Development Of Cae Course Project Focusing On Data Management Through Windshield Wiper System Design

Abstract

Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) has been a core course for Mechanical Engineering students at Kettering University. This paper presents an approach to develop a team project for the CAE course. The approach addresses Project Data Management (PDM) through an automotive windshield system design and analysis. The purpose of the course project is to learn how to manage teamwork and share data when working on assemblies and their related parts. Automotive windshield wiper systems are used in vehicles to remove contaminants such as rain, sleet, snow and dirt from the windshield. A typical wiper system consists of an electric motor, a linkage mechanism to transform rotational motion from the motor to oscillatory motion and a pair of wiper arms and blades. Such an assembly is representative in terms of complexity for a mechanical system and therefore ideal for this course project. Each project team sets up a “configured project” including Roles, States, Approval Process, Library and Catalogue. Each team member is responsible for several parts design or analysis. Through data sharing and iteration of all team members, the wiper system assembly is optimized to meet the given technical specifications. Kettering is a member of the Partners for the Advancement of CAE Education (PACE) program, and the CAE team project will be performed in our PACE Laboratory equipped with advanced workstations and CAE software suite.

Computer Aided Engineering, often referred as CAE, is the use of computer technology in engineering tasks such as design, analysis, simulation, manufacture, planning, and diagnosis. CAE includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

Computer Aided Design (CAD) such as solid modeling and assembly modeling; Stress analysis of components and assemblies using Finite Element Analysis (FEA); Thermal and fluid flow analysis (CFD – Computational Fluid Dynamics); Process simulation in manufacturing such as casting, molding and forming; Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) such as graphic numerical control and SLA; and Optimization of products and /or processes.

The course learning objectives (CLO) of CAE (MECH-300) offered at Kettering University can be described as follows. Upon completion of the CAE course students will be able to:

Apply the fundamental principles of statics and mechanics of materials; Apply modern analytical techniques to mechanical systems; Apply computational techniques to mechanical systems; and Demonstrate effective communication skills through technical presentations and reports.

During the first three weeks of the 11-week CAE course, students learn solid modeling, sketching, assembly modeling, drafting, parametric design and inter-part modeling. FIGURE 1 depicts an automotive door hinge. Students are required to design the inner hinge, the outer