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The Lux Lab has long been in contact with members of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering faculty. Unsurprisingly, MAE faculty members have voiced their enthusiastic support for the Library's Lux Lab initiatives, and are eager to see those services expanded upon. Before the start of Spring Quarter, Professor Shaefer formally requested that the Lux Lab partner with his Capstone Design Course to make the Library's emerging technology resources available to his students. From Professor Shaefer's email:

The Mechanical Engineering Department would like to ask for the use of the Lux Lab facilities for Spring 2017 to help the Capstone Design Course (MAE162D/E) students realize their design projects. Specifically, students need 3-D printers and the Laser Etcher to assist with fabrication of components. 

 

My class is divided into 13 five-member teams and this year's project is a propeller powered autonomous device that has to navigate a complex obstacle course. Each team has to build a device, which has to fit within an 11 x 11 x 11 inch volume. 

Table of Contents

 

Faculty Member(s) / Advisors 

  • Professor Robert Shaefer, Adjunct Professor of Engineering, MAE

  • Professor Dennis Hong, Professor of Engineering, MAE

Graduate or Undergraduate

  • Undergraduate

Students

  • MAE 162D/E, two classes

Challenges met

Although the Mechanical Engineering department has 3D printers, access to these machines is severely limited due to the high volume of students, and low volume of output of the printers themselves. Professors Shaefer and Hong have expressed interest in redesigning their Capstone Design Courses to incorporate the Library's increasing resources. What this will allow them to do is increase the number of teams while decreasing the number of students per team, thus giving students a chance for more hands-on, direct involvement in the design and fabrication process of the course.

As indicated by Professor Shaefer, he currently oversees 13 five-member teams. Our goal is to limit teams to no more than three members. With that in mind, and in response to the workload we experienced in the Spring Quarter of 2017, recommendations were made to increase the number of 3D printers to a total of nine: five MakerBots, two Lulzbots, one Airwolf, and one Form 2. We are also implementing a new workflow over the summer that is designed to increase efficiency, empower students to more easily make requests, and greatly enhance our ability to communicate with our users.

Pictures

 All MAE 162D/E students on the final day of the robot competition

 A few examples of the robots. Note the amount of 3D printed parts (in white)

 Robots must autonomously navigate this course and deposit a gold ball in a basket


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