MEM491

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MEM491 Senior Design Project Lecture
Topic What makes a good Pre-proposal Getting
start Wei Sun MEM Department Drexel University
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What can be used as a Senior Design Project
Senior Design Projects can result in a new
service, product, or process, It has to
involve elements of design. Your selected topic
of design should meet one of the following 1)
To develop a new product to meet the
market/societal needs, or 2) To solve an
existing engineering problem. In doing so, you
are asked to define a problem, generate a range
of solutions, evaluate those solutions using
economic and engineering criteria, and develop a
viable method and solution. The deliverables
are not just plans and specifications, but a
detailed feasibility study, preliminary design,
and a working prototype, in which constraints
have been accommodated, conflicts resolved, and
costs and benefits reasonably well defined.
Further, decisions will have been made about
layout, size, shape, materials, processes,
methods of construction, and so forth.
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Important Steps

• Project background/marketing study/problem
  statement
• and define Project Objectives
• Developing design specifications and knowing
  what is
• the function requirements
• - In terms of size, shape, dimension
• - In terms of materials
• - In terms of manufacturing process
• Defining the criteria for success
• Defining decision matrices
• Evaluating design alternatives
• Final design and functional prototyping
• Plan for testing and design verification
• Analytical solution

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MEM 2008-2009 SENIOR DESIGN Project Pre -
Proposal Request Form The following students
Pro-Proposal Request Form
request approval of a Senior Design Project
entitled (print title) __________________________
____________________________________________ _____
__________________________________________________
_______________ Advisors Primary Advisor (print
name) Affiliation Signature/Date _____________
__________________________________________________
_ Co-Advisors (print name) Affiliation
Signature/Date _________________________________
_______________________________
Groups are required to have 5 students.
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Project Description The project description must
address the following issues What are the
objectives of the project? What are the elements
of engineering design involved? What are the
specific deliverables you will produce? What are
the resources, funding or external support for
the project? Project Description You must
provide descriptions for all following four
sections in order to have the pre-proposal
reviewed. Use additional page(s) if needed.
Section 1 Project background, problem statement
and objective(s) of the project Section 2 What
are the elements of engineering design involved?
(i.e., elements of design, analysis,
manufacturing, testing etc.) Section 3 What are
the measure of success and the specific
deliverables you will produce? Section 4 What
are the resources, funding or external support
for the project? Please provide the specific
information
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• Requirements for Project Description in
  Pre-Proposal
•  
• Project background, problem statement and
  objective(s) of the project
• The objective of this Senior Design Project is
  gtgtgtgtgt
• What are the elements of engineering design
  involved? (i.e., elements of design, analysis,
  manufacturing, testing etc.)
• What are the measure of success and specific
  deliverables you will produce
• Upon completed, this project will develop
  gtgtgtgtgt
• What are the resources, funding or external
  support for the project? Please provide the
  specific information on people, money, machine,
  hardware/software, etc..

Note You must provide descriptions for all above
four sections in order to have the pre-proposal
reviewed. Use additional page(s) if needed.
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The steps to a successful SD project

• Identifying an opportunity or a problem that
  needs an engineering solution
• Choosing your team and advisor
• Selecting and evaluating a project within the
  scope of the opportunity or problem
• Generating and evaluating alternative design
  solutions, and deciding on an figure of merit
  against which to comparing the different
  approach - solution to a senior design problem
  must
• be open-ended
• Selecting and implementing one design approach
• Prototyping, testing and verifying your design
• Presenting your project

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The steps to a successful SD project

• Identifying an opportunity or a problem that
  needs an engineering solution
• Your interest
• Company need
• Market profitable

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Identifying an opportunity or a problem that
needs an engineering solution
Your interest
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Identifying an opportunity or a problem that
needs an engineering solution
Company needs
MEM SD AYXXXX
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Identifying an opportunity or a problem that
needs an engineering solution
Market profitable
The Animaltronic Alligator Swimming System
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Identifying an opportunity or a problem that
needs an engineering solution

• List in the MEM SD homepage
• - www.mem.drexel.edu/SeniorDesign
• Given by Professor John Doe
• - Go to knock the door
• Recruited by your friends
• pay attention while partying

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Choosing your team and advisor

• The Team
• According to the nature of the project
• having the needed skills
• Personality of each members
• get along well
• Schedule of the team members
• commitment and availability
• The Advisor
• Availability - Schedule
• Demand - Expectation
• Responsibility Help you out if you are in deep
  trouble
• Personality (Did you get A from him/her
  before?)
• Co-advisors if needed

Rule 1 Like it or not, you are going to stick
with your team member and your advisor in the
next 9 months. Rule 2 Your grade will be
largely affected by the entire team effort.
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Selecting and Evaluating a Topic

• Define problem
• Turn It into a Project (doable)
• Brainstorm
• Listing all ideas
• Evaluating
• SD components the establishment objectives and
  criteria, synthesis, analysis, construction,
  testing and evaluation, i.e., the use of open
  ended problems, development and use of modern
  design theory and methodology, formulation of
  design problem statements and specifications,
  consideration of alternative solutions,
  feasibility considerations, production processes,
  concurrent engineering design, and detailed
  system descriptions. Further, it is essential to
  include a variety of realistic constrains such as
  economic factors, safety, reliability,
  aesthetics, ethics, and social impact
• Commercial Success
• Meet market Needs, solve engineering problem
• Risk Analysis if things go wrong

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Important Steps

• Project background/marketing study/problem
  statement
• and define Project Objectives
• Developing design specifications and knowing
  what is
• the function requirements
• - In terms of size, shape, dimension
• - In terms of materials
• - In terms of manufacturing process
• Defining the criteria for success
• Defining decision matrices
• Evaluating design alternatives
• Final design and functional prototyping
• Plan for testing and design verification
• Analytical solution

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Important Deadline 10/20 500 pm Pre-proposal
11/24 500 pm Written-proposal Week of
11/24 Proposal Presentation (Time TBA)
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Introductory statement for background and
motivation (why to do) Objective of the project
(what to do), such as We propose to and The
objective of Outline of the potential approach
(how to do) Anticipated results for project
deliverable (outcome)