In addition to the ME 481 Senior Capstone class, there are six design courses required of all Mechanical Engineering majors. Three of those courses participate in Design Day. For the complete competition schedules, please see the Design Day Booklet.

In ME 371 Mechanical Design I students are required to design and manufacture mechanisms that incorporate at least one linkage, one gear set and one cam-follower combination.

These projects are on display during Design Day from 9:00 until noon in Rooms 1230 and 1234 Engineering Building. The team with the best design, as voted on by pre-collegiate visitors, is awarded the Sparty Plaque.

In ME 471 Mechanical Design II the students are challenged to design, build and test a scaled-down version of a deployable bridge, which must fit inside a 10”x10”x15” box mounted onto a table with only four bolts.  The bridge is deployed with input from the motor to reach as far as possible, while minimizing the deflection at the end of the bridge, the total system mass, and cost.  To test the stiffness, the bridge is loaded with 50 lbs, 25” from the edge of the table. Vertical deflection is measured at the end of the bridge.

The competition is held in Room 1345 Engineering Building from 8:30 until 11:20. The winning team receives the Leonardo da Vinci Machine Design Award. Please see the Design Day Booklet for information on the competition schedule.

The ME 412 Heat Transfer Laboratory project involves designing a system to produce as much fresh water as possible from a 600M saltwater source using only the power of several birthday candles.

This competition takes place in Room 1252 from 8:00 until noon on Design Day. Please see the Design Day Booklet for information on the competition schedule.