Design Project Mechanical and Electromechanical Engineering

3 ECTS credits
75 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 1008081BNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

Dutch

Faculty

Faculteit Ingenieurswetenschappen

Department and involved faculties/organizations

Electrical Engineering and Power Electronics
Applied Mechanics

Educational team

Joeri Van Mierlo (course titular)
Bram Vanderborght
Mohamed El Baghdadi
Jan Helsen

Activities and contact hours

48 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals

Course Content

The students can choose between several projects or assignments with joint and specific study content.

Project "Building yourself an electrical kart ":
In this assignment an electrically powered kart must be designed, quantified, and built on a realistic scale (not model-scale).
The challenge is therefore to build the most ingenious electrical kart which is able to compete against traditional petrol engine karts in terms of acceleration, top speed, energy consumption, and emissions.

Project "Build a robot":
The aim of this assignment is to design and build a robot that can perform a predefined task. For this assignment Lego (NXT) building blocks, electrical motors, sensors and a microprocessor control panel have to be used. The task of the year is presented at the start of the seminar.

Project "Build a wind turbine":
The aim of this project is design of a scale model of a wind turbine. You must design a wind turbine with a number of design parameters which are given at the beginning of the seminar. The next phase exists in building the wind turbine. The aim is build a wind turbine with the highest output power within the predefined boundaries (e.g. wind speed).
One parts of the task exist to review capacity of your own wind turbine based on a computer simulation compared to the real measurements.

Joint study content:
- concept machine with moving parts
- principle of a technical realisation
- mechanical force, torque and power
- the drive of a machine, power delivered vs. load capacity
- transmission elements for force and performance, efficiency
- energy conversion

Specific study content project "Building yourself an electrical kart ":
- introduction to vehicle technology: chassis, tyres, steering mechanism, road grip, forces a vehicle is subjected to
- basic properties of an electromotor, converter and battery
- efficiency of the various parts
- design and arrangement of electric drive
- safety aspects of electrical systems

Specific study content project "Build a robot":
- design a machine with a specific functionality
- structural strength as part of a mechanical design
- mechano-electronics concept: actuators, sensors, steering, feedback
- programming of the robot

Specific study content project "Build a wind turbine":
- Bernoulli's law
- conservation laws
- aerodynamics: lift and carrying capacity strength
- law of Newton and stability

Additional info

Attendance is compulsory. The final mark will be reduced due to illegitimate absenteeism per half-day at a ratio of 1/10th per half-day, i.e. multiplied by 9/10th for half a day of absenteeism, by 8/10th for two half-days, etc. Those who have not passed the tutorial during the first examination period due to illegitimate absenteeism, is not entitled to resit during the second examination period and therefore retains Is handed out and distributed on the spot and documents on Pointcarré.

Complementary study material:
Internet, Library

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

The learning competences can be listed under four headers, namely gaining knowledge, insights, skills, and attitudes (see down) in the field of Electromechanical engineering.

Kennis verwerving

Both theoretical and practical knowledge, both are directly linked to one another. Facets: application of previously taught material, designing and building a device, introduction to parts of mechanics, fluid mechanics, and electro engineering. This knowledge is typical for the WE course and serves to assist students in choosing his/her specialist field.

Inzichten verwerven

It particularly concerns the theory-practice relationship. As a result of the method that has been adopted (a practical assignment is given and the theory required to to successfully complete it is acquired along the way) a student will become immediately aware of the practical implications of the theory and will therefore be able to improve a design quickly from a theoretical point of view. Another aim is to provide a notion of the complexity of a project or a design and the method and organisation associated with it. The aim is to make students more aware generally of the extent to which the technical reality is complex and multi-disciplinary, and how this forces simplification i.e. the simplifying (linearising) engineer.

Vaardigheden

Classical technical-scientific education is typically one-problem-one-solution type of education, while the typical work of an engineer, namely projects and design tasks, are characterised by one-problem-many-solutions. This requires a complex set of skills which can be acquired through education that approximates real-life situations. Such a complex set of skills, a combination of technical and social skills here, means a student must be able to carry out a task as part of a team while acquiring the necessary technical knowledge and by applying this also and be able to report on the project (task). The technical skills required for this include the way of approaching a technical project (defining, situating, analysing and identificating subproblems, broad design, phasing, and planning, realisation) and the accompanying independent searching for, understanding and application of theoretical knowledge. The use of typical engineering tools such as measuring equipment and computer programmes is also part of the technical skills. Social skills include elements such as the ability to work in a group, communicating, discussing, and delegation of tasks. Finally results must be reported. This involves communicating and an oral presentation of a project and this follows-on from the engineering toolbox training part of the first year leading to candidature.

Attitudes

The tutorial must provide a framework that is conducive in terms of acquiring and practicing a number of attitudes. The framework is provided by the project task (one-problem-many-solutions) while working in a team. Attitudes that are fostered include working independently, self-motivation, an enterprising spirit, reliability, eagerness to learn and creativity, critical outlook, respect for other ideas, carrying out of a task and respect for deadlines, creating and dealing with (one's own) strength-weakness analysis.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
PRAC Teamwork determines 15% of the final mark.
PRAC Presentation determines 20% of the final mark.
PRAC Practical Assignment determines 30% of the final mark.
PRAC Lab Work determines 15% of the final mark.
PRAC Report determines 20% of the final mark.

Within the PRAC Teamwork category, the following assignments need to be completed:

WPO Groepswerk with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 15% of the final mark.

Note: Gedurende de loop van het project wordt ingegrepen en bijgestuurd door de begeleiders met als doel het leerproces te optimaliseren, het eindproduct te verzekeren en op die manier mislukkingen aan het einde van het traject te vermijden. De evaluatie is te zien als de afsluitende activiteit die op formele wijze de appreciatie van het geleverde werk in al zijn vormen en van zijn/haar bijdrage daarin vastlegt. Dit betekent dus dat niet enkel het eindproduct zal geëvalueerd worden maar ook het proces en het groepsgebeuren, d.w.z. de werking van de groep, de houding en de bijdrages van de individuele leden, de efficiëntie van de organisatie en het uitvoeren van de taken en dergelijke meer.

De beoordeling wordt gemaakt door de jury, bestaande uit de begeleiders en titularissen alsook door de studenten zelf.

De evaluatie door de jury is verdeeld als volgt:
• de persoonlijke inzet en bijdrage tot technisch eindresultaat voor 15%
• het werken in teamverband, voor 15%;
• het technisch niveau van het verrichte werk met inbegrip van het eindproduct en de demonstratie, voor 30%;
• het eindrapport, voor 20%;
• de mondelinge presentatie, voor 20%.

Eveneens wordt aan de studenten gevraagd zichzelf en medestudenten te beoordelen. Hierbij geeft een student punten aan zijn groepsleden en zichzelf voor persoonlijke inzet, werken in teamverband en het eindrapport, geeft per groep een beoordeling voor het technisch resultaat en aan elke student een beoordeling voor de mondelinge presentatie volgens dezelfde procentuele verhouding als de jury.

Het eindresultaat van een bepaalde student is het resultaat voorgesteld door de jury voor deze student vermenigvuldigd met de verhouding van het gemiddelde resultaat gegeven door de studenten aan deze student t.o.v. het eigen groepsgemiddelde gegeven door de studenten.

In geval de jury vaststelt dat de studenten onrechtmatige punten geven/krijgen (bijvoorbeeld om persoonlijke redenen), behoudt ze het recht geen rekening te houden met de punten gegeven door de studenten.

Gezien de aard van het werkcollege zal er geen herkansing mogelijk zijn in tweede zit. In tweede zit kan men 50% van de quotering halen uit de evaluatie van een bijkomende opdracht. De overige helft komt van het overgedragen cijfer voor persoonlijke inzet (12.5%), werken in teamverband (12.5%) en technisch niveau (25%).

Within the PRAC Presentation category, the following assignments need to be completed:

WPO presentatie with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 20% of the final mark.

Within the PRAC Practical Assignment category, the following assignments need to be completed:

WPO Technisch wetenschappelijk with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 30% of the final mark.

Note: technisch wetenschappelijk resultaat

Within the PRAC Lab Work category, the following assignments need to be completed:

WPO persoonlijke bijdrage with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 15% of the final mark.

Note: persoonlijke bijdrage

Within the PRAC Report category, the following assignments need to be completed:

WPO schriftelijk rapport with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 20% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

For the duration of the project supervisors intervene and provide guidance aiming to optimise the learning process, safeguarding the end product and to avoid failures at the end of the course. The assessment can be considered as the concluding activity, formally capturing the appreciation of the work produced in all its forms and of his/her contribution. This therefore means that not just the end product will be assessed, but also the process and the team effort, i.e. the dynamics of the team, the attitude, and contributions of individual members, the efficiency of the organisation and the carrying out of tasks and the like.

The assessment is based on the appreciation of the examiners comprising lecturers in charge and the supervisors involved as well as the students themselves.
The assessment of the examiners is based on:
• the individual work and contribution to the technical end result: 15%
• the attitude of and application by individual team members in terms of the team: 15%;
• the technical level of the task completed: 30%;
• the final report: 20%;
• the oral presentation: 20%.

Additional the students will assess themselves and their co-students. Students give grades to their group members and him/herself for individual work (15%), team working (15%) and the final report (20%), as well as for each group a grade for the technical result (30%) and finally for each students a grade for the oral presentation (20%).

The end grade of a specific student equals the grade given by the examiners multiplied by the ratio of the average grade given by the students for that specific student divided by the average grade of the students’ group.

In case the students peer assessment shows some indications to be unfair (due to e.g. personal reasons), the examiners have the right to disregard the grade proposed by the students.

Because of the nature of the tutorial there is in principle no opportunity to resit during the 2nd examination period. The provision for the 2nd examination period is as follows. Grades for the individual work (12.5%), team working (12.5%) and the technical level of the task completed (25%) during the first examination period are transferred to the 2nd examination period, weighing 50% towards the final mark. The remaining 50% of the assessment during the 2nd examination period consists of allocating an additional task, decided by the board of examiners, to each student on an individual basis.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context