Integration of seamless design, analysis and manufacturing concepts into undergraduate mechanics courses

Abstract

Summary form only given. In this paper, several projects that have been or are being assigned to mechanics students are described. Seamless design to manufacturing capabilities have been used in courses at all levels of undergraduate instruction. In particular, efforts at integrating these concepts into the departmental freshman-level fundamentals of mechanical engineering course have served as the ultimate test of the practicality of using sophisticated software packages in large undergraduate courses. Current outcomes and future plans for this effort are also summarized.