Machine Elements

3 units

This course includes weekly lectures and a bi-weekly lab. Lectures introduce the engineering design process, review stresses and failure theories, and present a variety of machine elements (such as bearings, shafts, gears, belts, springs, etc.) and their governing equations. In lab, students use a commercial CAD package (SolidWorks) to create and constrain models of machine assemblies, analyze stresses in machine components, and create animations to demonstrate machine motion. Course material is presented in the context of a semester-long engineering design problem that culminates in a final group project. Student teams generate their own design concept to embody in CAD and characterize it with engineering and analytical models.