Disk Brake Design Case Study Implementation Method and Student Survey Results

A design case study featuring a disk brake design for large earth-moving trucks was implemented in a senior (4) year mechanical engineering design course at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo). The case study was given to one class of 35 students in the spring term of 2009 and then to a second class of 27 students in the spring term of 2010. The case study was given as an in-class exercise over two lecture periods. The design case study was designed and written in collaboration with an industry partner, Hitachi Construction Truck Manufacturing Limited (Hitachi) of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The case study’s primary learning objective was for students to design the front disk brakes of a midrange model truck while working in teams of about 5 persons. The implementation method had the students design the brakes after a lecture on disk brakes and using information given in the text. They were then asked to design the brakes using information provided by a commercial manufacturer and supplier of brake calipers. Students were asked to present their designs as sketches on the board. A class discussion then followed. The brake design was unique in that the actual solution required the use of more than one caliper per disk. A survey was given to the students immediately after the case study exercise. The results of both implementations revealed that 95 % of the 40 respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the case study was an engaging application while 75 % perceived that it improved their understanding of the concepts taught. Approximately 60% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that group discussions helped their understanding of the concepts taught. About 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that classroom discussions helped their understanding of the concepts taught. The survey also asked the students to express what they especially liked/disliked about the case study, what they would suggest to improve the case study and what advantages the case study had over traditional lectures. Students reported that they enjoyed the real life application of the theory but also reported having difficulty with the open-endedness, lack of complete information and lack of time provided to do the case study. Introduction Waterloo Cases in Design Engineering (WCDE) was established to enhance the teaching and learning of engineering design using case studies. The primary source of case studies is from student work-term reports that are generated after the students’ co-operative term experience in industry. Typically the student employer is contacted during the initial stages of the development activity, and provided the opportunity to pre-approve content and suggest changes. Both the student and employer must approve the final case before release, to ensure authenticity. A second method of developing cases studies is to approach an industry partner directly for a design experience that they would deem meaningful for engineering education. In this case, the P ge 22505.2 contribution to the education is provided largely from the industry partner perspective, as opposed to a student experience perspective. This represents an excellent opportunity for our partners to provide feedback, in an actionable way, to our engineering curriculum and students’ education. It represents their view on what is currently important to them. When soliciting input from industry partners, there are often recommendations that they make that may or may not be implemented in the curriculum. This mechanism and method represents an actionable and timely method to have the industry educational recommendations implemented.