Engineering Student Projects
Each Wheaton Engineering course involves project work, most of which will be completed in the Engineering Lab. Below are just a few examples of the many class projects completed in recent years.
3D Printed Bridge
In ENGR 201: Statics, students were to design, analyze, optimize, build, and test a bridge with the highest possible payload to bridge weight ratio. The students used Solidworks and MATLAB to perform a stress analysis of their design before building the bridge with the ProJet 3D printer. On competition day, each team’s bridge design was loaded until failure and an award was given for the strongest, most aesthetic, and most innovative bridge designs.
Watch as the strength of the bridge is tested.
Frisbee Launcher
In ENGR 202: Dynamics, students designed and constructed a device capable of launching a frisbee at variable target positions and distances that could be used by individuals with spinal cord injuries. Teams analyzed the motion and mechanisms of their system and the frisbee flight using dynamics principles. On competition day, awards were given for the accuracy of throws, the longest distance throw, and other challenges.
Watch the Frisbee Launcher in Action
Spiral Water Pump
The students in the ENGR 223: Strength of Materials course were tasked to design, analyze, optimize, and build a structure that regularly undergoes large loads and could potentially serve a need in a developing country. The students developed structures using inexpensive, easily obtainable materials and evaluated the failure modes using strength of materials principles. One group chose to design a spiral river pump that could provide a reliable, cost-effective method for supplying water to a remote community or village from a nearby river water source.
