Application of Continuous Improvement to an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Program Roger Mayne Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering University at Buffalo State University of New York

Summary Industry problems for design projects About UB and ME at UB Current BSME program Accreditation in the U.S. Continuous improvement approach Surveying students and alumni Program revision Follow on survey results Industry problems for design projects

Background Information UB is part of the State University of New York (4 university campuses, 20 colleges) An suburban campus of about 24,000 students Wide range of undergraduate programs, full graduate spectrum - medicine, law, etc. Engineering school offers BS, MS and PhD programs in Aerospace, Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering

The Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department 22 - 25 faculty members Research in materials, mechanics, fluid-thermal sciences, design, system dynamics Graduating 120 - 150 BS students per year 35 - 50 MS students and 8 - 12 PhDs 20 - 25 percent of our students are pursuing Aerospace degrees or dual degrees

Basic BSME Program Relatively typical BSME Math (4 courses) Physics, chemistry (4 courses) Engineering fundamentals (7 courses) drawing, programming, thermo, statics, dynamics, strength, EE concepts Mechanical engineering (9 courses) instrumentation, dynamic systems, fluids, heat transfer, machines, mechanisms, materials, materials II, thermo II

Basic Program (cont.) Design (2 courses) design process, senior design Laboratories (5 courses) instrumentation, 2 materials, fluids/heat, systems Electives (6 courses) three technical, two applied math, one free General education (8 courses) 2 english, 6 social science

A Few Semesters First Year (Freshman) Fall Spring Chemistry 1 4 Calculus 2 4 Calculus 1 4 Physics 1 4 Intro. Engineering 3 Intro. Drawing 2 English 1 3 English 2 3 Gen Ed 1 3 Gen Ed 2 3 17 16 Fourth Year (Senior) Fall Spring Thermo 2 3 Senior Design 4 Machines 2 3 App Math 2 3 Design Proc 2 TE 3 3 TE 1 3 Gen Ed 6 3 TE 2 3 Free Elective 3 Gen Ed 5 3 16 17 Total 134

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Known as “ABET” Federation of thirty one engineering and technical societies - including ASME, IEEE, ASCE, SME, AIChE, ASEE, etc. Accredits over 2400 programs in engineering and technology at more than 500 colleges and universities across the U.S.

Comments on Accreditation For students an accredited degree is the first step toward becoming a registered professional engineer For engineering programs validates the quality of the program for university administration and government an important factor in recruiting new students

ABET 2000 Major change in philosophy in the 1990’s Accreditation had led to over specification US engineering programs were becoming very similar ABET 2000 based on objectives, outcomes and assessment Our interpretation of the original ABET 2000 is the basis for this talk ABET is now on a new highly (excessively?) controlled path

Basic Strategy Faculty define goals Develop knowledge and skill statements Obtain feedback on appropriateness of knowledge and skill statements Survey for importance of particular knowledge and skill items Use focus groups for clarification Continually improve program

Highlights of the Knowledge Statement Mathematics/sciences Mechanics Materials science Thermodynamics Heat transfer Fluid mechanics System dynamics Machines/mechanisms Design Manufacturing Numerical computations Exposure to practice Professionalism, ethics, society, environment

Highlights of the Skills Statement Product design and realization Math modeling CAD modeling and tools Sound engineering judgement Choose and evaluate materials Choose and evaluate manufacturing processes Communication skills Ability to work in teams

The Initial Survey Graduating seniors Classes of 1999 and 2000 (~60% response) Alumni Classes of 1994 - 1998 (~20 % overall response) Comments requested on goals Knowledge and skills rated by Importance to career (Scale of 1- 5) Importance given at UB (Scale of 1- 5)

Knowledge Survey Results Graduating Seniors (1999 and 2000) Exp to Practice Design Mechanics Mach & Mechs Math Pro/Eth/So/En Sciences Matls Science Heat Transfer System Dyn Fluid Mech Num Comps Thermo Exp to Practice Design Mechanics Mach & Mechs Math Pro/Eth/So/En Manufacturing Sciences Matls Science Heat Transfer System Dyn Fluid Mech Num Comps Thermo Manufacturing ME Career Importance UB Importance Knowledge Survey Results Graduating Seniors (1999 and 2000)

To Simplify The term “Shortfall” is used to combine the two importance measures where (for example): Knowledge shortfall (percent) = UB Importance ME Importance - UB Importance 100 X

Knowledge Survey Results Graduating Seniors (1999 and 2000) Knowledge Shortfall - Percent (Imp - UB Imp)/UB Imp Knowledge Survey Results Graduating Seniors (1999 and 2000)

Knowledge Survey Results Alumni (1994 – 1998) Knowledge Shortfall - Percent (Imp - UB Imp)/UB Imp Knowledge Survey Results Alumni (1994 – 1998)

Graduating Seniors (1999 and 2000) Skill Shortfall - Percent (Imp - UB Imp)/UB Imp Skill Survey Results Graduating Seniors (1999 and 2000)

Distributions Well behaved No signs of bimodal distributions Examples from the Alumni survey follow

Skill Survey Alumni (1994 - 1998) Typical Shortfall Histograms

Survey Conclusions Graduating seniors and alumni generally agree Traditional knowledge areas reasonably covered Weaknesses in exposure to practice, manufacturing design, prof/ethics/env/society More focus on skills, especially communications skills CAD, manufacturing processes

Changes to the Program (2001) Introductory Drawing & CAD (Year 1) Now offered directly by MAE and no longer shared Introduction to ME Practice (Year 2) New course: design projects, reverse engineering, communication Manufacturing Processes (Year 3) Traditional course in manufacturing Design using CAD (Year 3) Mechanical design projects using AutoCad and ProE Design Processes (Year 4) Original course is expanded Senior Design (Year 4) Course revised and reorganized

Changes to the Program (cont.) Formerly required, now electives Thermodynamics II Machines and Mechanisms II Materials II Materials II Lab

Surveys before program revision Survey History To Date Surveys before program revision Graduating seniors (Classes of 1999 and 2000) Alumni of 1994 - 1998(conducted in 2000) Continuing surveys since revision Graduating seniors (Classes of 2001 thru 2007) Alumni of 2000 – 2004 (conducted in 2006)

Career Importance Plots Knowledge Career Importance Skill Career Importance

UB Program Importance Knowledge UB Importance Skill UB Importance

Knowledge Shortfall Seniors 1999 vs Seniors 2007 Skill Shortfall Seniors 1999 vs Seniors 2007

Knowledge Shortfall Alumni 94-98 vs Alumni 00-04 Skill Shortfall Alumni 94-98 vs Alumni 00-04

Overall Survey Conclusions Career Importance surveys show consistency from year to year UB Importance surveys reflect the targeted program changes Short Fall results since revision show improved Design, manufacturing, CAD Practice, professionalism, judgement Short Fall results since revision show little effect on traditional technical and science topics

Senior Design Course One semester course Students work in groups of two or three Projects mostly from industry Wide range of topics Many projects are assigned to more than one group to provide competition

Course Deliverables Initial project description including task assignments and schedule Weekly oral progress reports Midterm oral presentation to tutorial section Midterm written report Final oral presentation to tutorial section Presentation to the sponsor (with competing group) Final written report

Course Structure Lecture and tutorials Lectures meet only occasionally Tutorials meet weekly for about one hour Four to six groups are in each tutorial Student groups describe their weekly progress in the tutorial sections Students meet with sponsors periodically and make Email contacts as necessary

Typical Projects Babcock and Wilcox (boiler design and manufacture) Design of a “flue” to handle boiler exhaust gases Design of a support system for a boiler “header” pipe Mechanical load, high temperature and thermal expansion are major concerns

Roller Stresses

Typical Projects Moog Inc. (design and manufacture of hydraulic actuators and controls) Design of a wire retaining system for the end cap of a hydraulic cylinder Primary issue is stress in the cylinder groove supporting the wire retainer Light weight is a primary consideration

Geometry

Example FEM Results

Typical Projects Calspan Corp. (contract research and development company) Redesign of a tire testing machine for use at higher speeds Concerns include steel belt during testing Protection of components from water bearing discharge Natural frequencies of excitation Specification of strain gage locations for force sensing

Tire Tester

Force Sensing

Right Web – FEM Analysis Full Balance – FEM Analysis

Typical Projects Nuttall Gear (design and manufacture of drives and gears for process applications) Redesign of a gear drive system Gear wear and noise are issues Identified shaft deflection and natural frequencies as major concerns Use of existing parts highly desired

Gear Box Installation

Typical Projects Rich Products (major manufacturer of non-dairy “cream” products) Design/selection of production facility for packing millions of containers of “whip topping” Production speed, possible package redesign are major considerations Payback period of replacement system important

Whip Topping Product

Included in Solution Need Two machines Output: Machine cost: 50-60 bags per minute Machine cost: $400,000- $450,000 Size: 4.1m X 2.3m X 1.9m Lead time 5 months

Conclusions… ABET 2000 has provided motivation to reconsider our program We tried to use it in updating our curriculum on a customer oriented basis Quantitative surveys effective in understanding student needs and overcoming faculty inertia Industrial design projects are important for providing experience and developing skills