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I am interested in any  suggestions/comments you have about the course/content.

PTS Guided Tour & Questionaire [To be online at 5 pm Saturday May 1st]

Class Report on Understanding How Things Work

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  • Learning how some basic devices/machines work
  • Developing skills to help you determine how unfamiliar devices/machines work
  • Having fun!

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Solid Model of Pump

 

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Pump Made
From Solid Model
[Most parts Made on LMP Abrasive Waterjet]

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  • Take apart cool machines
  • Learn how they work ( behind their operation)
  • Design, solid model, and build a gear pump
  • You will write a (2 - 4 page) web based report on how something works
  • We will collate these reports and start an MIT Style How Things Work Web Site!!

Emphasis is placed on "hands-on-learning."  Approximately 20% of time will be spent in lectures and 80%  in lab/workshops taking apart machines.

 

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Instructor Martin Culpepper (right) runs pump designed by: Tina Rosado (shown left,) Manuel Martinez, Michael Ramirez, and David Hu
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Katin Shields & Jennifer Blundo work on a tape recorder and several gear boxes.		 students_working_on_6_cylinder_block.jpg (11361 bytes)
Students disect a 6 cylinder engine.
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In lab, students take apart machines, learn how they work, then explain how they work to others


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Gaining skill and knowledge about how things work, specifically:

Skill / Knowledge How Acquired
Understanding of how many devices operate right_pointing_arrow.gif (1042 bytes) Taking a multiplicity of machines apart and using/running them
Ability to learn/determine how things work right_pointing_arrow.gif (1042 bytes) Lectures and lab exercises on using geometry/structure, physics, and flow (material, information, energy, etc...) in machines/devices to determine how machines work.
Ability to explain how things work to others right_pointing_arrow.gif (1042 bytes) Explaining operation of machines you take apart in your lab write ups and to other students
Ability to create, rotate, translate, and otherwise visualize 3D objects right_pointing_arrow.gif (1042 bytes) Sketching the machines/parts and solid modeling some of them
Understanding fo the limiting and dominant physics of many machines right_pointing_arrow.gif (1042 bytes) These will be covered in the workshops and you will use them in lab
Understanding of how geometry is linked to and affects performance right_pointing_arrow.gif (1042 bytes) Geometric modeling, mathematical modeling, and by making working model(s)
Knowledge of some machine elements and how they are used right_pointing_arrow.gif (1042 bytes) You will see a wide variety of machine parts/elements in lab and on field trips

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Special thanks to our sponsors and the following people for their advice and support in making this class a reality:

Prof. Suh Prof. Abeyaratne Prof. Slocum Prof. Trumper Prof. Flowers
Zafar Shaikh David Rodriguera Maureen Lynch Lee Knight Richard PerdichizzI
William Culpepper Donald Weiner Peggy Garlick Gerry Wentworth Asha Balakrishnan