of foresight needed became apparent during our project when glitches would pop up and force us to adapt our design. For example: not adequately factoring in the space needed for bolt heads and the extra material in the corner of an angle bracket, or the difficulty assembling parts with fasteners in restricted areas. Additionally, getting to build the parts ourselves in the machine shop was probably the best way to impart the importance of making good engineering drawings, as well as giving us an idea of the capabilities/limitations of the machining equipment. Despite the sometimes aggravating on-the-job-training, the design and manufacturing component was the most fun part of this class. Being given guidelines and a goal to work towards (the competition) and then being allowed to design and build on our own was definitely preferable to just reading a book or getting lectured about the design process.
The team aspect of the course was a good way to see people’s different methods of problem solving. Even before we formed teams, the peer review process on the early milestones showed me the huge range of ideas people came up with to play the game, most of them in ways I never would have thought of. After getting in our teams we were able to combine our individual ideas into concepts that were much more capable than anyone’s alone. We also ran into some challenges, though, as it was often difficult for our team to get together because of our varied schedules. This was especially bad when it came to the labs and GSI meetings that were performed outside of normal class time. When it came time to begin machining our parts this also meant that we were often working alone, and a heavy load fell on the more experienced members because those without prior machining experience weren’t able to get as much done by themselves. However, I feel that everyone contributed as best as they could in the areas that they were strong.
One thing I think could improve the course would be to spend less time on the individual milestones in the beginning of the class. The strategy and concept portions could be condensed so that students form into teams sooner, potentially allowing for more build time. Also, the bike lab didn’t feel like it had a direct benefit towards this class, and it might have been nice to have done the motor lab sooner to get a chance to explore the capabilities of the motors. I know my teammates have mentioned the disappointing performance of the dual gearbox, so I won’t beat a dead horse other than to say that I can understand that trying to make do with low power motors might be more effective for learning than giving us more than we need, but it was still frustrating. It seems like the slotbots game was more complex than the last time, but the resources in materials and time didn’t keep pace with that increase. A lot of teams set their sights high for their bots, but weren’t able to realize their visions.
One thing that I think could have helped me in this class is if I had been able to get more time and practice on some of the equipment. Some things in the shop I never got a chance to see used, like the laser cutter. Another thing I’ll try to take to my future classes is the importance of designing and building in smaller steps and getting to testing sooner. For example, our MCM had a lot of parts that had to come together before we could do try it out. By the time we got our car powered up and saw the limitations of its performance, it was too late to redesign with different motors or gearing.
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