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Abstract Learning by doing has proven to have numerous advantages over traditionally taught courses in which the instructor teaches the topic while students remain passive learners with little engagement. Although laboratories give hands-on opportunities for undergraduate mechanical engineering students, they have to wait for a semester for the lab course for instance the prerequisite of the vibrations and control laboratory is the mechanical vibrations course. Since the nature of the dynamics branch consisted of dynamics, vibrations, and control theory courses are highly mathematical, students struggle comprehending the introduced topic and relate the theory to its real-world application area. Furthermore, it’s almost impossible for an instructor to bring the existing educational laboratory equipment to the class since they are bulky and heavy. The advents in manufacturing technology such as additive manufacturing bring us more opportunities to build complex systems new materials. This study presents the design, development, and implementation of low-cost, 3D printed vibratory mechanisms to be utilized in mechanical vibrations, control theory courses along with their associated laboratories. A pendulum, cantilever beam integrated with springs, and a rectilinear system consisted of two sliding carts, translational springs, and a scotch yoke mechanism are designed. The main parts of the mechanisms are 3D printed using polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).
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Learning by Doing in the Dynamics and Mechanical Vibrations Courses Using 3D Printed Equipment
Abstract Limited resources available to the engineering faculty and students impede student learning and deep understanding of the material that is presented in the dynamics and mechanical vibrations courses. Active learning practices such as learning by doing is an effective way to not only build a solid foundation in knowledge but also help students develop engineering skills. However, these courses are mainly taught in a traditional manner and many students struggle in connecting the theory to its real-world application and lose interest. Although mechanical engineering students get more hands-on opportunities in the laboratories, they take vibrations and control laboratories in the following semesters since vibrations is a pre-requisite for these labs. To address this issue, we designed 3 low-cost, compact, and portable laboratory equipment and fabricated them using 3D printing technology. The first equipment is a 3-pendulum system with different lengths and tip loads that can be utilized in the engineering dynamics course. While the second equipment is a 2 DOF compliant vibration isolator consisting of flexible beams, masses, and a linear actuator, the third equipment is a non-linear cantilever beam to be utilized in the vibrations courses and their associated laboratories.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2002350
- PAR ID:
- 10420381
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ASME 2022 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
- Volume:
- Volume 7
- Issue:
- Engineering Education
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2022-94180
