ENGR 1110: Introduction to Engineering

(Electrical & Computer Engineering Sections)

Spring 2004

 

Instructor:

Thomas S. Denney Jr., Ph.D.

Office:

Broun 365

Phone:

844-1862

Email:

tdenney@eng.auburn.edu

Web Page:

http://www.eng.auburn.edu/~tdenney

Office Hrs:

Thursdays 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

 

Section

Time

Room

TA

Email

8

1-2:50 M

Broun 367/308

TBD

 

9

3-4:50 M

Broun 367/308

TBD

 

10

1-2:50 W

Broun 367/308

TBD

 

11

3-4:50 W

Broun 367/308

TBD

 

12

1-2:50 F

Broun 367/308

TBD

 

         At Large

 

TBD

 

         GTA

 

Manu Parmar

parmar@eng.auburn.edu

 

Please see the GTA about grading and scheduling issues.

 

Course Web Site:       http://www.eng.auburn.edu/~tdenney/ ENGR1110

                                    ENGR 1110 is also on WebCT

 

Objectives:

Students will acquire an introductory grounding in graphical presentation, technical writing, professional ethics, and oral presentation.  Students will be introduced to engineering design and teaming by the use of a design project as a vehicle for skill development.  The emphasis of the course is on the general process of engineering design and on technical written and oral communication of design results.

 

Text: Introduction to Engineering Design, Book 7: Projects, Skills and LEGO Challenges.  J. W. Dally and S. J. Reeves, College House Enterprises, Knoxville, TN, 2001.

 

Attendance Policy:

Class attendance and participation is required.  Unexcused absences from more than 3 class or lab sessions will receive an F in the course.  Class attendance will be tracked through in-class quizzes turned in.

 

For an absence to be excused, the student must present an official excuse obtained from the Engineering Student Services Office in 104 Ramsay no later than 1 week after the absence.

 

If possible, inform Dr. Denney beforehand if an absence is to be excused.

 

For more information, see the Academic regulations in the Tiger Cub.

 

Grading:

Grades will be calculated according to the following factors:

 

Labs/Homework

25%

Quizzes

25%

Prelim Design Report

 5%

Final Design Report

20%

Final Design Presentation

10%

Competition

15%

 

Homework assignments will be based on work done by teams in the lab session. Individuals will submit their own independent homework assignment unless otherwise specified.  Individual grades resulting from team projects/reports will be adjusted to reflect individual participation, as measured by peer evaluation at the end of the course.  Late submission of projects/reports/homework will not be allowed.

 

Course grades will be assigned based on a standard10-point scale listed below.

 

90 – 100

A

80 – 89

B

70 – 79

C

60 – 69

D

<60

F

 

Professional Development Meetings/Memos:

There will be no lab meetings for Weeks 14 and 15.  However, you are expected to attend two approved professional development presentations/meetings sometime during the semester and submit a one-page memo describing what you learned for each meeting.  Some examples of approved meetings are:

·        Student professional society meetings (IEEE, ASME, AIChE, SWE, etc.)

·        Guest lectures on campus announced in class

These memos will each be counted as a lab grade.  For details on the content of the memo, see the class web site.

 

Quizzes:

Quizzes will be given at the end of every lecture, based on the reading assignment for that week and the previous week’s lecture and lab.  Because of the tight lecture schedule, students should have a blank sheet of paper ready for the quiz.  Students will have 2 minutes from the time the bell rings to get the quiz into the professor’s or TA’s hands; late turns-in will be penalized 25%.  The instructor may choose not to accept a quiz from any student who arrives late for class.

 

Competition Grade:

Your design group will have to exceed the performance of the professor’s prototype vehicle to receive above a 75 for the competition score.

           


Expectations:

1.      Be in class on time if not early. Be alert and attentive in class.  Ask questions.

2.      Complete the reading assignments. Unless you are informed otherwise, you are responsible for the material in the reading assignments even if it is not discussed in class.

3.      Do the homework assignments and learn from them. You should especially learn from your mistakes. Take advantage of office hours to ask questions about your mistakes.

4.      Exhibit professionalism and discipline in your work. Homework assignments should be neat, legible, and clearly organized. Answer all questions fully and in detail. Always put your name in the upper right corner of the first page even if you fold the paper.

5.      Take advantage of my office hours and the TA's. Please restrict your questions to these times. You may schedule a meeting outside of office hours under special circumstances, and I am always available in an emergency.

 

Accessibility:

It is the policy of Auburn University to provide accessibility to its programs and activities, and reasonable accommodation for persons defined as having a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  Students who need special accommodations should make an appointment to see the instructor as soon as possible or contact the Students with Disabilities Office at (334) 844-5943 (Voice/TT).

 

Schedule:

 

Week

Date

Session

Topic

Reading Assignment

Place

1

01/13

Lecture

Introduction

 

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Team assignment/devel.

Ch. 1, 3; esp. Ch. 3

Broun 367

2

01/20

Lecture

Design project description

Ch. 4-5

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Design goals, specs, and concepts

 

Broun 367

3

01/27

Lecture

Circuit basics

Ch. 6

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Motor experiments

 

Broun 367

4

02/03

Lecture

Circuit design

Ch. 2

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Circuit experiments

 

Broun 367

5

02/10

Lecture

Circuits/PSpice

 

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

PSpice analysis

Pspice tutorial (web)

Broun 308

6

02/17

Lecture

Tables and spreadsheets

Ch. 7, 10

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Excel

 

Broun 308

7

02/24

Lecture

Matlab

Ch. 11

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Matlab

 

Broun 308

8

03/02

Lecture

Graphing/drawing

Ch. 8, 9

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Design sketching

 

Broun 308

9

03/09

Lecture

Tech writing – prose

Ch. 13

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Matlab revisited

 

Broun 308

10

03/16

Lecture

Tech writing – organization

Ch. 15

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Design report development

 

Broun 367

11

03/23

Lecture

Professionalism, Risk, and Safety

Ch. 16

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Risk analysis

 

Broun 367

 

03/30

Lecture

NONE – Spring Break

 

 

 

 

Lab

NONE – Spring Break

 

 

12

04/06

Lecture

Oral presentations

Ch. 14

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Powerpoint

Ch. 12

Broun 308

13

04/13

Lecture

Oral and graphical present.

 

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

NONE

 

 

14

04/20

Lecture

Ethics

 

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Competition (Thur., 04/22, at 7 PM for all sections)

 

Broun 125

15

04/27

Lecture

Wrap-up, Course evals.

 

Broun 238

 

 

Lab

Presentations

 

TBA

Guidelines for Submission of Homework Assignments

Most homework assignments will be turned in on paper. A format for the assignments will be provided during the first lab meeting.

  • Grading
    • Homework assignments must be turned in at the BEGINNING of lab on the due date (during your respective lab time) to receive full credit. Any work submitted after the week in which the lab in performed will NOT BE GRADED without a valid reason and an approved University excuse.
    • If you would like to review your lab grades at any time during the semester, please get in touch with your GTA.
  • Determining Grades - Your lab projects will be graded using the guidelines and scales given below.
    • Punctuality, 10% - The assignment must be turned in at the BEGINNING of lab on the due date.
    • Presentation, 10% - In general, your assignment should be neat and comprehensible. The assignment should be addressed appropriately and should contain references to the relevant lab (more details may be found in a suggested format that will be handed out during the first lab meeting).
    • Correctness, 80% - The points awarded here will be determined according to the correctness of content.
  • Cheating: Unless specifically directed to work in teams, each student is expected to turn in his/her own lab assignments. Any direct copying of someone else's work, or misrepresentation of other work as your own, will be grounds for getting zero points for that particular assignment. If this behaviour is repeated, the matter will be referred to Prof. Denney. At his discretion, the Academic Honesty Committee may also be consulted.

The following instructions apply to the assignments that have to be submitted electronically.

  • Turning in Assignments
    • The lab assignments must be emailed to the graduate teaching assistant (Manu Parmar) as attachments in the following format:

      SUBJECT: Your last name, first name - Section, Name of project. (e.g., Doe, John - Section 8, Lab 1)
      TO: parmama@eng.auburn.edu
      CC: yourself

      Please include all the information indicated in the above format. The section number is important. Assignments will be classified according to sections and the section number in the subject ensures that the GTA does not misplace your email.
    • DO NOT paste your programs into an email when you send them. Projects must be submitted as attachments. File formats will be specific to each homework and you will be informed about the files required for a particular assignment in lab.
    • Instructions for specific labs will be given in lab, lecture and/or email. It is your responsibility to read email and check the course web site, as well as your instructor's web page, regularly.

Design Project Specifications:

 

Significance

All of the assignments of this course will be in some way related to your design project.  Reports, presentations, drawings, spreadsheets, and safety evaluations will all be about one device, which you will design.  You will build your design.  You will work in teams.  At the end of the semester there will be an opportunity for each team member to evaluate the contribution of each other team member.

 

Background

The design project is to build a small vehicle from Legos parts powered by the output of a PC sound card.  You will select a waveform to play through the sound card, which will then be amplified by an audio amplifier and delivered to the vehicle.  Separate left and right channels will be available so that steering can be accomplished through the balance control on the PC volume control user interface. Circuits will be designed to convert the audio signals to signals that drive the car motors.  The goal is to build a vehicle that can complete a race course in the shortest time possible.

 

Specifications

1.      The mechanical part of the car will be constructed entirely from unmodified Legos® parts.    Any Lego parts (including Technics) are allowed.  The motors must be the Legos DC motors available from the Scientific Supply Store in Saunders Hall; other electrical components can be purchased there as well. A few specific parts will be supplied in the labs. A bucket of Legos can be purchased at Wal-Mart.  Radio Shack is a good source for wire.

2.      The car must be driven using the wheels supplied in the lab.  Other wheels may be used for stability if desired.

3.      The car must hold together by the Legos snaps.  No glue, tape, ties, or other means may be used.

4.      Bridges, towers, or other Lego structures not connected to the car are not allowed. 

5.      The car will be connected to an audio amplifier by wires to be selected as part of the design.  The car will pull the wires along with it.

6.      The only circuit elements that can be used in the design other than the motor are diodes, resistors, and capacitors.  Breadboards can be used with no penalty and can be attached to the car with tape or glue.  (Wires are OK too!)

7.      The audio amplifier will play a sound from the line-out jack of a PC sound card connected to the line-in jack on the audio amplifier.

8.      The vehicle must be steered by using a mouse to manipulate the balance on the volume control user interface for the PC sound card.  There is no restriction on how the car uses the left and right channel signals.  Speed can (but does not have to) be controlled by the volume control.

9.      The volume and balance on the audio amplifier will be set so that a 100 Hz signal at maximum volume from the sound card registers as 4 V RMS at the output of both channels.

 

Competition

At the end of the term, there will be a competition.  Part of your grade will be determined by how quickly your car finishes in this competition, according to the following rules:

1.      Timing will begin when the team crosses a designated line on the floor.  Total time will include the time required to connect the car to the amplifier, place the car properly, initiate the sound on the computer, and complete the race around the track.  However, the time from the moment the car crosses the starting line until the next time the computer controls are touched will be subtracted from the total time.

2.      The vehicle will drive completely around an ellipse whose major axis is 12 feet and whose minor axis is 6 feet and cross the starting line.  If the car touches the ellipse during the run, that run will be disqualified. The starting point will be a spot three inches away from the ellipse on the short axis.

3.      After the first two components, each component used on the car (resistor, diode, capacitor) will result in a two-second penalty added to the final time.  Each gear used on the car will also result in a two-second penalty.

4.      Each team may attempt three runs through the competition course; only the fastest time counts.  The car and the wires cannot be touched during the race; otherwise, that run is disqualified.  Unsuccessful runs will count against the maximum allowance of three runs.

 

As a “safety” issue, the car may not crash into walls, chairs, desks, people, or the power wire.  No bare wires should be in contact with the floor or waving loose in the air.

 

The judges may assess time penalties, to be added to the total competition time, to any team that does not follow the rules of competition, the judge’s instructions, or behaves in any manner unacceptable to the judges. 

 

Circuit options

Teams can use any circuit whose elements consist of discrete diodes, resistors, and capacitors.  These can be configured to implement a rectifier, a peak detector, and lowpass and bandpass filters if desired.  The two channels from the amplifier can be connected in any arrangement.  Some options for the circuit will be discussed in class.

 

Construction

Broun 367 will be available at announced times during the day for construction and testing.  Teams needing help with soldering or component selection/purchasing can get help from undergraduate teaching assistants.

 

Costs of parts and tools are regarded as a cost of education.  Each team must keep records to account for construction costs and purchases as part of the final report.  Each team must form their own plan for dividing the costs of the parts and tools and for distributing the parts at the end of the semester.

 

At the end of the course, all projects are regarded in the same way as written work submitted in any course at the University, with regard to ownership.  The project might be retained by the University for use as an instructional example, retained for any other academic purpose, disassembled for parts recovery, or returned to the teams.  However, all motors will be returned to the teams.

 

Reporting requirements

A preliminary design report is due at the beginning of Lab 8.

The final design report is due at the beginning of Lab 14.