ENG1004 Engineering Problem Solving Principles – Assignment 3 Page 3 Overview of Assignment 3 In Assignment 3 you are to develop a proposal or concept solution to a specified problem and communicate this via a brief report. The purpose of Assignment 3 is to further develop your problem solving skills. In this assignment we will focus on interpreting complex project specifications and developing creative and innovative solutions to engineering problems. You will also apply reflective practice, which is very important to our continued development as engineers. • Your team will be provided with the Warman Design and Build Competition Rules. This establishes the problem you will address. • Your report is to be completed, submitted, and marked individually. However, this exercise has been designed to provide a teamwork experience within an engineering problem solving scenario. Marks will be awarded for evidence of participating and contribution to your team (in your team forum). See the marking guide for an indication of what is required. • Please note that all teamwork should be documented in your team forum. It is OK to meet using alternative methods, such as in person, or using other online platforms. However, ensure that these meetings are well documented. We need evidence of your team contributions, and we can only access this through your team forums. • To complete Assignment 3 please work through the following activities. Use the output of each activity to help formulate your report. • The report is to be a maximum of 20 pages. This page count does not include the title page, appendices, and the reference list (utilising in-text referencing and a reference list in the Harvard AGPS referencing style). This limit has been set to guide your efforts in this assignment. • A structure for this report has been provided (Page 7 of this document). Review Problem Solving Lecture 3.0 before you commence this assignment ENG1004 Engineering Problem Solving Principles – Assignment 3 Page 4 Activity 1 Teamwork: Activity 1 is to be completed individually. However, you are encouraged to discuss this within your team. Task: • Review and interpret the Warman Design and Build Competition Rules (provided on the course StudyDesk) and identify the key constraints on your solution. How does this limit your solution space? • If you identify ambiguity in these specifications, you should note this in the StudyDesk forums! Activity 2 Teamwork: All research and writing should be completed individually. You are encouraged however to discuss this research within your team and with your team facilitator and share any useful resources or references. Task: Perform background research on this problem and collect the necessary information and data to help solve this problem. I provide a basic introduction on the topic of sensors, actuators, and microcontrollers in the above lecture. Some factors that you might consider in your background research. 1) This competition has been run for many years and has been documented online. What approaches and strategies have been used by others to complete the competition? 2) What low-cost sensor technology is readily available that might help you solve this problem? Hint: visit an online electronics retailer (a list of some common retailers in ‘useful resources’) and search for ‘sensors’. 3) What low-cost computing platforms or microcontrollers are available? 4) What low-cost actuators and motors are readily available? Review Problem Solving Lecture 3.2 before you commence Activity 2 Review Problem Solving Lecture 3.1 before you commence Activity 1 ENG1004 Engineering Problem Solving Principles – Assignment 3 Page 5 Activity 3 Teamwork: Activity 3 is to be completed within your team. Task: • Brainstorm several potential approaches or concept solutions to this problem. Identify sufficient concepts for each team member to develop further in Activity 4 below i.e. if you have four team members develop four different approaches or concepts. • Discuss with your team the criteria you will use to compare these different concepts and designs (e.g. cost, simplicity, achievable score, …). This comparison will be performed in Activity 5, but it is important to establish these criteria before undertaking Activity 4. Activity 4 Teamwork: Activity 4 is to be completed individually, you are encouraged however to discuss this development within your team and with your team facilitator and share any useful resources or references. Task: • Develop a design for your selected concept / approach. This should be completed at a high level only (no detailed electronics, software development, etc. are required). Document this using mechanical drawings, dimensioned as needed to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. You may use any CAD or drawing package, however hand-drawn diagrams are also acceptable. • You should identify key components that will be selected (e.g. sensors, actuators) and how these will be configured on the device, and as a system. • You should perform any calculations needed to compare the concepts with your team in Activity 5 (e.g. estimated total cost, etc.). Activity 5 Teamwork: Activity 5 is to be completed in your team. Task: • As a team, decide on the best concept to propose for further development. Ensure this decision is well documented and satisfies the project specifications. Review Problem Solving Lecture 3.3 before you commence Activity 3 ENG1004 Engineering Problem Solving Principles – Assignment 3 Page 6 Activity 6 Teamwork: Activity 6 is to be completed individually. Task: Reflect and critique your teamwork in this course. Discuss strategies that you will use to improve the performance of your team in your future courses and chosen profession (retell, relate, and reflect). In your discussion you might consider the fundamental elements of an effective team. A template for this activity has been provided on StudyDesk that you should complete and submit with your report. Review Problem Solving Lecture 3.4 before you commence Activity 4 ENG1004 Engineering Problem Solving Principles – Assignment 3 Page 7 Report (total of 400 marks) Prepare a short technical report to present your proposal to the client. You must address each of the criteria below. Your report should be no more than twenty (20) pages in length (excluding a title page and references). 1. Executive Summary (20 marks) • Provide an executive summary of this report. 2. Introduction (20 marks) • Provide a short introduction on the project and purpose of thisreport (as a guide, two or three short paragraphs will be enough). 3. Background research (80 marks) • Document your background research on this problem and the necessary information and data needed to solve this problem. This should include tables of components (e.g. sensors, actuators). 4. Concept design (80 marks) • Briefly present your proposed concept design (Activity 4). 5. Final concept and evaluation (50 marks) • Briefly present your final team concept, documenting the decision-making process used to select this. 6. Conclusions and recommendations (20 marks) • Briefly conclude this report and provide any recommendations for the continuation of this project. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teamwork (50 marks) • You will be assessed on your contribution to the team through Activities 1-5. Language, grammar, formatting, and References (30 marks) Include a title page at the front of the report with all student, assignment, and course information. Prepare the report using the numbered headings above to divide the sections. Formatting should be clear and single spaced with page numbers. All figures and tables should have appropriate captions. ENG1004 Engineering Problem Solving Principles – Assignment 3 Page 8 All investigations and identifications must be justified with researched literature that has been cited correctly in-text and in the reference list to Harvard AGPS style. In Engineering, you should avoid direct quotes and use paraphrasing/summarising in your own words as much as possible. Please note the upper page limit, you should write concisely to fit all the important information in. https://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing-guide Self-review (50 marks) Refer to the template provided on the course StudyDesk.