Machine design
Undergraduate · Engineering
Syllabus focus
Topics typically covered
Standard syllabus
Design process and materials
- Engineering design process and specifications
- Safety factors, reliability, and risk assessment
- Material selection for machine components
- Stress concentration factors and notch sensitivity
- Fatigue loading: fluctuating and reversed stresses
- S-N curves and modified Goodman diagram
- Surface finish and size effects on fatigue
- Fracture toughness and brittle design concerns
- Standards and catalogs for machine elements
- Tolerancing and fits for rotating and sliding interfaces
Power transmission elements
- Shaft design for combined bending and torsion
- Keys, splines, and couplings
- Rolling-contact bearings: life and selection
- Sliding bearings and lubrication regimes
- Gears: spur gear fundamentals and AGMA factors
- Belt and chain drives: speed ratios and tension
- Springs: helical compression and extension design
- Fasteners: bolted joints and preload
- Welded joints in machine frames (intro)
- Clutches, brakes, and flywheels (survey)
STEM / applied
Integrated machine design projects
- Kinematic layout of mechanisms and linkages
- Cam and follower design basics
- Gear trains and planetary sets
- Motor selection and duty cycle analysis
- Vibration isolation for mounted equipment
- CAD assembly modeling and motion study
- Design for manufacturability and assembly (DFMA)
- Prototype testing and design iteration
- Cost estimation for machined components
- Capstone machine design project documentation
Advanced and specialty topics
- Finite element refinement at stress concentrations
- Composite shafts and lightweight structures
- Robotics end-effector mechanical design
- Packaging machinery and automation interfaces
- Hydrostatic and pneumatic actuators
- Thermal effects on clearances and fits
- Corrosion protection in mechanical designs
- Reverse engineering of commercial products
- Intellectual property and patent basics for designers
- Industry guest topics: supplier quality and PPAP
Study units
Each unit includes a study guide, worksheets, review, practice test, and answer key. One unit is free; subscribe for the full class.
- Design process and materials
Engineering design process and specifications
Coming soon - Power transmission elements
Shaft design for combined bending and torsion
Coming soon
Notes
Topics reflect common engineering syllabi at US colleges and universities. Exact order, depth, and applied emphasis vary by institution, department, and instructor.