Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Waterloo
ME 100 – Mechanical Engineering Communication and Professionalism
Course Outline
Fall 2009
Course Objectives:
ME100 provides a basic introduction to mechanical engineering. At the end of the course,
students should have an appreciation of the roles and responsibilities of the professional
mechanical engineer in Canadian society. Students should be able to apply the
engineering method to problems they encounter in classes and on work terms, and to
communicate effectively, using the spoken and written word and various forms of
graphical communication. A key component of the program at Waterloo is the
requirement for co-op work term experience. At the end of the course, students will be
prepared to participate in the co-op system and to write a work term report.
Course Topics:
The following general topics will be covered in this course:
Introduction to the engineering profession, including professional societies,
engineering ethics and responsibilities
Mechanical engineering overview
Safety and risk management
The engineering method and problem solving
Introduction to engineering design
Introductory statistics including mean and standard deviation
Technical communications including oral, written, and graphical
Freehand sketching, orthographic projection, isometric projection, two- and threedimensional Computer Aided Design, technical drawing conventions, tolerances,
Course Schedule:
ME100 is a 0.75 credit course and therefore has significantly more contact hours and
workload than regular 0.5 credit courses. There are several weekly components: three
hours of lectures, one 1-hour oral communications tutorial, one 2-hour written
communications lab, and one 3-hour graphics lecture. There are two classes or streams of
students in ME100: 8-stream (ME100-001) and 4-stream (ME100-002). Each stream has
a different schedule; they will have the same weekly assignments, but they will be
assigned on different days and turned in at different times. All course information will be
provided through UW-ACE (https://uwangel.uwaterloo.ca/uwangel/default.asp).
Lectures:
Most regular lectures will be delivered by Professors Fraser and Lambert. They will
cover material on the engineering profession, mechanical engineering, engineering
design, statistics, and various technical topics as required to support the design project.
About one lecture per week will be delivered by representatives from co-operative
engineering and career services (CECS) or PDEng (Professional Development for
Engineers) and will provide background and support for the co-op system. These are
carefully scheduled to correspond to stages in finding a co-op job. Some of these lectures
will be provided to the 8-stream students in their 1B term instead of the present term.
Lectures on Engineering Graphics will be delivered by Professor Baleshta in the graphics
lab time slot, see below.
Oral Communications Tutorials:
The Oral Communications Tutorials will be run by the Teaching Assistants (TA’s). Each
stream has been divided into 4 sections for the Oral Communications Tutorials, and
assigned to a separate presentation room. Each student will be required to make a
minimum of two 4-5 minute oral presentations to the rest of their section throughout the
term, on topics to be assigned the week before. All students will be required to provide
constructive feedback to their colleagues, and are therefore expected to be present at all
tutorials. These individual presentations will commence in week 3. There will be no oral
communications tutorial in week 1. Common sessions will be held in weeks 2 and 12.
Written Communication Lab:
The written communication lab will be coordinated by the TA’s and/or Professors Fraser
and Lambert, and will be directed at technical communication, including the use of
computer tools and graphical communication. Weekly assignments will cover a range of
topics including ethics, the engineering profession, and various topics in support of the
design project. Students will be required to complete some work individually before the
lab, and will be given an assignment each week to be completed in groups and handed in
before the end of the lab period. Separate assignments and quizzes will be completed
relating to the co-op fundamentals material. Marks for these will be included in the
written communications section of the course.
Computer Aided Design and Graphics Lab:
Students will be instructed on the proper use and techniques for freehand sketching,
drawing and computer aided drafting using AUTOCAD and Unigraphics NX by
Professor Baleshta, with the assistance of the TA’s. There will be a comprehensive set of
weekly assignments covering all aspects of graphical communication.
Design Projects:
Much of the course content will be structured around a major design project. This project
will stress engineering analysis and detailed design, and will be the basis for the major
report. Sections of this report will be assigned throughout the term as written
communication assignments, and then assembled into a final report near the end of term,
to provide experience in writing a work term report. A minor project at the end of term
will focus more on the creative aspects of design.
Mark Distribution:
The marks for this course will be based on a combination of quizzes, assignments, oral
presentations, and the final report.
Quizzes (3 at 5% each in weeks 4, 8 and 12, to be completed in class):
Oral Communications Assignments
(Based on 2 presentations plus feedback to colleagues):
Written Communications Lab Assignments (including co-op fundamentals):
Graphics Lab Assignments (Freehand sketching, drawing and CAD):
Final Design Project Report:
Minor Design Project:
Total:
15%
5%
20%
35%
20%
5%
100%
Note 1: This course carries a weight of 0.75, compared with 0.5 for most other
courses in Engineering. This means that you should expect to complete at least 50%
more work for this course as for any other course this term. You must also multiply
your ME100 course grade by 1.5 to properly calculate your term average.
Class Schedule:
Class Type
Lecture 1
CECS/PDEng Lecture
Lecture 2
Oral
Communications Lab*
Written
Communications Lab
Graphical
Communications Lab
8-stream
(Section 001)
8:30 Tuesday RCH 103
8:30 Thursday RCH 103
9:30 Thursday RCH 103
2:30 Monday
DWE 1502
DWE 1515
DWE 3522A
RCH 206
12:30-2:30 Tuesday
E2-1310 (WEEF)
2:30-5:30 Wednesday
CPH 1346 (MM Lab)
4-stream
(Section 002)
10:30 Tuesday
RCH 112
9:30 Tuesday RCH 112
10:30 Thursday RCH 112
3:30 Monday
DWE 1502
DWE 1515
DWE 3522A
RCH 206
12:30-2:30 Wednesday
E2-1310 (WEEF)
2:30-5:30 Tuesday
CPH 1346 (MM Lab)
Notes:
*Oral communication labs are divided up into four sections as per your individual
schedules. Please go to your assigned rooms. Note that there is no oral communication
lab in week 1, and that the oral communication labs for weeks 2 and 12 will be held in a
common room. The room for week 2 is MC4045.
Returning of Assignments:
Assignments will be handed in through UW-ACE and/or a physical drop box
outside the WEEF lab. They will be returned through UW-ACE and/or physical
return boxes, also located outside the WEEF lab. Any student who would prefer
that their assignments not be returned in a public place must contact Professor
Lambert and advise him of this fact so that alternate arrangements can be made.
Textbooks:
Two textbooks are required for this course:
Gordon C. Andrews, J. Dwight Andrews, Roydon A. Fraser, and Carolyn
MacGregor, “Introduction to Professional Engineering in Canada”, Third Edition,
Pearson Prentice-Hall, Toronto, 2009.
and
J. Baleshta, “ME/MTE 100 Engineering Graphics Course Notes”, available in the
Engineering Copy Centre, Campus Copy, EIT 2022 (~ $24)
The following textbook is recommended:
Jane E. Aaron and Murray McArthur, “The Little Brown Compact Handbook”,
Third Canadian Edition, Pearson Longman, 2006.
The main textbook outlines the engineering profession and provides background
information on engineering measurements, written and graphical communication. The
graphics notes provide text and figures for the graphics lectures and should be brought to
each graphics lecture, starting with the first one. The second provides a useful reference
for written communication, which should be useful throughout your career.
Professors:
R. Fraser, rafraser@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 84764/37200, CPH-3671/E2-2330
S. Lambert, steve@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 84728, E3X-3153
J. Baleshta, jrbalesh@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 36737, E3-3103
Teaching Assistants:
There are 5 teaching assistants associated with this course:
Tim Bandura, tbandura@uwaterloo.ca
Derek Kursikowski, drkursik@uwaterloo.ca
Hamed Shateri, hshateri@uwaterloo.ca
Travis Ricard, tricard@uwaterloo.ca
Jeff Labahn, jwllabah@uwaterloo.ca
All teaching assistants have offices located next to the WEEF Lab.
UW-ACE Course Management System:
All course materials will be made available through the UW-ACE course management
system, accessible from the link on the University main home page or directly from
https://uwangel.uwaterloo.ca/uwangel/default.asp. All students registered for this course
should have immediate access to the ME100 site. In addition to course handouts,
assignments, and supplementary material, a forum has been set up to ask questions. The
TA’s and professors will monitor this forum and answer these questions. However,
students are encouraged to answer one another’s questions as appropriate.
Students will access a separate UW-ACE course for the “Co-op Fundamentals for
Engineering” portion of the course.
Responsibility:
Engineering is a professional program. A defining characteristic of a professional is
acting responsibly. A cornerstone of professionalism in an academic environment is
academic integrity. Students should ensure they understand their responsibilities. More
information can be obtained from the following first year engineering website:
http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~year1web/html/integrity.html. Any further questions can
be directed to the professors or teaching assistants.
Throughout this course, students will be encouraged to work together, especially during
the communications components of this course. However Engineering Design Graphics is
an exception. To improve your ability to visualise in 3D space, think laterally and to gain
competence and confidence in mechanical design graphics your thinking will get shortcircuited if you are directly shown a solution, or path to a solution by another classmate.
You are encouraged to work on your own to make these discoveries and earn the “ahhahs” that develop good design engineering skills. Does this mean that you should not
help your classmate? No, you are encouraged to lend a helping hand to a fellow student
in need through general discussions. However sharing electronic files or direct copying
is prohibited and will be penalised.
Note that the following statements are required on all course outlines, and are taken from:
http://www.uwaterloo.ca/accountability/documents/courseoutlinestmts.pdf:
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the
University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness,
respect and responsibility. [Check www.uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/ for more
information.]
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her
university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a
grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm. When in doubt please be
certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further
assistance.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid
committing academic offenses and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student
who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning
how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group
work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or
the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offenses and types of
penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm. For typical penalties check
Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/guidelines/penaltyguidelines.htm.
Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and
Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if
there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer
to Policy 72, Student Appeals,
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm.
Note for students with disabilities: The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD),
located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to
arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising
the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to
lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each
academic term.