Design at the Colorado School of Mines

Dr. Jennifer Miskimins

June 18, 2006

General Information

Three major design experiences– Freshman EPICS

One semester/3-credit/5-contact

– Sophomore EPICS One semester/3-credit/5-contact

– Senior Capstone Design One to two semesters/3-6 credits/5-10 contact

EPICS – Design Engineering Practices Introductory Course Sequences

General Information

Main goal– Strengthen student’s ability to resolve open-ended projects

in a teamwork setting

EPICS I (Freshman)– Every team receives same project– Present to mentor (faculty) and select teams to client

EPICS II (Sophomore)– Various projects (some developed by students)– All teams present to clients

Functions of EPICS I

Attribute Functions

Open-ended Requires creative and innovative thought and emphasizes computer-aided software for problem solving

Decision making Requires team to decide from a suite of alternatives (models or methods)

Product oriented Requires team to construct graphical portfolio

Technically challenging

Requires students to use 1st year math, physics, chemistry, engineering graphics

Functions of EPICS II

Attribute Functions

Open-ended Requires creative and innovative thought from the student team

Decision making Requires team to decide from a suite of alternatives (models or methods)

Product oriented Requires team to construct prototype or model

Technically challenging

Requires students to use 1st and 2nd year math, physics, and chemistry

EPICS Example Projects

Playground for handicapped children Sound barriers for highways Hiking trail for vision-impaired Landing pod for Mars Lander Use/disposal of expended rubber tires Seismograph for grade schools

Mon. date Wk. # Project Day CAD Day Workshop Day

Jan 3 0 Policies, logistics and schedules (No class meeting) Design Methodology

Jan 10 1 Introduce students, instructors, course and project

Introduction/PC systems

Technical writing concepts and fundamentals

Jan 17 2 Define goal, objectives, & information needs, submit Clarification Memo

Library Tour Technical concepts

Jan 24 3 Brainstorm, identify specifications, define oral presentation

fundamentals

Client Meeting Introduction to sketching

Jan 31 4 Project Definition (Oral Presentation),

submit Letter of Understanding

Getting Started, Display Commands, Tools & Setup

Instruments & other sketching tools

Feb 7 5 Analyze (decision analysis) options Basic Draw Commands

Basic Edit Commands

Orthographic sketching

Feb 14 6 Define mechanisms Construction Techniques

Isometric sketching

Feb 21 7 Project Plan (Oral Presentation), submit Project Plan

  Dimensioning

Feb 28 8 Introduce cost estimating Introduction to Dimensions Plotting

Sectioning

Mon. date Wk. # Project Day CAD Day Workshop Day

Mar 6 9 Develop Portfolio Creating Text, Defining Styles, Crosshatching, & Layers

Assign Sketching Project

Build Teams and Leadership

Mar 20 10 Red-line Drawings, (Oral Presentation),

submit Subsystem Analysis Memo

Blocks & Drawing Import/Export Options

Final Report Preparation

Mar 27 11 Work/Team Time Review Sketching Assignment

Final Report Preparation

Apr 3 12 Work/Team Time, submit draft of Final Report

AutoCAD Exam Referencing

Apr 10 13 Assess effective team processes

Work/Team time Work/Team time

Apr 17 14 Prepare for final exhibition, review final draft reports

Work/Team time Work/team time

Apr 24 15 Exhibit final product (Oral Presentation), submit Final

Report

Evaluate peers and course

 

Mon. date Wk. # Project Day Computer Day Workshop Day

Jan 3 0 Introduce students, mentors, and project

  Critical Thinking

Jan 10 1 Organize teams, review memos and define client needs, submit Clarification Memo

Information search techniques

Define oral presentation fundamentals

Jan 17 2 Project Definition, Oral Presentation, submit Letter of Understanding

Spreadsheet techniques (Excel)

Data Management (acquisition, storage, verification & processing)

Jan 24 3 Brainstorm model strategies, define data and performance needs, Oral Presentation.

Presentation techniques (PowerPoint)

Data Verification (error, uncertainty, statistics, & modeling)

Jan 31 4 Define subsystems and define scope of work.

Data storage techniques (Access)

Data Analysis (graphics, fitting & modeling)

Feb 7 5 Prepare data gathering plan and analysis plan.

Project management techniques

Define oral presentation fundamentals

Feb 14 6 Prepare project plan and revise schedule, Rehearsal

Graphics techniques (Grapher

Rehearsal

Feb 21 7 Project Plan, Oral Presentation, submit Project Plan

Oral Presentation Oral Presentation

Mon. date Wk. # Project Day Computer Day Workshop Day

Feb 28 8 Confirm data competency and process raw data

Regression techniques (MathCad)

 

Mar 6 9 Simulate results, analyze trends, and introduce economics.

Integration techniques (MathCad)

Define oral presentation fundamentals

Mar 20 10 Design Review, Oral Presentation, submit Subsystem Analysis Memo

Oral Presentation Oral Presentation

Mar 27 11 Integrate data and information, evaluate results

   

Apr 3 12 Work/Team Time, submit draft of Final Report

   

Apr 10 13 Work/Team Time and review draft reports

   

Apr 17 14 Prepare for final demonstration    

Apr 24 15 Demonstrate final product, Oral Presentation, submit Final Report

Assessment  

Example Grading

Example Assignments

Example Rubrics

Stages of Team Development

Forming – coming together and beginning to form a group or team/forming relationships

Storming – coming to terms with conflicts that arise Norming – figuring out what is expected of each

other as group members and how want to work together

Performing – collaboration, synergy, enjoyment and satisfaction in being part of a group occurs

Senior Design

Class Set-up

Multidisciplinary participants Multidisciplinary faculty (all with industry

experience) Course designed for “real world” experience Two major projects (one before, one after

spring break) Teams of 4-6 (5 ideal)

Example Syllabus

Introductory Phase (~2 weeks)

Introduction of course– Ask they write down questions (i.e. rumor control)

Review of…– Brainstorming– Multiple Working Hypothesis– Strategies for multidisciplinary teams– Particular technical topics– Administer MBTI

Introductory Phase (~2 weeks)

“Mini-Exercise”– Define problem– Develop objectives (vs. goals)– Determine critical information needs– Determine critical data needs

Faculty team intervenes as necessary

Grading

Two projects– Each project worth 40% of class grade

Individual 10% Group 30%

20% faculty discretionary– Low faculty-to-student ratio allows

To Peer Review or Not to Peer Review

Reality of life Classmates tend to be honest with one

another in anonymous settings Learning tool

Final thoughts…

Experiment Ask the students Investigate resources Find your optimum situation