Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
MAE 586
Project Work in Mechanical Engineering
Dr. G. Buckner
Course description: an individual or
small group investigation of a problem stemming from a mutual student-faculty
interest. Emphasis on providing a situation for exploiting
student curiosity. I structure
this course as an introduction to “real-world” engineering research,
emphasizing the critical attributes of successful engineers: technical skills,
communication skills, teamwork, and time management.
Spring 2000:
Thirteen (13) senior-level students focused on two design projects relevant to
my active vehicle suspension research at NCSU, a quarter-vehicle test rig and a
semi-active damper for vehicle suspensions.
The students had small group meetings several times each week, and each
student made a 5-minute oral presentation of progress at our weekly class
meetings. The course culminated in the
preparation of two Final Reports detailing the design work.
Fall 2000: Two
seniors in MAE, David Herring and Jeremy Bridges, focused on a design project
funded by a local industry, NACCO Material Handling Group, manufacturers of Hyster and Yale lift trucks. The sponsor donated $7,500.00 and hardware to
upgrade an existing hydraulic lift truck with electromechanical actuation. The students designed, fabricated, and
successfully demonstrated their design, and conducted Preliminary Design
Reviews at Nacco headquarters and a Final
Design Presentation at NCSU.
Spring 2001:
A senior in MAE, Jason Stevens focused on design improvements to telerobotic surgical instruments. We established research contacts with the
premiere telerobotic heart surgeon in the
Fall 2002: A
senior, Stewart Alexander, and a graduate student, Michael Ocando
designed, fabricated, and demonstrated an induction motor test rig. A local industry, A.O. Smith of