Academics

Photo Story: Offering solutions at the Engineering Design Showcase

Enhancements and solutions brought on by innovative designs were on display at Penn State's spring 2017 Engineering Design Showcase April 27 at the Bryce Jordan Center. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

Engineering students from a variety of disciplines displayed their senior capstone design projects at the spring 2017 Engineering Design Showcase on April 27 at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

The showcase was the culmination of a semester-long effort by teams of engineering students to create prototypes and solutions to real-world challenges posed by industry partners and sponsors; 128 innovative engineering projects were the result.

A close-up look at a handheld tribometer features a more ergonomically sound and streamlined design by mechanical engineering senior Erin Lahaan and her project team. Tribometers are tools used by contractors to calculate the friction and potential slipping dangers of floor surfaces. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

This adaptable ejection mechanism for 3D printing vending machines — created by a team of mechanical engineering students — consists of a heated, glass build plate that allows for reduced print time, easier mounting and removal, and greater efficiency of the 3D printing process. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

Siyuan Chen, senior in mechanical engineering, finishes setting up his team's adaptable ejection mechanism for 3D printing vending machines. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

In an augmented reality sandbox, height values are designated a specific color with software that scans the sand's surface and builds a height datamap with height values. Christian Myers' team created a sandbox for Discovery Space, an interactive museum for children in downtown State College. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

The augmented reality sandbox becomes an engaging geological experiment as a child plays: When the levels of sand change, the software continuously assigns each pixel a color based on height values. Water level is blue, mountain ranges are green, the soil below the mountain trees becomes brown, and the taller volcanoes are red. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

Jason Kim's team's objective was to create a durable quadcopter using metal additive manufacturing and carbon fiber tubing. Their CIMP-3D, lightweight quadcopter drone illustrates that metal additive manufacturing can create strong, durable and lightweight structures with numerous advantages over current products. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

The Penn State eSportsbike integrates an electric drivetrain into a BMW racing bike — the result of a collaborative effort by seniors in mechanical, electrical, and energy engineering. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

Energy engineering senior Joel Galtieri works on an above-ground fuel storage tank simulation. These types of tanks are susceptible to rim fires due to lightning strikes, so the team found a solution by using highly conductive copper cable, effectively grounding the current. Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn StateCreative Commons

 

Last Updated May 1, 2017