| Title | Design Pad: Software to Enhance Collaborative Design Processes |
|---|---|
| Faculty/College/Unit | Applied Science |
| Status | Completed |
| Duration | 2 Year |
| Initiation | 04/01/2009 |
| Completion | 03/31/2011 |
| Project Summary | Design practice is the heart of engineering. In much the same way that keyboard practice is key to becoming a concert pianist, design practice is key to becoming a competent and professional engineer. In our existing mechanical engineering design courses, we teach our students about a variety of design techniques which are used in industry, but in the industrial setting engineers are usually supported by complex documentation systems which are not readily available to students. In the learning stages, such systems are overkill; what students really need is a system pared down to the basics to emphasize the most essential elements in the design process. Currently, students attempt to use ad hoc paper-based processes to emulate what they have been taught, but they typically lack sufficient design experience to implement such a system correctly. We propose to continue developing and testing a simplified but correctly structured computer-based design environment we call ‘Design Pad’. |
| Funding Details | |
| Year 1: Project Title | Design Software to Enhance Collaborative Design Processes |
| Year 1: Project Year | Year 1 |
| Year 1: Funding Year | 2009/2010 |
| Year 1: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 1: Principal Investigator | Antony Hodgson |
| Year 1: Funded Amount | 10,000 |
| Year 1: Team Members | Antony Hodgson, Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science |
| Year 2: Project Year | Year 2 |
| Year 2: Funding Year | 2010/2011 |
| Year 2: Project Type | Small TLEF |
| Year 2: Principal Investigator | Antony Hodgson |
| Year 2: Funded Amount | 20,230 |
| Year 2: Team Members | Antony Hodgson, Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science |