Engineering Design II module (ME32003)

Design considers ease of manufacture, fitness for purpose, and sustainable use of materials and energy. Engineers use various techniques to enhance designs, leading to cost savings.

Application of skills and experience with industry is essential to reinforce taught content, so this module includes a 10-week group problem-solving task.

You will work directly with a local industry partner to design or develop a product or process. This will require project management, design, and prototyping work. You will then present your solutions to the company for consideration.

The skills and experience gained in this industry project will equip you for future work in engineering.

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• investigate use of plastic as a cheap light-weight engineering material
• study the properties and loading of power transmission shafts
• learn the performance of different types of bearings
• identify the different types of gears including their characteristics and gear trains
• learn the properties of different types of clutch and brake systems
• work through an industrial group project, presenting the outputs
• consider the theme of sustainable engineering design

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• determine deflection and maximum loading of plastic structures
• calculate stress limits of driveshafts under combined loads
• specify suitable bearings for a range of engineering applications
• solve problems involving gear train design and stress in individual gears
• consider use of clutch and brake solutions for an application
• demonstrate a group design project as specified by an engineering company
• incorporate the principles of sustainability into engineering design work

Assignments / assessment

• Class test covering engineering design seminar content (40%)
• Problem-solving industrial visit report and presentation (60%)

Teaching methods / timetable

The module is delivered through a combination of seminars, workshops, and field trips to a local industry partner.

• seminars
  • covering engineering design theory
• workshops
  • includes meetings with an academic supervisor for support with the group project
• field trip
  • visit to a local engineering company for a project brief, returning at the end of the module to present the design work