Mechanical Design, Machine Design

Updated for 2025 evaluation standards!

Mechanical Design (part 1 of 2)

• Group assignment:

  • Design a machine that includes mechanism + actuation + automation + application
  • Build the mechanical parts and operate it manually
  • Document the group project

• Individual assignment:

  • Document your individual contribution

Machine Design (part 2 of 2)

• Group assignment:

  • Actuate and automate your machine
  • Document the group project

• Individual assignment:

  • Document your individual contribution

Learning outcomes

• Work and communicate effectively as a team
• Design, plan and build a machine
• Analyse and solve technical problems
• Recognise opportunities for improvements in the design

Have you answered these questions?

• Documented the machine building process to the group page
• Documented your individual contribution to this project on your own website
• Linked to the group page from your individual page as well as from group page to your individual pages
• Shown how your team planned, allocated tasks and executed the project (Group page)
• Described problems and how the team solved them (Group page)
• Listed possible improvements for this project (Group page)
• Included your design files (Group page)
• You need to present your machine globally and/or include a 1 min video (1920x1080 HTML5 MP4) + slide (1920x1080 PNG) (Group page)

FAQ

Do we have to design new board(s) for this assignment?

Answer: No. You can use any board, including commercial boards.

I'm the only student in the lab, can I complete the assignment by building the machine alone?

Answer: No. You need to collaborate with someone. If you can't find another student, you may collaborate with another person from your local node or a remote node. This is a team effort.

What is the recommended size of the team?

Answer: Optimal size of the group is three to five students per machine building project. Each member needs to contribute a week's worth of work.

Can we use off-the-shelf software?

Answer: Yes.

Do we need to document how the machine building tasks were allocated to the members of the group?

Yes, your group page should show each members allocated tasks.

What if the machine was not ready and my group was not able to present?

There has to be a strong reason for not being able to present on time. You should make a video presentation as soon as possible and upload it to your group assignment page. You can request to present your machine during subsequent weekly reviews.

Have a question or feedback? Use this quick link to open an issue in GitLab class repo!