MCE 302 - Design of Machinery (formerly MCE 323 - Kinematics) is a required course which introduces mechanical engineering students to design methods for various types of mechanisms such as linkages and gear trains. This involves learning how to determine the performance of existing mechanisms, which is called analysis, and, through the development of cleverness and some specialized mathematical techniques, learning how to invent new mechanisms, which is called synthesis. Design can be viewed as the process of iterating between these two fundamental steps, analysis and synthesis. The complete design process is explored in detail with special emphasis on the design of the four-bar linkage.
The text for this course is R. L. Norton: Design of Machinery, McGraw-Hill, 1992.
As part of the EASNE Product Realization Process, the Working Model program has been introduced in the course to provide students with an analytical tool to analyze various types of linkages, and to "build" detailed virtual models of linkages designed to their own personal specifications. Four modules have been prepared to systematically introduce specific features of the Working Model program, and simultaneously motivate and illustrate some rather complex and specialized mechanism design techniques. Case studies in the form of downloadable working Model files are also available, to give students ideas on the types of linkages that can be modeled using Working Model.
Copyright 1996, College of Engineering, University of Rhode Island