ME 448Engineering Design Concepts

3 credits · Mechanical Engineering · Penn State

Engineering design and modelling, engineering economic analysis techniques, technical communication skills, project planning and design. M E 448 Engineering Design Concepts (3)This course is the first of a two-part sequence of courses that make up the capstone design experience in the ME BD major (the second course is M E 449, Mechanical Design Projects). In this course students study the engineering design process, begin working on their design project, and learn about professional topics related to industry. Topics in the engineering design process include customer needs identification, development of engineering specifications, concept generation, concept selection, costing, and project planning. Professional topics include communication, team work, ethics, safety, sustainability, globalization, and engineering economics. Students are evaluated on the design process and professional topics through assignments and quizzes. A major component of the course is to begin work on a capstone design project. Students work in teams of 3 to 4 on an industrially-sponsored project or other project approved by the faculty. The student teams work with the sponsor to develop specifications and a project plan, perform background research necessary to fully understand the project, begin to solve the problem, and make two presentations during the semester. The first presentation is a formal project proposal; the second presentation at the end of the semester is a progress report. Students are evaluated on both their technical and presentation skills, as well as their ability to function as a team. This course is required in the Behrend Mechanical Engineering (ME BD) program, and integrates material from a number of previous courses.