Course syllabus for Introduction to mechanical engineering

Course syllabus adopted 2024-02-19 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameIntroduktion till maskinteknik
  • CodePPU127
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerTIMAL
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyMechanical Engineering
  • DepartmentINDUSTRIAL AND MATERIALS SCIENCE
  • GradingUG - Pass, Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 65122
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0120 Project 6 c
Grading: UG		3.7 c2.3 c
0220 Intermediate test 1.5 c
Grading: UG		 1.5 c
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Eligibility

General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

The same as for the programme that owns the course.
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

-

Aim

The aim of the course is to introduce new students to mechanical engineering and the professional role of the mechanical engineer.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  • give examples of the mechanical engineer's professional role and importance in society from a contemporary as well as historical perspective.
  • explain the concept of sustainable development and its link to the mechanical engineer's professional role.
  • analyse, visualise and problematise the importance of equality aspects in development of products and systems
  • discuss and reflect over equality and diversity in an engineering professions perspective
  • describe the generalized product development process with a focus on the early phases.
  • apply engineering methods to develop customer needs and a requirements specification, generate solution candidates and assess them.
  • describe projects as a way of working and apply these principles in a product development project.
  • efficiently search for information in books, magazines and the Chalmers databases, and evaluate the information with respect to relevance and quality.
  • communicate through simple sketches and have learned the concept of perspective.
  • apply knowledge of CAD and drawing techniques to visualize and define a product idea.
  • write a well outlined technical report.
  • present a project orally with the help of audiovisual aids.
  • analyze ethical issues at a basic level.

Content

The course deals primarily with the early phases of the product development process, and it therefore begins with lectures and exercises in design methodology. Subject areas such as machine elements, quality technology and production methods are covered briefly. The course also treats the mechanical engineer's professional role in the company, in relation to the community and in relation to the concept of sustainable development. The engineer's role in the company is for instance evidenced by invited speakers from industry. Students are given the opportunity to practice and develop their skills in a product development project. The project aims to improve a simple mechanical product. Key elements of the project is to identify customer needs, create a requirements specification, generate many possible solutions and evaluate the latter with respect to the requirements specification. In connection with the project work, report writing, information retrieval, teamwork, oral presentations and visualization are treated. Visualization/modeling is carried out in outline form, with CAD and, where appropriate, in the form of rapid prototyping. CAD training is given in a parallel course. The course ends with project presentations.

Organisation

The course consists of lectures, exercises and a project in design methodology.

Literature

The course literature consists of lecture material and specialist language guidance as below.
  • The lecture material can be downloaded from the course website in Canvas.
  • The specialized language tutorial "Chalmers writing guide" is available at https://writing.chalmers.se.
Also recommended as further reading and reference:
  • Ulrich, K.T. and Eppinger, S.D.: "Produktutveckling: konstruktion och design", Studentlitteratur, ISBN 9789144074214
The book is also available in the English-language original, "Product Design and Development". Ulrich & Eppinger's book can be borrowed from Chalmers library (limited number) or purchased via e.g. Adlibris. It is not a requirement to buy the book, but it is a very good book on product development. Large parts of the lecture material in the construction methodology section are based on Ulrich & Eppinger's book.

Examination including compulsory elements

The grades are not passed and passed. The requirements for a passing grade are 75% attendance at tutorials, exercises and some lectures as stated in the course-PM, passed library introduction, written test and project work.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.