The following items are to be submitted at various stages of the project.
Concepts are normally communicated with sketches that make the overall design clear. Components that would be expected for this type of design are,
- Sketches should be done using normal drafting practices. A good set of sketches will include 2-D, isometric and pictorial views.
- Calculations should be provided that support the design concept.
- Electrical schematics to describe the control system.
- Block diagram to describe the control system.
- Lists of components and budgets to indicate the major parts of the system.
- Other items, such as flowcharts, are often required to clarify the design concept.
This project involves participants from EGR 101 and 345. Although the students are at different points in their academic careers they are all considered peers, and should have equal voices in the team. To help clarify issues of differences between the EGR 101 and 345 students, a ’contract’ will be written that formalizes the responsibilities of the students in EGR 101. As with most contracts, it outlines a process that is mutually beneficial. In this case both parties are expected to benefit in an educational sense. The contract will be written in such a manner that if all requirements are satisfied work will be marked ’as-is’. In the event of a failure, marks will be deducted to hold the responsible party(s) accountable.
Teams are expected to submit progress reports on a weekly basis. These reports will include the following elements divided into sections with a heading for each. Point form is preferred, but complete sentences must be used. (Note: ’Parts purchased’ should be ’Parts were purchased for the cart assembly.’) Each section should include items completed since the last report, and current action items. If there is nothing to be said about a category use ’no changes’, ’nothing done’, or ’complete’ as appropriate.
Cover Page - a cover sheet indicating the course, project and tema numbers. The names of all team members should be listed on the cover, including the EGR 101 team members.
Gantt chart - updated on a weekly basis and included each time.
Budget - when changes are made, include an updated budget.
Mass Table - when changes are made, include an updated mass table.
Design - Design changes should be indicated. Appropriate drawings, schematics, or equivalent should be included. When appropriate, these should normally be accompanied by a new set of models, calculations and/or simulations to verify the new design.
Software - The current status of software development should be indicated, including major accomplishments and issues.
Fabrication - The status of items being built/assembled should be indicated.
Purchasing - The status of ordered items should be indicated.
Testing - The testing progress should be indicated, including any numerical results when available.
Other Issues - Items that may impact the success of the team should be indicated.
Performance - A prediction of performance, including the overall performance equation.
Early in the semester, other items will be requested, such as a combined timetable for all team members, and a skills inventory. These should only be included in the reports the weeks they are requested.
The design proposal is used to present all of the design details in a single document. The focus of this document is a MINIMAL AMOUNT OF TEXT, but a thorough presentation of the design details. Typical elements are listed below in a typical sequence;
- a cover page indicating all of the team members and all other pertinent information.
- three view drawings of each significant part
- block diagram of the control system
- block diagrams showing the system architecture
- if a motion profile will be used, it should be documented
- an assembly drawing of the mechanism, including a BOM
- a budget listing each of the parts that must be purchased/acquired. Catalog pages and quotes can be used to validate the budget. In the final report, copies of receipts, or catalog pages will be required.
- a weight inventory, itemized by each part of the design
- additional calculations for mechanical design issues, such as stress that may result in failure. Normally these result in a factor of safety.
- the equations of motion for the system
- a Scilab program that verifies the operation of the system using the equations of motion.
- a C program that implements the controller as designed.
The final design will follow the same structure as the Design Proposal, with the addition of the following elements.
- the drawings, calculations, etc. should be based upon the final design. It is reasonable to write a page or less about the modifications that were required, but it is a minimal/optional part of the report.
The report should concisely and clearly describe the design, as shown in the diagrams, drawings, calculations, etc. In general the format of the report is as outlined below. Sections and subsections should be numbered.
Executive summary - one page or less that summarizes the design and results.
Design description - this section should describe the mechanical, electrical and software design aspects. Subsections should focus on the following elements;
Drawing summary - selected isometric and assembly drawings
Description of control scheme, such as the motion profile
Calculations - FBDs and differential equations
Test results - this section should describe
The tests that were done to describe the overall performance. There should be a comparison of the device with and without sway compensation.
The results of formal tests should also be described.
A comparison of overall score estimates.
Conclusions - A brief description of the overall results indicating what the strengths and weaknesses of the design.
Reccomendations - Suggestions for improvement.
Appendix - Stress and other similar calculations
Appendix - Controller C program
Appendix - Receipts and cost evidence
Final reports will be evaluated on numerous factors inculding the clarity for the design documentation (i.e., how clear is what has been done?), theory to backup the design (does the theory match the actual design?), did the theory and actual match?