Learning to Exploit Tolerances: An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise in System Design of an Instrument

Abstract

A laboratory exercise is described that introduces the engineering student to design to meet a customer specification. The student learns to appreciate the system-engineering nature of design, where multiple objectives need to be satisfied. The design vehicle is one of the most conceptually simple instruments, namely a voltmeter based on a moving-coil movement. The student finds out how to reduce cost by making maximum use of the tolerance-forming part of the customer specification. He or she learns how both deterministic and statistical methods may be brought to bear. The statistical method applied may also be of more general interest to instrument designers working in industry.