2.972 Body

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

PTS Guided Tour & Questionaire

How Things Work Reports (Beta)

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]

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.

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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

Gaining skill and knowledge about how things work, specifically:

Skill / Knowledge		How Acquired
Understanding of how many devices operate		Taking a multiplicity of machines apart and using/running them
Ability to learn/determine how things work		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		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		Sketching the machines/parts and solid modeling some of them
Understanding fo the limiting and dominant physics of many machines		These will be covered in the workshops and you will use them in lab
Understanding of how geometry is linked to and affects performance		Geometric modeling, mathematical modeling, and by making working model(s)
Knowledge of some machine elements and how they are used		You will see a wide variety of machine parts/elements in lab and on field trips

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