Introduction to ME 470 Senior Design Project

1. Introduction to ME 470Senior Design Project

2. Personnel Course Coordinator: Prof. Mike Philpott 3007 MEL, ph: 244-3184, mphilpot@uiuc.edu Project Coordinator: Dr. Emad Jassim 2115 MEL, Ph: 377-8249, jassim@uiuc.edu TAs: Aaron Shinn (afshinn2@uiuc.edu) Kevin Davis (kdavis3@uiuc.edu) Matthew Kasper (mkasper3@uiuc.edu) Faculty Advisors: MechSE Faculty: TBD - 1 for each project MechSE Admin: Bob Coverdill 1125 MEL, ph: 333-4109, coverdil@uiuc.ed Robin Dennis 154 MEB, ph: 333-0366, dennisr@uiuc.edu David Kees 1127 MEL, ph: 265-6405,ddkees@ad.uiuc.edu

3. Overview • Course Objectives • Coordinator Roles • Team/Project Selection, including IP & NDAs • Class Resources • Major Activities and Milestones • Grading • Project Budget • Class Resources • Meet advisor and client • Logbooks and deliverables • Teamwork • Conclusion

4. Course objectives • Provide a guided design project experience by working on a semester-long sponsored team project • Develop, evaluate, and recommend alternative solutions to a real design problem through creative processes and inductive reasoning • Integrate knowledge from previous coursework • Satisfy realistic constraints: • economic, environmental, sustainability, manufacturability, ethical, social, political, health and safety • Improve oral and written technical communication skills • Become familiar with technical literature and relevant engineering decision-support resources

5. Coordinator Roles • Course Coordinator (Mike Philpott) • Overall course planning and management • ME470 Lectures: 9-10am Tuesdays in 1320 DCL • Secondary project advising, all projects, specifically CAD modeling/animations, prototyping, design for manufacture, and cost analysis (for volume production). • Project Coordinator (Emad Jassim) • Negotiated and setup the projects • Primary interface with project sponsors • Manages expectations (point man for any issues/concerns) • Faculty advisor for 2 projects • Secondary support for HVAC related projects

6. Team & Project Selection • Student teams of 3-4 students • Students can select one teammate: others by computer program to give balanced team GPAs (already done) • Teams may select 3 projects and rate with 1-2-3 preference (use website and select by noon Jan 16th) • Project descriptions (see handout) • No guarantees!

7. Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) & Intellectual Property (IP) • NDAs: • As a professional you should always consider client information confidential. • You may be asked by the sponsor to sign an NDA • IP agreements: • University has waived its student ownership interests • Company may ask students to explicitly transfer IP ownership to them

8. Class Resources • Website: https://www-s.mechse.uiuc.edu/courses/me470 • Purchasing • Communications • Travel • Tools and Shop Services • Computers and Video • Library

9. Major Activities & Milestones • Project Proposal report and presentation: 8-10am TR • Presented to advisor & TA, and other teams and advisors • Report sent to the company (may be presented also) • See samples on website • Mid Term Status report and presentation: 8-10am TR • Project status and review • Presented to advisor & TA, and other teams and advisors • Report sent to company (may be presented also) • Final Report and presentation: May 1st, 8-noon + Lunch • Companies and all MIE faculty invited See detailed schedule on class website

10. Grading – Activities & Timing

11. Grading – Details (primarily faculty) • Presentations: (30%) • Individual grades are assigned • Graded by all faculty present (5 typically) and TA • Grade is average from all those present • Technical content and delivery • Reports: (30%) • Group grade assigned • Graded by the faculty advisor and TA • Technical content, clarity, grammar, spelling etc. • Teamwork and Individual Contribution grade: (15%) • Individual grade assigned by faculty advisor at end of project • Assessment of relative contribution, initiative and effort • Ability to work constructively within a team. • Based on semester interactions and aided by Peer Evaluations

12. Grading – Details (primarily TAs) • Project Progress Reviews: (10%) • Individual grade: project progress and logbook compliance. • Project plan and Logbooks • Two reviews 1/3 and 2/3 way through semester • Project Website grade: (5%) • Initial grade at week 12 • Final grade at project end: based on content and quality • Single group grade • Project Sponsor grade: (5%) • asked to give feedback on the performance of the group, • Will assign one group project grade. • Sponsoring company will typically attend the final presentation. • Lecture attendance grade: (5%) • Exposure to important class content without homework assignments. • A signup sheet passed around shortly after start of of each lecture.

13. Project Budget • Each team/project limited to $1000 budget • Travel • Materials and supplies • Equipment, etc. • For hardware intensive projects, additional budget may be allocated to the project on a case by case basis. • $4000 company donations used to defray course expenses including faculty/TA/staff time, travel, materials, equipment, etc. • Internal projects not providing a $4000 donation are asked to contribute to expenses beyond $500

14. Meet with advisor ASAP • Company-sponsored projects • Professor is advisor • Company is client • Faculty-sponsored projects • Dual role for professor: advisor and client • Meeting time • Arrange with advisor (Thursdays 8-10am?) • It is your project, so be aggressive!

15. Meet with client ASAP • Find out contact info and get in touch with client ASAP; set up conference call and/or visit • Semester is short, so be insistent • Understanding problem/project early is critical • Listen, filter, re-state need/problem as necessary • Client’s values and mental model should be revealed; may not match yours

16. Keeping your logbook • Why keep detailed notes? • Credit • Leonardo da Vinci and Ben Franklin • Legal • Needed by patent process • Captures economic value of innovations • Information • Invaluable record of meetings, phone conversations, e-mail messages, analyses, experiments, decisions, … • Learning • Former students cite habit-forming experience

17. Logbook specifications • ALL STUDENTS MUST PURCHASE THEIR LOGBOOKS FROM THE ILLINI UNION BOOKSTORE. NO OTHER LOGBOOKS ARE ACCEPTABLE. • Every person has one • Entries for every meeting/work session • Collected occasionally for grading purposes • Used to resolve appeals of final grade • Kept by student after semester

18. Deliverables are … • Tangible items • Interim and final reports • Electronic copies • Oral presentations • Prototypes or models • Concise • Backup materials in appendices • Analyses • Test results • Software • Timely • You inflict massive costs by forcing others to wait

19. How project teams work • Not like a homework team • Class assignments can be procrastinated • Deadbeats can be expelled • Project teams are externally constrained • Client sets deadlines • Time lags are unavoidable • Ordering equipment • Assembling prototypes/apparatus • Designing experiments & Analyzing data • Must expect surprises and build in time cushions • Whole > S parts

20. Just like the real world Common complaints: • Too much work • That’s the nature of open-ended problems! • Grade should reflect my effort • Products are bought or not, regardless of effort • Faculty critical, little positive feedback • That’s their job, since you will not be around to get negative feedback from market • Don’t like teammates • Employees don’t control team selection process

21. Just like the real world (cont.) • Don’t like project assignment • Must excel on all kinds of work assignments • Too much weight on reporting • If your boss is a turkey, only way to leapfrog him/her is to impress top management • Management sees only your written and oral presentations • Need more feedback on how we are doing • Ask for it. Ask faculty, TAs, company contacts, anyone!

22. Just like the real world (cont.) • Whom do we satisfy: sponsor? faculty? teammates? • All of the above • Need clear direction on what to do • If clients knew, they wouldn’t need you; again, the nature of open-ended problems • What must I do to get a good grade? • Your best… AND produce a good project • Experts (e.g., faculty) are hard to find • Of course, non-experts have a lot of time on their hands!

23. Conclusion • What you are getting yourself into • Building your technical skills • Dealing with open-ended problems • Building personal and team skills • Do not procrastinate • The semester will disappear on you!