Semester Reflection: Dylan Box

I was glad to be part of a Design-Build-Test class as my first foray into my Mechanical Engineering degree. Throughout the last semester, I have gained a great variety of skills, like advanced CAD modeling, material selection, drawing creation, machining techniques, and assembly methods. While I have used the Design-Build-Test method in various other settings like the Odyssey of the Mind club and prior classes, it was very important to work as engineers in the field actually do: relying on component drawings and planned machining techniques rather than “winging it” as previous classes have often been conducted. It is important to note, that while it is nice to have a complete plan-of-action, when problems arose, our team was there to improvise and solve problems, another very important skill that can only really be learned in a hands on setting such as this. But despite glitches and hiccups along the way, the knowledge gained became vital to the completion of our final project.
The most important part of this class to me was to learn about various engineering principles outside of abstract learning environments. Having bike and motor labs were very helpful to the understanding of concepts discussed in class, such as gear trains and linkages; I like to see the inner-workings of these everyday devices in a learning setting. However, I would have liked some extra time to work and schedule these sessions. In general, required outside work time needs to be scheduled far in advance (at least a week ahead), rather than the two-to-three day noticed we received about the Bike and Motor labs, as I had difficulty scheduling around my eighteen credit-hours and job on such short notice. Apart from the extra lab sessions, I appreciated detailed information regarding mechanical components, rather than only abstract concepts regarding purely dynamics. Due to my degree in Art & Design and Engineering, I find that most of my work will be done designing mechanical systems using these components and less time dealing with intangible concepts, which I am often bombarded with in the engineering school.
Also apart vital to the study of engineering is the element of team or group work. One would be hard-pressed to find an engineering job where teamwork is not necessary, and so requiring hands-on, teamwork experiences to students is vital to the job market later on. Again, utilizing my prior experience with teams, clubs, and classes, working with a team was not far outside of my comfort zone. However, to utilize this group mentality, it would be nice to see more assignments that required a variety of experience and skill sets, as some weeks I could find myself stuck being the only one who knew how to use Solidwork, which could compose the majority of a homework assignment. Time-management in a group setting also became an important issue. Working with so many different schedules on out of class time was often extremely difficult. I think that more delgation and better communication within our group could have greatly improved how our machine came together of the few weeks. It would also be nice to get started on the project sooner (a combination of a slow-to-start attitude from our team and a front-loaded class schedule, were to blame this term). In future sessions, more focus on engineering processes and less on calculations (often done in classes like ME240 and Physics 140 and 240) would be nice, and would allow the class to move quickly through the concepts and get into the hands-on experience, where those concepts can be cemented for future use.
Overall, I found myself learning a great deal about engineering and mechanical processes and concepts that I will certainly use throughout the rest of my education and career. Despite an enormous time-commitment, the class went rather smoothly, and I was happy with our final product, even though we did not win. From previous semesters, it seems that this class has undergone an important and helpful shift, and it is not far off from being fully ironed out. Most importantly, in further iterations of this class, outside of class homework and projects needs to be considered. I personally spent more time on this class than any of my others classes combined, and for only a four-credit course out of an eighteen-credit schedule, it was rather unreasonable. I would recommend the class focus more on the “Design and Manufacturing” process as indicated by the course syllabus and title, and less re-hashing of concepts learned in other required ME classes. I look forward to seeing where this class is going in the future, and to seeing how what I have learned here will impact me later on in my career.