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.  Please see the Design Day Booklet for information on these competitions.

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.

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 small scale horizontal motion conveyor system which includes a pan, supports, a drive mechanism and associated hardware. The conveyor system should be able to transport product so that it flows along the length of the pan without slipping rearword.

The winning team receives the Leonardo da Vinci Machine Design Award.

In ME 478 Product Development the objective is to design, produce and demonstrate a “metallic” 3D printing machine. Each team must produce the machine through a series of design and manufacturing tasks, including CNC machining, rapid prototyping and testing.

The Biomechanical Design and New-Product Development Course (ME 497/MKT 420) provides students with a unique opportunity to develop and market a real, new product that incorporates biomechanical function. Students work in inter-disciplinary teams of engineers and marketers and experience the entire product development, design analysis and launch.