The Catapult Experience A Learning Project On Taguchi Method For Design Optimization

Quality Engineering, a topic of practical importance to industry, is typically not given adequate attention in most engineering curriculum except perhaps in industrial engineering. While the extent of exposure of students to this topic may vary by discipline, its need has been unequivocally established, per ABET Criteria 3 (b)(c), that all should have the ability to design and conduct experiments and to analyze and interpret data-skills which are central to practice of quality engineering. In this paper, we present the plan and implementation of a guided project that integrates the learning and application of the Taguchi Method into a hands-on product design and test optimization experience. Made popular by Japanese manufacturers, the Taguchi method has since received widespread acceptance as the de facto standard technique to optimize the process and quality of engineering in major industries such as automotive and aerospace. With the task of design and construction of a catapult as the context of activities, the project serves as an ideal vehicle through which students can learn and apply the theory of Taguchi method in practice. In addition, it also provides an effective framework in which students are exposed to all elements of a real-life product development process, from design, analysis, prototyping, testing, to optimization.