ESG 316: Engineering Design II

History of continuing laboratory development

Computers are used in far more aspects of basic engineering design in industrial settings than simply those which are traditionally thought of as CAD. Primary use focused on replacing manual technical drawing with programs such as AutoCAD and DesignCAD. More recently these programs have been designed with expanded capabilities to include perspective changes and three dimensional drawing as well as a few basic forms of analysis, i.e. determination of center of gravity. This is reflected in the initial development of the Engineering Science CAD Laboratory over the past several years, which included use of AutoCAD with integrated drawing tablets.

Today in industry, however, computers have been integrated into every stage and aspect of the engineering design and analysis endeavor. Prospective entrants into the industrial market place need to be acquainted with a wider range of computer skills in order to satisfy the needs of a technically advanced engineering and manufacturing environment. The mission of the Engineering Science computer laboratory must reflect this expansion of needs and technology in form, function and even name.

A departmental Computer Aided Design (CAD) Laboratory was created in 1986. Current hardware used in ESG 316 includes four Pentium-based (P75) PC's running mechanical and electrical simulation software (plus graphics, word processing and spreadsheet programs). These four machines are equipped with 16 MB RAM and CD-drives. In addition the room contains eight IBM PS2 computers equipped with high density disk drives and 4 MB RAM each. Six of these eight computers are equipped with Genitizer AutoCAD template boards. One of these PS2's is equipped with 4MB of additional memory, an additional disk drive and is hooked up to an HP Laserjet 4M printer capable of printing Postscript files.

Certain changes already underway which reflect this expanded mission for the laboratory include:

1. Name change to 'Engineering Science Computer Assisted Engineering (CAE) Laboratory' from 'Engineering Science CAD Laboratory' to reflect the laboratory's expanded mission.
2. Changing the laboratory floor plan to optimize the development of independent laboratory projects. This would optimize room usage for ESG 316 as well as for running of software used in some of the materials science courses (i.e. Phase Diagrams, Dislocations, etc.). The ESG 316 Laboratory Experiments would be expanded to include the following:
   1. Concept Drawing and Development (AutoCAD/DesignCAD)
   2. Materials Selection
   3. Modeling and Simulation (Working Model/ICAP4)
   4. Cost Evaluation/Engineering Economics (Microsoft Excel)
   5. Rapid Prototyping (JP System 5/Silver Screen)

   Through performing experiments in each of these areas student would develop an understanding of computer usage for all stages of design and development which they would find in a modern industrial setting.

3. Expanded Hours for Facility Use In order to expand student access to these facilities, all T.A.'s for ESG 217 and ESG 316 would be required to hold their office hours in the laboratory. Perhaps another T.A. could be assigned in order to expand evening hours. In any case, hours of operation would be posted outside the door.
4. Software is currently being purchased from student laboratory fees in order to install both AutoCAD 12 and solid modeling capabilities on the four Pentium based computers.
5. Plans are underway to obtain an intelligent, buffered switchbox capable of hooking the printer to multiple computers. We will try to obtain this switchbox using current lab fees.
6. Additional infrastructure changes necessary in the laboratory include installation of or repair to the alarm system and an ethernet hookup. The ethernet hookup will allow addition of an educational module on use of the Internet in engineering, as well as development of a World Wide Web presence for the Engineering Science design program. The networking will also allow for resource sharing within the laboratory.

The eight PS2's are currently running AutoCAD 10 software and Harvard Graphics. This software, in addition to AutoCAD 12 and simulation software (on the four Pentium computers), will provide adequate capability for instructing students in laboratory modules on:

• two-dimensional CAD drawing
• three-dimensional CAD drawing (and perspectives)
• solid modeling
• mechanical (and some electrical) simulation
• economic decision making in design

Laboratory experiments currently used in ESG 316 (Engineering Science Design II) include the following:

1. A number of tutorial drawing exercises in order to learn about AutoCAD and use of drawing tablets and other input devices to create technical drawings.
2. Use of AutoCAD 10 or 12 to create a scaled, multiple view technical drawing of a vacuum flange assembly provided by the instructor. Students must use a caliper/micrometer to measure a physical assembly and then create a detail drawing which provides all necessary information for manufacture of this piece.
3. Use of AutoCAD 12 and its associated Modeling Extension and rendering software to create three-dimensional representations of several different mechanical components. Students learn to use both wire-frame and surface net methods as well as construction techniques using primitives.
4. Students have to design and simulate a manufacturing arm assembly capable of picking up and placing a mechanical flange component. In order to do this they use a simulation software package, Working Model. They must draw the arm and demonstrate its operation, including creating output charts which measure forces on various parts of the apparatus during operation.
5. A new laboratory experiment under development, which involves use of a simple rapid prototyping system. The students use the system to create a three dimensional physical model of a mechanical component. This experiment also involves learning about transfer protocol and importing of files from AutoCAD to Silver Screen, another CAD package.

Future planned modules include use of an expert system software package, Steels, in order to aid in selecting the correct material for a design, and use of Microsoft Excel to create and perform a simple finite element analysis of heat transfer from a weld.

For more information, please contact Prof. Gary Halada.

01-20-98 JQ.