Teaching Manufacturing and Design for Manufacturability to Mechanical Engineering Students

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Lafayette College has implemented an innovative manufacturing laboratory course as part of its mechanical design sequence to give its students a basic understanding of engineering design and the influence of manufacturing in the design process. The course, which is required for all junior mechanical engineering students, teaches basic manufacturing skills and concepts, and design for manufacturability. The laboratory is co-taught by the mechanical engineering faculty and the engineering technicians. The course takes a hands-on approach to teaching these subjects and incorporates two interrelated projects; the manufacture of a pre-designed mechanical system, and the design, manufacture, evaluation, and competition of a semester long design project. This paper discusses the format of the course, the two projects, the role of the faculty and engineering technicians, and how these fit together to create an effective learning experience.