R12300: ME Lab Hardware
Development
LINDSAY WILKENS
CHRISTOPHER MOREHOUSE
ERIC WILCOX
MATT FIGLIOTTI
JOHN KNIGHT
Overview
 Background
 Benchmarking
 Stakeholders
 Affinity Diagram
 Mission Statement
 Objective Tree
 Constraints
 Voice of the Customer
Background
 RIT changing from quarters to semesters in Fall
2013
 First year students currently take Physics, Problem
Solving with Computers and Measurement
Instrumentation and Controls
 ME 102 will replace these courses
 Lab hardware needs to be developed for five labs


Three labs to be integrated into ME 102
Two in class demonstrations
Statics
 Thermodynamics

Benchmarking
 Empathy Exercise
 Examined current lab facilities in the RIT ME
Department
 Researched existing lab experiments used by other
universities


Did not find any labs that addressed the needs of ME 102
Did not find any universities that had a course comparable to
ME 102
 Researched existing lab kits and demonstrations
 Pasco
 ENGAGE
Stakeholders
 KGCOE Administration
 Dr. Edward Hensel
 Mechanical Engineering Professors
 First Year Mechanical Engineering Students
 ME Lab Instructors
 KGCOE Alumni
Affinity Diagram By Stakeholder
First year ME Students
Problem: Direction of
Most Students come in
movement vs direction of
with Algebra based Physics
forces
ME Professors
Statics-Concepts: FBD, Trig
Relations from 2D to 3D,
Cross Products
Students dont ask questions
when they dont understand
something
KGCOE Admin
ABET Critera
Labs must be
online by May
2012
ME Lab Instructors
Easy to Assemble
Perhaps experiments can
Labs must be
Some students come in
become more open ended as Labs to provide
Problem: Combined forces Thermo - Piston demo would
under 75 mins for Students wont brake
with calc background (AB
the weeks progress to
foundation of
as vectors
be useful
setup - collect
them
or BC)
reinforce real life experiments
mechanics
data - take down
in industry
Thermo-Entropy (not
Dynamics- Concepts Students
intuitive and no exposure
Having Trouble With:
before thermo class), vapor
Relative Motion,
Most students come in with
Labs to involve
Problem: Angular velocity dome, using data tables, open
Work/Energy Integrals,
no calc background
data acquisition
system-flowing mass,
Decomposing vector from one
isentropic efficiencies
coordinate system to another,
(turbines and pumps)
v-s and a-s graphs
Labs should be
modular
Want a set of extras
incase a couple sets
break
Want students to understand
what they are experimenting Labs increase in
on, want them to have a
complexity
personal hands-on experience
Equipment will
have 3 year
development
cycle
Want the labs to be
easily stored and not
take up to much space
Centripetal acceleration
was a common difficult
concept
Problem: Moment of
Inertia
Thermo - Demo of control
volume would be useful
Experiments need to be
Rotational to Linear
Competition usually brings
Problem: What rotational simple enough not to take too
motion a common difficult
out the best in people, maybe
motion is
much class time but reinforce
concept
find a way to incorporate that
concepts
Instantaneous
Velocity/accelration a
difficult conept
Problem: Circular Forces
(torque)
Forces as vectors a difficult
concept
Problem: Torque
Most more uncomfortable
with at least some aspect of Problem: Centripetal force
rotational motion
Most students not in
Problem: Angular motion physics their first quarter
"Whats that?"
Obvious link to real life
problems
Want students to have the
motivation to see how the
experiments relate to physical
Dynamics- Concepts That
Would Benefit From A Lab:
Kinematics (Motion in
different reference frames),
force/dashpot, visual
indication of force, friction,
impulse/momentum
Open Source
Students have
physics
background from
high school
Co-enrolled in
calc
ME102 #1
priority
KGCOE
Alumni
Want RIT
to have a
good
reputation
nationwide
Want this
class to
become a
education
standard
nationwide
Affinity Diagram First Iteration
Experimental
Apparatus
Experimental
Ideas
Involves data
Piston Thermo
Demo
Wants a set of extras Control Volume
in case a couple break
Demo
Wants the labs to be
easily stored and not
take up much space
Real-life
Experimental Requirements
Angular Motion Linear Concepts
ABET Criteria
Want the labs to easily
be stored and not take
up too much space
Impulse/
Momentum
In class demos fit
inside professor's
class schedule
Students should have
experience working in
groups
Angular motion"Whats that?"
Open source
MATLAB Proficiency
Complexity of
Experiments
Decomposing
vectors from one
Increasing Complexity
coordinate system
to another
Forces as vectors
difficult concept
Experiments more
open-ended as weeks
progress
Statics
Thermo
FBD
Vapor Dome
Trig Relations
from 2D to 3D
Entropy
Rotational to linear
Must integrate
Motion in different Most students come in
motion a common
demos into class
reference frames
with no calc
difficult concept
lectures
Some students come in
with calc background
(AB or BC)
Relative Motion
Co-enrolled in calc
More complex
concept than
freshman
experiments
Modular in terms of
variables range
Motivate students to
see how experiments LabVIEW Proficiency Moment of Inertia
relate to physical
Budget for all lab
equiptment cannot
exceed $50,000$100,000
Labs must be online
by May 2012
Microsoft Excel
Proficiency
Centripetal
acceleration was a
common difficult
concept
Use National
Instruments DAQ
hardware
Minimum of 12 sets
of hardware
ME 102 labs take
priority
What rotational
motion is
Students have physics
Relations from 2D
background from high
to 3D
school
More complex
concept than
freshman
experiments
Equipment has a 3
year development
cycle
Prefers
implementation of
COTS parts
Labs must be under 75
minutes for set-up,
collect data, and take
down
Angular velocity
Some students come in
with algebra based
physics
Quick to show
concept in
limited lecture
time
Easy to assemble
Backups are
necessary
Personal/Hands on
Robust-Students wont
break them
FBD
Open source
mass flow
Work/Energy
Most uncomfortable
with come aspect of V-S and A-S graphs
rotational motion
Most students not in
physics their first
quarter
Isentropic
Efficiencies
Quick to show
Must integrate
concept in limited demos into class
lecture time
lectures
Affinity Diagram Second Iteration
Key Engineering Concepts
Implementation of Labs
Lab Skills
Integrals
V-S and A-S Graphs
Vapor Dome
ABET Criteria
Experiments more
open-ended as the
weeks progress
Easy to assemble
Forces as vectors difficult
concept
Moment of Inertia
Open Source Mass
Flow
Open Source
Mininum of 12 sets of
hardware
Personal/Hands
On
FBD
Rotational to linear
motion a common
difficult concept
Isentropic
Efficiencies
Relative Motion
Torque
Piston Thermo
Demo
Must integrate into
class lectures
Backups are
necessary
Quick to show
concept in limited
lecture time
LabVIEW Proficiency
Motion in different
reference frames
Centripetal acceleration
was a common difficult
concept
Control Volume
Demo
Motivate students to
see how experiments
relate to physical
Increasing
Complexity
Labs must be under
75 minutes for
setup, collect data,
and take down.
Microsoft Excel
Profieciency
Budget for all lab
equipement cannot
exceed $50,000$100,000
Labs must be online
by May 2012
ME 102 labs take
priority
MATLAB Proficiency
Modular in terms of
variable range
Equipment has a 3
year development
cycle
Decomposing vectors
from one coordinate
system to another
Angular velocity
Direction of moment vs
Relations from 2D to 3D
direction of forces
Work/Energy
Most uncomfortable
with some aspect of
rotational motion
Impulse/Momentum
Entropy
In class demos fit
Want the labs to
inside Professor's class easily stored and not Simple Experiment
schedule
take up much space
Want the labs to easily
Students won't break
stored and not take up
them
much space
Want a set of extras in
case a couple break
Robust
Prefers
implementation of
COTS parts
Involves data aquisition
Use National
Instruments DAQ
hardware
Students should have
experience working in
groups
Technical writing
Mission Statement
The Mechanical Engineering Department at the
Rochester Institute of Technology will be
implementing a new course curriculum by Fall 2013,
including lab experiments for first year students,
because it will be a more effective way to introduce
key engineering principles early in their education.
The ME Lab Hardware family of projects will be
responsible for the design, development and
production of this lab hardware.
The Mechanical
Engineering
Department at
the Rochester
Institute of
Technology will
be
implementing a
new course
curriculum by
Fall 2013,
including lab
experiments for
first year
students,
because it will
be a more
effective way to
introduce key
engineering
principles early
in their
education. The
ME Lab family
of projects will
be responsible
for design,
development
and production
of this lab
hardware.
The customer needs experiments to address Newton’s Law of Gravity because it is a
foundation principle of mechanics.
The customer
needs a series of
experiments that
demonstrate key
engineering
concepts.
The customer needs experiments to address Newton’s Three Laws because they are
a foundation principle of mechanics.
The customer requires that the student must demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply the
Work Energy Theorem.
The customer requires that the student demonstrate an ability to conduct
scientific experiments, using appropriate technology to collect sensor data in order
to achieve the desired outcomes.
The customer needs
experiments that can
be effectively
implemented by May
2012 to establish RIT
as a national
education standard.
The customer needs experiments that are robust and easy to assemble so that a
significant number of students can have a hands-on experience with one piece of
hardware in under 75 minutes.
The customer needs
experiments that
help students obtain
and analyze data
from lab hardware
while developing
other important
technical skills.
The customer needs experiments that increase in complexity because this will help
ease students into more complex concepts.
The
customer
the experiments
be2012
ready
by May
2012 because
theto be
The
customer
needsneeds
the experiments
to be ready byto
May
because
the experiments
are going
implemented
by the Fall ofare
2013.
experiments
going to be implemented by the Fall of 2013.
The customer needs open source, ABET approved experiments that can be
implemented by other universities because RIT would like to become a national
standard in education.
The customer needs students to have data acquisition, data processing and
technical writing because they are critical engineering skill sets.
The customer needs the experiments to utilize National Instruments DAQ
hardware and commercial off-the-shelf parts to meet lab production time and
resource constraints.
Constraints
 Time



Must be implemented by May 2012
Lab Times restricted to 75 minutes in length
Lab Experiments must last at least three years
 Space

Lab Space: MIC Lab is going to designated for this course
 Budget


Total Lab Equipment cost cannot exceed budget ($50,000 $100,000)
Minimum of 12 lab sets to be produced to accommodate class size
 Academic

ABET Criteria
Voice of the Customer
Need #
CN1
CN2
CN3
CN4
CN5
CN6
Affinity Group
Name
Importance
Customer Objective Description
9
The student will demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply Newton's Law of Gravity
The student will demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply Newton's first law to analyze problems of
9
static equilibrium.
The student will demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply Newton's second law to analyze the
9
dynamics of a single particle.
Key Engineering
Principles
The student will demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply Newton's third law to analyze the dynamics
9
of two or more objects
9
The student will demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply the Work Energy Theorem
The student will demonstrate an ability to conduct scientific experiments, using appropriate technology to
9
collect sensor data in order to achieve the desired outcomes.
CN7
CN8
CN9
CN10
CN11
CN12
CN13
Implementation
of Labs
CN14
CN15
CN16
CN17
CN18
CN20
CN21
CN22
Student feedback and overall course GPA
Student feedback and overall course GPA
Student surveys
Student surveys
Number of other programs using RIT
curriculum
Complexity as defined by number of data
sets acquired and analysis done to it
Can be assembled/disassembled in five
minutes or less
Can be disassembled in a practical
storage envelope (by volume)
Conduct endurance testing
Number of experiments performed per
apparatus, minimum of three
Perform a sample lab and time it
Refer to textbook and prepared
curriculum
N/A
Overall cost and time of production
Number of discrete tasks required by lab
1
Create open source materials for potential nationwide adoption
9
Concepts should be performed with increasing complexity week over week
3
Should be easy to assemble
1
Should be easily stored
3
Robustly designed
3
Modular design to facilitate complexity
9
Labs can be completed in 75 minutes
3
Directly relate to classroom lecture
3
3
9
1
Contain data acquisition hardware
Use Commercially available Off-The-Shelf (COTS) parts
Can support 3-4 groups members performing a task
Should relate to real world situations
The student will demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply the LabVIEW system to the problem of
Depth of LabVIEW commands necessary
conducting experiments in engineering mechanics.
The student will demonstrate knowledge of and ability to apply modern engineering tools (such as Microsoft Perform a sample lab and check data for
Excel, Visual Basic, and MATLAB) to the analysis of experimental data, and reporting of results.
usability
Peer evaluations at the end of the
Provide students with experience working in a group
semester
The student will demonstrate ability to professionally document work in a manner that can be easily
One graded report per team per
followed, verified, and reproduced
experiment
3
CN19
Measure of Effectiveness
Student feedback and overall course GPA
3
Lab Skills
1
9
Summary
 Background
 Benchmarking
 Stakeholders
 Affinity Diagram
 Mission Statement
 Objective Tree
 Constraints
 Voice of the Customer
QUESTIONS?