Information About

Catalog description

strategies and methods of designing, manufacturing, and testing of mechanical products. Engineering drawing and CAD, design methods, material properties, failure modes, selection methodology, fundamental GD&T, and selected manufacturing processes.

Prerequisite: MAT SCI 201 and concurrent registration in ME 262 or CIV ENG 216.

Who takes it

ME 240 is a required course for Mechanical Engineering students. This course is the first course of 3-course series “ME 340: Computer Integrated Manufacturing” and ME 315 “Theory of machines – design of elements”.

What it's about

For many students, this course is one of their first professional engineering courses. As distinguished from background courses in science and mathematics, professional engineering is concerned with obtaining solutions to practical problems.

Lectures:

• Design process
• Engineering drawing
• Tolerances Limits and fits
• GD&T
• Material types and properties
• Material selection
• Design for X (Strength, Rigidity)
• Competing failure modes
• Manufacturing processes

Labs:

Weekly three-hour lab exercises. Lab sections will be assigned by the end of first week. The final project will be a design competition. Prize will be given to the top group, which yields the highest performance index in testing their prototypes.

Textbook:

Course Packet – available at Quartet Copies, 818 Clark Street, Evanston, IL 60201, Tel: 847-328-0720, Fax: 847-328-0742.

Assessment/Evaluation:

Homework, Labs , Quizzes , and Project Presentation.

Advanced study:

Students interested in mechanical design can take the following courses:

• ME 315 Theory of machines – design of elements
• ME 340-1, 2, 3 Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 1, 2, 3
• ME 346 Introduction to Tribology
• ME 398 Engineering Design

Contact:

Jian Cao, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: jcao@northwestern.edu

Kornel F. Ehmann, Professor of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: k-ehmann@northwestern.edu.

[ Detailed syllabus | Course web site ]