MAE 4340

MAE 4340

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2022-2023.

This hands-on/project-based course instructs students on methods to identify product concepts for machine designs with commercial potential. It combines lectures and field/lab activities on the new product development cycle: iterative design based on ethnographic fieldwork, team brainstorming, prototyping, testing/consumer feedback, and limitations set by mass manufacturing. Students –coming from diverse backgrounds and industry experience, and some currently working in different companies -will be teamed together to develop the new products. They will be given a common design challenge, and after observing and engaging with real users, they will identify specific needs; then based on those needs each team will end up with a different problem definition and a different product. Industry advisers from real world companies will provide constant feedback throughout the semester.

When Offered Fall.

Permission Note Enrollment limited to: M.E. seniors.

Satisfies Requirement Satisfies senior design requirement if enrolled in MAE 4341.

Outcomes
  • Students will be able to experience the major impact of a human-centered design approach.
  • Students will be able to understand the logic of the product development cycle in the context of both a startup company and an established firm.
  • Students will be able to appreciate the limitations of early-stage prototypes and the importance of staged development into more realistic prototypes.
  • Students will be able to identify product platforms for mechanical design with commercial potential.
  • Students will be able to appreciate Intellectual Property in terms of design and utility.
  • The student will be able to acquire familiarity with basic tools of design and manufacturing, such as CAD and digital manufacturing tools.

View Enrollment Information

Syllabi:
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Choose one lecture and one laboratory. Combined with: MAE 4341MAE 5340

  • 3 Credits Graded

  •  9500 MAE 4340   LEC 001

    • MWF Upson Hall 142
    • Aug 22 - Dec 5, 2022
    • Shepherd, R

      Simoncini, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person
    M.E. students who have taken MAE 4351, may not count both this class and MAE 4351 towards B.S. graduation requirements in Mechanical Engineering.

  •  9543 MAE 4340   LAB 401

    • M Upson Hall 142
    • Aug 22 - Dec 5, 2022
    • Shepherd, R

      Simoncini, S

  • Instruction Mode: In Person