Sophomore Design Students Showcase Their Prototypes

http://purdue.edu/ME
A self-propelled snow shovel. Rapid-fire nail dispenser. Bedside table that folds under your bed...
These are all ideas that came out of ME263, Purdue Mechanical Engineering's sophomore design class. It teaches the foundations of engineering design, innovation, and entrepreneurship, teaming up students to tackle a common problem with an innovative design solution. In addition to benchmarking and market research, they also learn morphology, assembly analysis, and even get their hands dirty in making rudimentary prototypes through 3D printing, machine shop tools, or even cardboard and popsicle sticks. At the poster show, they learn the additional skills of communication, explaining their projects to varied audiences.

It's a precursor to their senior design course, a capstone experience where students actually manufacture finished prototypes and learn how to bring their products to market.