Saturday SAVY, Week 3, Industrial Engineering (3rd-4th)
The Engineering Design Process like any detailed process, requires attention and persistence. Sometimes students don’t necessarily understand why they should follow the steps but over the course of the last three weekends, students have learned that it is a guide to proper engineering design, but not a recipe or requirement. Although the Engineering Design Process comes in many forms, many engineers may do the steps out of order or skip a step, depending on the needs of a particular project. However, all the steps are important to a good design.
In our final class, students learned what makes a good factory subsystem and how it’s dependent upon the criteria for and constraints upon the situation in which the subsystem will be used. In this case, students’ potato chip factory subsystems were to make work easier by reducing the amount of force required to do the work and/or providing an ergonomic advantage to the workers using the subsystem.
As students worked to ensure they incorporated simple machines into their subsystems designs, it was important for them to understand that all simple machines have trade-offs associated with them. This is something they had to take into consideration when creating their designs. For example, a lever could reduce the amount of force required to move a load at the expense of only being able to move the load a short distance. Other simple machines, such as an inclined plane, also reduces the amount of force needed, but requires the user to move the load a greater distance to reach its end point.
Students saw this firsthand as we tested the following simple machines: single pulley, double pulley, wheel and axel (no wheels), and wheel and axel (with wheels). By using a spring scale, data was recorded to notate how many Newtons it would take to transport a load.
While there are nearly infinite ways to design an improved factory subsystem, successful designs will often have a combination of how simple machines are paired.
We are especially proud of the hard work our students put into showcasing their subsystems today. Their dedication and creativity was truly inspiring, and we hope you enjoyed hearing about their projects as much as we did.
Some questions to ask your students:
- Do you think the Engineering Design Process helped you design your factory subsystem? Why or why not?
- Which step(s) did you find the easiest to use? Why?
- Which step(s) did you find the most difficult? Why?
- Would you do anything differently next time?
- If you’re looking for ways to encourage future exploration and provide further resources, here are a few ideas:
Extension Resources:
- Hands-On Projects:
- Build a Simple Machine: Challenge students to design and build a simple machine, like a pulley system or a lever, using everyday materials.
- Engineering Design Challenge: Ask students to solve a real-world problem by designing a system that uses multiple simple machines working together, such as creating a way to lift an object using only pulleys, levers, or inclined planes.
Videos and Documentaries:
- “The Engineering of Simple Machines” (YouTube or educational platforms like Khan Academy) – A visual explanation of how simple machines work and how they are used in modern engineering.
- “How It’s Made” series – Focus on episodes that feature machines and industrial processes to show real-world applications of engineering principles.
- How Chips Are Made
- Giant Kids’ RUBE GOLDBERG Machine!
- Simple Machines and the Rube Goldberg Challenge
Explore Careers in Industrial Engineering:
- Research what industrial engineers do in the workforce and how they use principles of simple machines and systems design to improve efficiency and productivity in industries like manufacturing, logistics, and automation.
- Interactive Simulations:
- PhET Simulations: Check out the physics-based interactive simulations on simple machines (e.g., pulleys, levers, and ramps) to deepen understanding through virtual experiments.
- Explore Engineering Concepts: Many online platforms, like Tinkercad and Scratch, allow students to build virtual machines and simulate their designs, reinforcing their learning through experimentation.
It has been such a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with our SAVY scholars this Fall as we explored industrial engineering and simple machines! As our Fall program ends, we want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we’ve had over the past few weekends. It has been of full of laughter, learning, and unforgettable memories. Thank you for entrusting us with your children. Your support has been invaluable, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of their experience.
Sincerely,
Ms. Tiffani S. Norman