The best aspects of this course included the helpful demonstrations of the concepts learned, hands-on lab experience, the enthusiasm with which the instructor taught, and the minimal amount of homework assigned. Some students felt the lectures were disjointed and did not correlate well with the labs. Also, when labs didn’t work, the students, TA, and instructor were stumped. Suggestions included having students start the design project earlier in the semester and al owing students more creative “wiggle room” with the final project. Prospective students should know that this class is performance-based as al the experiments are self-contained in the classroom; it’s important to show up.

This lab included lots of hands-on work with different machining devices and the design project gave students the chance to exhibit everything they had learned during the course. Students enjoyed the luxuries of not having to prepare full lab reports and not having lab every week. Sometimes, labs would run over the time schedule because groups had to wait to use tools that were occupied, and labs didn’t correlate to the lab lectures. Also, building the crane was time consuming. Suggestions for improvement include: better groups for design project, clearer expectations, more guided time machining, and more freedom with the crane project. Prospective students should take the final project seriously.

The best aspects of the course included the ability to apply classroom concepts to interesting labs and a design project. Students felt that the workload was time consuming and stressful and the scheduled course time was inconvenient. The workload did not represent a one credit hour course, and most of the work was concentrated toward the end of the semester. Suggestions for improvement included allowing students to work with manufacturing machines earlier, assigning projects sooner with clear guidelines, and providing lab time to work on design projects. Prospective students wil enjoy the opportunity to perform interesting labs and should be familiar with statics. Students are encouraged to prepare for the significant time commitment required to complete the design project.