ME 413: Design Of Assemblies
MIE 415: Design of Mechanical Systems
Fall 2008
INSTRUCTOR
Pr ofessor Ian R. Gr osse
ELAB 213b, x5-1350, grosse@ecs.umass.edu
Office Hours: TuTH 4:00 - 5:00 pm. You can also meet me by appointment.
Appointments are most easily set up via email, which I read frequently.
GTA
Justin Rockwell, ELAB 207, jrockwel@engin.umass.edu
Office Hours Wed 1 – 3:00 pm
COURSE CONTENT
The scope of the mechanical systems design extends from engineering specification of devices,
assemblies, components and processes to the evaluation and refinement of mechanical systems. As a
capstone senior design class students will engage in a number of design related exercises, including a
semester-long design project. These activities will require the application of science and engineering
knowledge and various design-related skills acquired throughout your engineering studies. Of particularly
focus in this class will be development and validation of computer-aided engineering analysis models that
help inform design decisions. Teaming and communication skills, especially in the context of well written
technical reports, will be assessed. Fundamental concepts in mechanics, finite element analysis, vibration
design issues, probabilistic design, robust design, and optimization will also be covered.
COURSE STRUCTURE
A major component of this course is a semester-long group project in which your team will execute a
design and analysis project. Your goal is to identify a design need, develop engineering specifications for
the product, develop a design concept sufficient for engineering analysis, and develop one or more
engineering analysis models related to the product. Based on results of your model(s), your team will
make design decisions and will quantify the effect of the design decisions on the behavior and intended
function of the product. Industry-based design problems are strongly encouraged. In addition to your
major project, students will participate in a team-based design exercise intended to provide early exposure
to elements of the design and development process. You will also receive ANSYS Workbench training (if
needed), supporting FEA theory, and basic optimization theory in order to reliably apply FEA to real
world problems.
COURSE MEETINGS
The course is scheduled to meet in ELAB 306 on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm.
Because the course will involve group work, presentations, design reviews and periodic consultation with
the instructor and GTA, we need to adjust the schedule of course meetings. Specifically, at least once
every two weeks throughout the semester every design team must meet with either the instructor or
GTA for a 30 minute project assessment meeting. At each of these meetings written typed reports will be
due. Time slots for such meetings will be set up using a free online scheduling tool with information for
accessing the scheduling tool distributed via your OIT email address. On weeks of such meetings there
will only be one class lecture. Again, because of the nature of our work, the need to interact with each
other and the need to coordinate logistics, it is imperative that all students are present at all class meetings.
Any extraordinary circumstances which will cause you to have to miss or come late to a class session or
any scheduled class event should be communicated to me in advance. Scheduled absences, e.g. elective
surgery or religious observance, should be communicated to me during the first week of the semester.
There will be no opportunity to make-up for unexcused absences. Reports, assignments and the like will
not be accepted late. You are responsible for all class announcements. Please arrive at class meetings and
your scheduled appointments on time.
BOOKS
There is no required text for this class. Suggested reference texts are:
“ Fundamentals of Mechanical Component Design” 4th Ed., Juvinall and Marshek, Wiley,
2006.
ANSYS Workbench Tutorial Release 11, Kent Lawrence, Schroff Development Corporation,
ISBN: 978-1-58503-397-3
Matrix Computations by Golub and Van Loan, John Hopkins University Press, 1983, ISBN
0-8018-3011-7
Concepts and Applications of Finite Element Analysis, 4th Edition, by Cook, Malkus, Plesha,
and Witt, Wiley & Sons, 2002.
You might also want to consult other design texts, e.g. Mechanical Engineering Design by Joseph Shigley
et Al. or additional reference materials appropriate to your specific design project. Finally, there are
numerous online sources of information related to the theory of finite element analysis, beginning with
the ANSYS Theory Manual accessible via the help menu.
GRADING
Grades will be based on the group project work, on the design and build exercise and on various
individual assignments and class participation. Some elements of the project work will be graded
individually. The grade on other elements will apply to all members of the group. Students will be
required to evaluate themselves, teammates and other classmates. These evaluations will contribute to the
final course grade.
Project Work
50 %
Mini projects (2)
30 %
HW Assignments
20 %
100 %
COURSE POLICIES
• Announcements will be sent via email to OIT email accounts (userid@student.umass.edu). Any
student not having an OIT email should see the instructor in person. Students who do not
regularly read OIT email should have it forwarded to an email address that they read daily.
• All students should have a functioning MIE computer lab account.
• All assignments, class exercises and projects must be completed on time. Make-ups will not be
given. Exceptions will be made only in the most extreme circumstances.
• You should retain all graded work until the course grade is given.
• All provisions of the Department and University policies regarding academic honesty will be
enforced including those provisions which apply to homework. You are responsible for
knowing and adhering to these policies. University policies can be found in the booklet
Undergraduate Rights and Responsibilities. A copy of The Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering Department Academic Honesty Policy can be obtained on the MIE
Department/Undergraduate Program website or from the undergraduate program secretary, Ms.
Dorothy Adams in Elab 220.
Tentative Class Schedule1
Assignment Due
Week
Topic (bold indicates mandatory
Date
(Individual assignment
No
team meeting instead of lectur e)
in italics)
Tu 9/2
Course Intro, Matrix Manipulation
Team Formation
1
Th 9/4
Mini Project 1, Mechanics Review
Tu 9/9
FEA Intro
2
Team meeting with
Mini Project 1 Design
Th 9/11
instr uctor/GTA
Concept Report
Tu 9/16
FEA Intro (cont.)
3
Team meeting with
Mini Project 1Final
Th 9/18
instr uctor/GTA
Report
Tu 9/23
MP 1 Discussion, Mini Project 2
4
Th 9/25
Mini Project 2
Team meeting with
Capstone Project
Tu 9/30
5
instr uctor/GTA
Proposal
Th 10/2
FEA 1D, 2D, and 3D Modeling
Tu 10/7
ANSYS WB Lab (ELAB 203)
6
Team meeting with
Th 10/9
Mini Project 2 Report
instr uctor/GTA
7
Th 10/16
Basic Design Optimization Theory
ANSYS HW
Tu 10/21
Design Optimization Applications
8
Team meeting with
Capstone Project Progress
Th 10/23
instr uctor/GTA
Report 1
Tu 10/28
Mini Project 2 Discussion
9
Th 10/30
ANSYS WB Lab (ELAB 203)
Tu 11/4
Probabilistic Design
ANSYS Opt. HW
10
Team meeting with
Capstone Project Progress
Th 11/6
instr uctor/GTA
Report 2
W 11/12
Probabilistic Design (Cont.)
11
Th 11/13
Vibration Design Issues
Probabilistic Design HW
Team meeting with
Capstone Project Progress
Tu 11/18
12
instr uctor/GTA
Report 3
Th 11/19
Vibration Design Issues (cont.)
13
Tu 11/25
Vibration Design Issues (cont.)
ANSYS Vib. HW
Tu 12/2
Thermal Design Issues
14
Team meeting with
Capstone Project Final
Th 12/4
instr uctor/GTA
Report (15 p. max)
Tu 12/9
Capstone Project Final Presentation
15
Th 12/11
Capstone Project Final Presentation
1 Instructor reserves the right to change class schedule. Changes to schedule will be announced in class.
