Northwestern Mechanical Engineering
Source: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/index.php
http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/undergrad/curriculum.php
Note: 100, 200, and 300 level courses are nominally undergraduate; 400 and 500 level are
nominally graduate. However it is common for undergraduates to take some 400 level
classes, or for graduate students to take some 300 level classes.
List of Courses:
100 / 200 Level
GEN ENG 106-1,2 Engineering Design and Communication
GEN ENG 205-3 Engineering Analysis 3 - System Dynamics
ME 202 Mechanics II
ME 220 Thermodynamics I
ME 224 Experimental Engineering I
ME 240 Introduction to Mechanical Design and Manufacturing
ME 241 Fluid Mechanics I
ME 262 Stress Analysis and Finite Elements I
300 level
ME 314 Theory of Machines - Dynamics
ME 315 Theory of Machines - Design of Elements
ME 316 Mechanical Systems Design
ME 317/318 Molecular Modeling and the Interface to Micromechanics
ME 319 Applications of Surface Science to Nanomechanics and Nanotribology
ME 325 Kinetic Theory and Statistical Thermodynamics
ME 333 Introduction to Mechatronics
ME 340-1, 340-2, 340-3 Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 1, 2, 3
ME 346 Introduction to Tribology
ME 359 Reliability Engineering
ME 362 Stress Analysis
ME 363 Mechanical Vibrations
ME 365 Finite Elements for Stress Analysis
ME 366 Finite Elements for Design and Optimization
ME 370 Thermodynamics II
ME 373 Engineering Fluid Mechanics
ME 377 Heat Transfer
ME 381 Introduction to Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)
ME 382 Micro/Nano Science and Engineering
ME 385 Nanotechnology
ME 389 Molecular Machines in Biology
ME 390 Introduction to Dynamic Systems
ME 391 Fundamentals of Control Systems
ME 395 Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
ME 398 Engineering Design
ME 399 Projects
400 level
CE 414-1, CE 414-2 Mechanics of composite Materials
CE 415 Elasticity
ME 416 Nondestructive Evaluation
ME 420 Micro- and Nanoscale Fluid Dynamics
ME 421 Design and Analysis of Microfluidic Systems
ME 422 Molecular Scale Fluid Dynamics
ME 423 Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics
ME 424 Advanced Topics in Computational Fluid Dynamics
ME 425 Fundamentals of Fluid Dynamics
ME 426-1 Computational Mechanics I
ME 426-2 Computational Mechanics II
ME 427 Viscous Fluid Dynamics
ME 428 Compressible and Inviscid Fluid Dynamics
ME 429 Turbulent Flows
ME 432 Optimization Methods in Science and Engineering
ME 433 Advanced Mechatronics
ME 434 Random Data and Spectral Analysis
ME 438-1,2,3 Interdisciplinary Nonlinear Dynamics
ME 439 Computer Control in Manufacturing
ME 442 Metal Forming
ME 443 Metal Cutting
ME 446 Advanced Tribology
ME 448 Flexible Automation and Robotics
ME 449 Robotic Manipulation
ME 450 Geometry in Robotics
ME 451 Micromachining
ME 453 Micro Systems Design
ME 456 Mechanics of Advanced Materials
ME 465 Wave Propagation in Elastic Solids
ME 466 Inelastic Constitutive Relations for Solids>
ME 478 Combustion
ME 489 Selected Topics in Cellular-Level Transport>
ME 495 Selected Topics in Mechanical Engineering
MMM 497 Design For Manufacture
ME 499 Projects
500 Level
ME 512 Seminar
ME 513 Teaching Practicum (no credit)
ME 590 Research
Current Graduation requirements:
Total requirement - 48 courses
MATHEMATICS - 4 courses
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Math 214-1,2,3 Calculus
Math 215 Multiple Integration and Vector Calculus
ENGINEERING ANALYSIS AND COMPUTER PROFICIENCY - 4 courses
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Gen Eng 205-1,2,3,4 Engineering Analysis
BASIC SCIENCES - 4 courses
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Phys 135-2,3 General Physics
Chemistry through Chem 102 General Inorganic Chemistry or Chem 171
Accelerated General Inorganic Chemistry
DESIGN AND COMMUNICATIONS - 3 courses
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Gen Eng 106-1,2 Engineering Design and Communication
One speaking course from approved list
BASIC ENGINEERING - 5 courses
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MECH ENG 220 Thermodynamics
MECH ENG 241 Fluid Mechanics I
CIV ENG 216 Mechanics of Materials or MECH ENG 262 Stress Analysis and
Finite Elements I
Mat Sci 201 Pinciples of the Properties of Materials
ECE 270 Applications of Electronic Devices
(Students planning to take advanced ECE courses as electives may substitute ECE
221 Fundamentals of Circuits)
SOCIAL SCIENCES/HUMANITIES THEME REQUIREMENT - 7 courses
UNRESTRICTED ELECTIVES - 5 courses
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTAL PROGRAM - 16 courses
The Mechanical Engineering Faculty has revised the Mechanical Engineering Curriculum
(12/5/2001). Beginning fall 2001 a signed Mechanical Engineering Option will not be
required. All students will be required to take 340-1 as a major course and 5 technical
electives which will contain 2-300 level mechanical engineering courses, 1-200 or 300
level technical elective (any engineering, science or math course) and 2-300 level
technical electives (any engineering, science or math course). A maximum of two 399's
are allowed. Students will be encouraged to concentrate electives in an area of interest.
All mechanical engineering students already in the program who have not filed a signed
option form or are not following the form on file will be required to meet these new
requirements with no signed option. Here is the curriculum that will be required.
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Required courses - 11 courses as follows:
o Seven core courses
 Mech_Eng 202 Mechanics II
 Mech_Eng 224 Experimental I
 Mech_Eng 240 Int. Mechanical Design & Manufacturing
 Mech_Eng 315 Theory of Machines - Design of Elements
 Mech_Eng 340-1 Computer Integrated Manufacturing
 Mech_Eng 377 Heat Transfer
 Mech_Eng 390 Int. Dynamic Systems
o One course from
 Mech_Eng 314 Theory of Machines - Dynamics
 Mech_Eng 363 Mechanical Vibrations
 Mech_Eng 391 Fundamentals of Control Systems I
o One course from
 Mech_Eng 362 Stress Analysis
 Mech_Eng 365 Finite Elements for Stress Analysis
 Civ_Eng 327 Finite Element Methods in Mechanics
o One course from
 Mech_Eng 370 Thermodynamics II
 Mech_Eng 373 Engineering Fluid Mechanics
o One design course from
 Mech_Eng 340-2 Computer Integrated Manufacturing
 Mech_Eng 366 Finite Elements for Design & Optimization
 Mech_Eng 398 Engineering Design
Electives - 5 courses as follows (a maximum of two 399's are allowed)
o Two 300-level mechanical engineering courses
o One 200- or 300-level technical elective
o Two 300-level technical electives
A technical elective would be a course in engineering, science or mathematics. Students
are encouraged to concentrate electives in an area of interest. Suggested courses in the
following areas may be obtained from the department office: biomedical engineering,
fluid dynamics, intelligent mechanical systems, manufacturing, solid mechanics,
nanotechnology/ micro-electromechanical systems, and design.
Description of General
Communication (EDC):
Engineering
106-1,2
Engineering
Design
and
Catalog description:
Integrated introduction to the engineering design process and technical communication.
Approaches to unstructured and poorly defined problems; conceptual and detailed design;
team structure and teamwork; project planning; written, oral, graphical and interpersonal
communications; use of software tools; discussion on societal and business issues.
Who takes it:
EDC introduces students to a vital part of an engineering career - working and
communicating with real people. Students who would like to participate in development
of real projects, working with real clients and finding creative solutions for real problems
should take this course.
What is EDC?
Engineering Design and Communication (EDC) is a two-quarter sequence of courses for
first-year engineering students in Northwestern University's McCormick School of
Engineering and Applied Science. Students work in teams to solve real problems for real
clients, designing solutions that range from websites to wheelchairs.
EDC is designed to help you do the following:
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Understand the creative process used by professional engineers to solve complex
problems.
Acquire basic skills for managing design and communication effectively,
including oral, written, interpersonal, and graphical communication.
Gain experience in collaboration and teamwork.
If you participate fully in the class, you will have a strong foundation for succeeding in
engineering because design and communication lie at the heart of any engineering career.
You can expect to become a more critical and creative thinker, a better reader, a more
capable and effective team member, and a more flexible, confident, and effective
communicator. EDC will be a new and challenging experience for you.
More background information regarding EDC:
Engineering Design and Communication, or EDC, was launched as a pilot program in
1996, and has grown to become a required course for all engineering students at
Northwestern. Part of Engineering First, the course is designed and taught by faculty
from both the engineering school and the university's Writing Program.
In EDC, students work in small teams to tackle real-world design problems brought to
them by individuals, not-for-profit organizations, entrepreneurs and industry. Students
learn about the design process, about written, spoken, and graphical communication, and
about teamwork and collaboration.
EDC is a two-quarter, two-credit sequence, and is designed to:
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Introduce freshmen to a user-centered design process and provide them with tools
for the creative solving of complex, open-ended problems
Provide students with design tools that will help them explore the design space,
gather information, generate alternatives, develop design specifications, make
decisions, and argue for their ideas
Help students see that writing, speaking, graphical, and interpersonal
communciation are an integral part of design and are crucial to the intellectual life
and practice of successful engineers
Improve students' skill in all these areas of communication
Nurture undergraduate students' enthusiasm for engineering
Initiate a culture of design at Northwestern, drawing on the design expertise of the
current engineering faculty in ways that break the traditional model of
undergraduate education.
Full Outline:
http://www.segal.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/edc/02/syllabus/sq_syllabus.html (bad
link).
http://www.segal.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/edc/students/ (requires user ID and
password)
Description of ME 240 Introduction to Mechanical Design and Manufacturing
Catalog description:
strategies and methods of designing, manufacturing, and testing of mechanical products.
Engineering drawing and CAD, design methods, material properties, failure modes,
selection methodology, fundamental GD&T, and selected manufacturing processes.
Prerequisite: MAT SCI 201 and concurrent registration in ME 262 or CIV ENG 216.
Who takes it:
ME 240 is a required course for Mechanical Engineering students. This course is the first
course of 3-course series “ME 340: Computer Integrated Manufacturing” and ME 315
“Theory of machines – design of elements”.
What it's about:
For many students, this course is one of their first professional engineering courses. As
distinguished from background courses in science and mathematics, professional
engineering is concerned with obtaining solutions to practical problems.
Lectures:
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Design process
Engineering drawing
Tolerances Limits and fits
GD&T
Material types and properties
Material selection
Design for X (Strength, Rigidity)
Competing failure modes
Manufacturing processes
Labs:
Weekly three-hour lab exercises. Lab sections will be assigned by the end of first week.
The final project will be a design competition. Prize will be given to the top group, which
yields the highest performance index in testing their prototypes.
740 ME240 Class Schedule Spring Quarter 2002:
Date
T: 4/02
WEEK#1
Prof.* Lecture Subject
E
Course Overview
Assigned Reading
Homework/Lab
p.2 – p.22
HW#1
W: 4/03
E
Design Process
F:
4/05
E
Design Process
M: 4/08
WEEK#2
E
CAD – Solids
W: 4/10
E
Projections
F: 4/12
E
Eng. Drawing
M: 4/15
WEEK#3
E
Tolerances
W: 4/17
E
Limits & Fits
F: 4/19
E
GD&T
M: 4/22
WEEK#4
E
GD&T
HW#4, Lab #3
W: 4/24
E
Case Study
UG - Primitives
F: 4/26
p.23 – p. 53
HW#2, Lab #1
Intro to UG
p.54 – p.87
HW#3, Lab #2
UG - Primitives
Quiz #1 (W1-W3)
M: 4/29
WEEK#5
C
Material Properties
W: 5/01
C
Material Types
F: 5/03
C
Material Selection
M: 5/06
WEEK#6
C
Material Selection
W: 5/08
C
Design for Strength
F: 5/10
C
Design for Rigidity
Prototype Design
M: 5/13
WEEK#7
C
Case Study
HW#7, Lab #6
Quiz #2 (W4-W6)
Material Selection &
W: 5/15
p. 88 - 103
HW#5 Lab #4
UG - Assemblies
p. 104 - 149
HW#6, Lab #5
p.150 – p.167
Shop training &
F: 5/17
C
Competing Failure
Modes
M: 5/20
WEEK#8
C
Competing Failure
Modes
HW#8, Lab #7
Case Study
Prototype Build &
W: 5/22
Handouts
Prototype Design
Test #1
F: 5/24
No class
M: 5/27
WEEK#9
Mem. Day Holiday
W: 5/29
C
Mfg. Processes
F: 5/31
C
Course Review
M: 6/03
WEEK#10
Project
Presentation: I
W: 6/05
Project
Presentation:II
F: 6/07
Quiz #3 (W7-W9)
HW#9, Lab #8
Handouts
Class time may be
rescheduled.
Prototype Build &
Test #2
Post Competition
Analysis due 6/07
Source: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME240/syllabus.php
Description of Mechanical Engineering 315, Theory of Machines -Design of
Elements
Catalog description:
Factors influencing the proportioning of machine elements - Stresses, deformations, and
failure criteria as applied to shafts, springs, belts, bearings, gears.
Prerequisite: ME 240 and CIV ENG 216.
Who takes it:
Design of Elements is a required course for Mechanical Engineering students. This
course is an introduction to the basic principles of modern engineering. It provides the
students with fundamental skills of engineering, and the ability to apply the theories of
science to practice.
What it's about:
The course focuses on the fundamentals and principles of basic mechanical elements,
failure theories and design criteria, and structures of basic mechanical systems. The goal
of the course is to learn how to design simple mechanical elements and systems.
It includes:
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Understanding the principle of each element.
Analyzing elements mechanically by applying the theories from statics, dynamics,
mechanics of materials, and fluid mechanics with deterministic or statistic
approaches.
Learning how to design basic elements and simple systems.
Designing elements and systems by means of CAD.
Lectures:
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Labs:
Getting Ready for Design of Elements
Failure theories
Variable loading and fatigue criteria
Introduction to shafts
Transmission elements
Rolling element bearings
Fluid-film bearings
Connecting elements
Other elements and review
One lab each week on CAD of components and assembles
Textbook:
Design of Mechanical Elements (with electronic instruction), by Jane Wang, 2002
Lectures:
Chapter 1: Getting Ready for Design of Elements
Chapter 2: Failure theories
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Why do we need failure theories
Summary of failure theories
Applications of failure theories
Chapter 3: Variable loading and fatigue criteria
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Variable loading · Fatigue criteria
Chapter 4: Introduction to shafts
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Typical shaft systems
Shaft design and analysis
Chapter 5: Transmission elements
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Classification of transmission elements
Gears and gear trains
Theory of gearing
Gear structures
Gear failure and gear materials
Gear forces and stresses
Gear design principles
Chapter 6: Rolling element bearings
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Bearing classification and bearing structures
Ball bearing life and selection
Tapered roller bearing life and selection
Bearing support design
Bearing comparison
Chapter 7: Fluid-film bearings
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Introduction to sliding bearings
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Bearing comparison
Chapter 8: Connecting elements
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Introduction to thread and fasteners
Bolt and member stiffness
Tensile connections
Dynamic loading
Design of bolted connections
Chapter 9: Other elements and review
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Other elements
Course summary
Course map:
Source: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME315/syllabus.php
http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME315/index.php
Description of Mechanical Engineering 316, Mechanical Systems Design
Catalog description:
This course builds on ME 240 and ME 315. If you haven't taken ME315, visit with Prof.
Stoll or Prof. Ehmann to see if this course is right for you.
Who takes it:
Mechanical engineers, Biomedical engineers, all students interested in manufacturing and
design.
What it's about:
This course will focus on the design of mechanical systems with an emphasis on
mechanism and precision machine design. Topics include mechanical system design
process, mechanism synthesis to accomplish specified tasks involving force and motion,
underlying principles of good design, engineering considerations of efficient design,
principles of accuracy, repeatability, and resolution, and methods and techniques of
precision machine design. The course involves lectures, case studies, in-class design
exercises, and team-based design projects.
Course Outline by weeks:
1. Mechanical Systems Design Process
2. Introduction to Mechanisms and the Mechanism Synthesis
Process
3. Cam Mechanisms and Mechanism Trains (e.g., planetary gear trains,
intermittent motion mechanisms, etc.)
4. Kinematic Synthesis of Linkages
5. Design Principles
 Engineering Concepts of Efficient Design
6. Case
Studies
In-depth discussion of 1 to 3 case studies illustrating application of design
principles
and
efficient
design
concepts.
Example case studies:
 design of an air-actuated disk brake for heavy truck applications
 design of automotive seat head restraint mechanism for rear impact
 design of a surgical abrading instrument.
7. Principles of Accuracy, Repeatability, and Resolution
8. Precision Mechanical Design
 Exact Constraint Design
9. Precision Machine Design Principles and Rules of Thumb
10. Precision Machine Design Case Studies
Laboratory:
Three hours per week. The purpose of the lab is to train students in ADAMS Mechanical
System Simulation Software and to provide time for team project work. Team project
results will be presented in the lab. The lab will be held in the ME CAD/CAE room.
Source: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME316/index.php
Description of Mechanical Engineering 340-1, Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
Catalog description:
Use of computers to improve productivity and reduce cost in manufacture of discrete
parts and assemblies. Manufacturing processes: Analysis and evaluation of processes
usage of the contemporary manufacturing environment.
Prerequisite: 240 or consent of instructor.
Who takes it:
ME 340-1 is taken by Mechanical Engineers, Manufacturing Engineers, and Industrial
Engineers.
What it's about:
This course is an introduction to the processes used in the contemporary manufacturing
environment including casting, powder metal processing, polymer processing, machining,
joining, metal forming, layered manufacturing and electronic materials processing.
Process specific component design, materials selection and specification, capital
equipment and tooling requirements will be covered.
Minisyllabus:
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Introduction
Properties of Materials
Phase Diagram
Casting
Machining
Layered Manufacturing
Metal Forming
Fastening Processes
Laser Beam Processes
Plastic Processing
Integrated Circuits
Electronic Assemblies
Manufacturing Engineering.
Course Summary
Final Exam
Textbook:
Manufacturing, Engineering & Technology, 5/E
Authors: Serope Kalpakjian, Steven Schmid
Additional: Introduction to Manufacturing Processes, by J. A. Schey, McGraw Hill, 1987
Course website: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/courses/c401/
Description of Mechanical Engineering 340-2, Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
Catalog description:
Geometric modeling, dimensioning systems, tolerances, design for manufacture,
programming of machine tools. Team problem solving in a design and manufacturing
technology environment.
Prerequisite: ME 340-1 or consent of instructor.
Who takes it:
Any student who is interested in solid modeling and wants to have some practical
experiences in the “from art to part” process should take this course. ME 340-2 is usually
taken by juniors to graduate students majoring in Mechanical Engineering,
Manufacturing, and Industrial Engineering.
What it's about:
It offers both the fundamental knowledge for being a successful engineer or manager in
manufacturing, and practical skills. It includes GD&T, statistical tolerances, and
metrology tools. The practical side of this course includes: Design of a plastic part within
the specified domain, creating a solid model of the part, design of the injection molding
tool, creating a solid model of the tooling, creating a cutting path, downloading the
cutting path to a CNC machine, machining, injection molding the part, and finally
measuring the part geometry and comparing to the original design.
Sample past examples are: the relaxing palm beach with attractive fish, the vexing maze,
the scary vampire teeth, the daily-used items (trash-can, scissors and key-chain) and the
mini-models of transportation tools (unicycle, car and helicopter).
Textbook:
1. Course Packet – available at Quartet Copies, 818 Clark Street, Evanston,
IL 60201, Tel: 847-328-0720, Fax: 847-328-0742.
2. “Principles of CAD/CAM/CAE Systems”, by Kunwoo Lee, published by
Addison-Wesley.
Course website and detailed syllabus:
http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME340-1/syllabus.htm#web
http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME340-2/syllabus.php
Description of Mechanical Engineering 340-3, Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
Catalog description:
Use of computers to improve productivity and reduce cost in manufacture of discrete
parts and assemblies. Manufacturing automation: sensors,actuators, and computers for
automation; principles of computer control; programmable logic controllers; robotic
devices; assembly automation.
Prerequisites: ME 340-2 or consent of instructor.
Who takes it:
The course is aimed at advanced undergraduate and first year graduate students who are
interested in the most frequently used technologies and methods for automating
manufacturing and assembly operations. ME, MfE, IE and EE students have generally
taken this course.
What it's about:
The course offers a blend of practical skills and a basic understanding necessary for an
engineer to be able to address an array of automation tasks such as process/machine
monitoring, execution of controlled motions, programming and integration of sequential
controllers and robotic devices into complex systems, etc. The course is structured around
weekly lectures that introduce the theoretical basis and extensive weekly laboratory
exercises in which students, in a hands-on environment, learn the pragmatic
implementation skills.
Upon completion of ME 340-3 students should be able to:
 Select and implement digital/analog sensors and actuators for different assembly
and manufacturing tasks in conjunction with real-time control computers.
 Develop program code for real-time control/monitoring applications.
 Design and implement simple stepping - or DC-motor based motion control
systems.
 Analyze and program articulated robotic devices.
 Use computer vision systems.
 Design, program, and implement sequential logic control tasks using PLCs.
 Perform system integration to solve complex assembly tasks.
Minisyllabus:
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Computers for automation - Interfacing to external devices
Sensors and actuators - Analog and digital devices
Motion Control - Introduction to computer control
Sequential Control - Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
Robot programming
Fundamentals of machine vision
Automated assembly
Lectures:
The course meets two days per week for 90-minute lectures.
Laboratory Exercises:
Nine two- to three-hour laboratory exercises will be conducted, generally in small groups
requiring everybody's participation to complete the assignments. The exercises are
executed on state-of-the-art industrial grade equipment in the Manufacturing Processes
Laboratory.
Labs:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Binary Devices and I/O
Analog Devices and I/O
Motion Control
Manufacturing System Simulation
Robot Programming
Computer Vision
PLC Programming
Automated Assembly
Textbook:
Handouts.
Reference Material: Systems Approach to Computer Integrated Design and
Manufacturing, N. Singh, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1996.
Course website: Not available
Description of Mechanical Engineering 366, Finite Elements of Design and
Optimization
Catalog description:
Numerical methods for interaction and optimal CAD. Fully stressed design; design
sensitivity analysis and descent methods; optimality criteria to automated design.
Prerequisites: senior standing and ME 365 or consent of instructor.
Who takes it:
Advanced students who did not take ME 365 can take this course with consent of
instructor.
What it's about:
As structures and mechanisms grow more complex, so do the demands put on material
from which they are built. Without thorough understanding of the stress imposed on the
structure, and exact computation, these structures would never be possible. This course
will provide a deeper understanding of finete-element method for stress analysis, and
computer implementation for optimal
Source: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME366/index.php
Description of Mechanical Engineering 398, Engineering Design
Catalog description:
Product or system design projects carried out by small student groups. Project definition,
conceptual and detailed design, evaluation, and documentation.
Prerequisite: Senior standing.
Who takes it:
Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon says "Science is the study of what is. Engineering is
the creation of what is to be." The essence of engineering is design. Most engineers work
on some sort of product development, whether it be creating new products or making
better products, all based on a fairly well-defined design process. In ME 398, student
teams create a new product for an outside client using this design process.
Undergraduates take this course in their fourth year, after having mastered many of the
engineering tools that they will use in their careers. Mechanical Engineering students are
required to take either this course or ME 340-2 to fulfill their design requirement. Two
former students in this course went on to win the iF Product Design Award in an
international design competition based in Germany for their design of the Swingline
Worx Mini Stapler in 2000.
What it's about:
ME 398 provides an experience in the creative aspects of design from project definition
to ideation to functional prototypes.
Lectures:
The course meets two days per week for 2-hour lectures. Topics include:
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The total design model
Customer-focused innovation
The design process
o Product goal
o Product design specification
o Project planning
o Conceptual design
o Optimizing a design
o Prototyping
o Detail design
Tools for design
o Design complexity
o Design for manufacture and assembly
o Design review
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Re-design
Reverse engineering
Safety
Standards and codes
Quality
o Eight dimensions of quality
o Quality function deployment
Managing quality
o Tolerance stack-up
o Statistical process control
o Taguchi methods
o Reliability
o Failure mode and effect analysis
o Other quality management techniques
Design and business skills
o Estimating part costs
o Financial statements
o Economic decision making
o Patents
Labs:
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Machine shop training: all students are required to complete a 6-hour machine
shop training course, if they have not previously done so
Mock-up prototype: each team prepares a mockup of their design early in the
design process
CAD: each team prepares CAD drawings of their design using SolidWorks,
Pro/Engineer, or UniGraphics
Functional prototype: each team builds a fully functioning prototype of their
design
Textbooks:
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The Mechanical Design Process by David Ullman, McGraw-Hill 2003
ME 398 Lecture Notes by Richard M. Lueptow 2003
Advanced Study:
Students interested in pursuing further study in product design development should
consider the Master of Product Development program at Northwestern University. This
program for working professionals requires at least 3 years of work experience.
Source: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME398/index.php
Description of ME 421 Design and Analysis of Microfluidic Systems: NOT
AVAILABLE ONLINE
Description of Mechanical Engineering 453, Micro Systems Design
Catalog description:
Theory and tools for analyzing and designing microsystems used in
MEMS/Nanotechnology. Includes device physics and analysis, design techniques, and
computer-aided design tools for micro systems technology.
Prerequisite: None.
Who takes it:
Advanced graduate students interested in learning micro systems design usually take this
course.
What it's about:
MEMS is an exiting new field of engineering. Its rapid development over the last few
years, has brought many new techniques in design, and building of MEMS and Nano
devises. This course covers basic principles and tools of MEMS and Nano design,
physical and mathematical approaches, and a computer aided design approach.
Source: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/ME453/
Description of Masters of Manufacturing Management 497, Design For
Manufacture
Who takes it:
This course is essential for anyone who plans to work in a manufacturing industry where
parts are made and assembled. This course is usually taken by graduate MMM students
and mechanical Engineering students.
What it's about:
Design for manufacture (DFM) is recognized as the key to industrial efficiency…to
minimizing manufacturing costs…to assuring product quality…and generating the
increases in productivity promised by advanced manufacturing technology. This fiveweek course presents underlying principles, best practices, design guidelines, and
management techniques for improving assembly and manufactureability of mechanical
products. Topics include product simplification approaches, modularization (chunking)
strategies, design for assembly, design for manufacturing processes such as plastic
injection molding, analysis of tolerances, and standardization of components and
features. Depending on class interest, other structured design methods such as FMEA,
value engineering, and robust design are also covered. "Hands-on" exercises are
employed throughout the course to help ensure mastery of proven methods such as the
Boothroyd/Dewhurst Design for Assembly method. This course is an excellent way to
bring yourself up to speed in DFM. A solid working knowledge of DFM is essential for
anyone who plans to work in a manufacturing industry where parts are made and
assembled.
Source: http://www.mech.northwestern.edu/web/courses/info/MMM497/index.php