An Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design for Sophomores at Purdue University

Abstract

AbstractUniversities play a key role in developing future engineers who understand the full scope of the product realization process, and are well equipped to produce effective, creative solutions to open‐ended problems. A key step toward instilling the problem‐solving mind‐set in students is to lay the proper foundation early. Thus, a new cornerstone course, Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Design, has been developed in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University to bridge the gap between the freshman science and mathematics courses, and the more traditional mechanical engineering core courses such as thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and machine design.This paper presents the goals of the new sophomore course, some details of its implementation, and results of the first three offerings. The primary goal of the course is to teach the students effective strategies for solving problems that have many acceptable solutions. This goal is met by a mixture of design theory presentations and design practice in a carefully guided semester‐long project. Distinction is made throughout the course between effective problem‐solving strategies for single‐solution problems, common in math, physics, and chemistry courses for example, and multiple‐solution problem‐solving strategies. Results from the first three offerings of this course indicate that it is changing the way students approach problems in their later courses. Plans for future revisions of the course are also included.