Product Engineering
Products are becoming more complex and contain an ever-increasing amount of electronics. This is why we sometimes think of them as "black boxes", whereby we see what they do but don't know how they do it. In this course, we examine materials, production techniques and electronics and look into the inner workings of products. You will thereby learn that understanding complex products does not have to be complicated.
This course provides skills that allow designers to assess, conceptualise and prototype these types of products. You will learn to analyse the mechanics and electronics of a product. You will calculate how objects are subjected to loads and understand the forces exerted in the process. You will discover how to control moving parts with motorised components and how to read relevant values with various sensors.
You will develop the skills to communicate with experts from different disciplines during the creation of a design. You will acquire new knowledge and skills to develop a physical prototype. You will ultimately be able to quickly assess a product and then rationalise, calculate and predict the behaviour and properties of that product.
This course follows on directly from Design Project 3. The subject matter is also relevant to any other project in which physical products are designed, either with or without electronics.
