In MIE243, Mechanical Engineering Design, class my team and I were tasked with designing a CNC router for hobbyists. I researched which components are necessary to build a router and further what technical trade offs there are.
Using the compiled research we synthesized 5 candidate designs, exploring their different strengths and weaknesses. I created all 5 candidates design in Fusion360 using GrabCad for standard components and custom designed parts.
After evaluating the benefits of each candidate, we used the Pugh method to combine the best components of each to created our final design. My team and I presented our technical decisions to the TA to demonstrate that our team had thoroughly explored the design space. I subsequently created the final design in Solid Works which my team utilized to create technical drawings.
This project emphasized the value of the iterative design process, where I created 5 candidates before the final design which we built off of. Constant feedback and evaluations ensured success and is an important takeaway.
Collaborating in a group of four on this router design taught me the importance of clear communication and effective teamwork, as balancing different technical perspectives and coordinating tasks was critical towards finalizing our design. This enabled us to produce a final design that we could be proud of.
Hayden Albert 