Engineering 204 – Engineering use of 3d printing

Course name- ENGR 204

Prerequisits- ENGR 101, ENGR112

 

As 3d printing becomes more prominent and advanced it will become increasingly important to know how to use and understand as a future engineer. If JMU were to offer this course it would greatly improve the technical skills needed for engineers and the knew technologies this field needs out of their engineers. With the explosion of new technologies coming out yearly it is imperative that our students have access to those skills to increase the competitiveness of our school and this program as well as producing some of the best engineers possible. This course would improve on our current curriculum and make our future JMU engineers more well rounded engineers with greater skills and opportunities to improve their future careers.

Course Description: In this course students will learn how to integrate 3d printing to test an object/part etc out before actual production. Students will take their knowledge from previous engineering classes and apply it to a practical project design. In this course students will be designing small practical project meant to be made for mass production. This course will focus of the preproduction of said product and working out the kinks of said design. The use of 3d printers will allow you to quickly and cheaply build your part/product and see where there would be structural weaknesses and design flaws. This course allows and encourages you to be creative and practical.

Objectives:

• To learn how to master programs like tinkercad, OpenSCAD, SolidWorks, Blender,Meshlab, Sketchup, 123D Design, Mathematica, etc.
• Design a working part or product on one of the previous listed programs.
• Be proficient in the use of the 3D printers used in this class.
• Improve on your design through printing product/part and refining said product/part.
• Present your steps from design to final project to the class in an effective manner.

Sample Projects could include:

• Working car wheel bearing.
• Working door knob mechanism including lock.
• Working folding/removable tablet stand.
• Working fan.
• Replacement fan for lap top/desk top computer.
• Replacement car mirror.

As 3d printing improves it should be used as an asset for future professionals in the engineering, architecture, design, manufacturing, students etc professional word. With the development of 3d printing metal this class will allow you to more effectively design/perfect your final project.

The use of 3d printing will initially be used for rapid prototyping to work out the kinks with your design before manufacturing your final product.

 

 

 

As 3d printing advances into realms that we cant even imagine yet our future engineers need to be exposed to the possibilities of working with these machines wether it be for designing prototypes or creating food or even helping with future medical solutions. 3d printing is an important part to your future as a engineer and as engineering takes further technological leaps and advancements.