IED Unit 8
Product Enhancement
Product Enhancement Introduction

Unit 8 Overview

Many engineers asked to combine their knowledge of reverse engineering with new discoveries in math, science, and design to improve products.  In this unit, you’ll investigate more specifics on how to create proper diagrams with complete dimensioning. Then you’ll look more at tolerances and assemblies before designing a product enhancement for an Automoblox car. Our job in this unit is to look at three main ideas:

  • Drawing and Dimensioning
  • Documentation and Assemblies
  • Product Enhancements

Good engineers are able to assess ways of improving products that add new functionality.  This unit is all about communicating those ideas and developing those ideas into a real model. This unit will have three main parts:

  1. STEP 1: Learn more about the details of dimensioning, how to draw sectional views, and how to choose and label tolerances.  Together, these ideas will make our drawings even more precise.
  2. STEP 2: In this second part, you’ll practice assembly constraints in Autodesk.  These new constraints will give us a new range of tools for creating models and designing things that move.
  3. STEP 3: Finally you’ll return to your model of the Automoblox car from last semester.  Here, your job is to design an improvement or enhancement to your Automoblox car in Autodesk.  You’ll model the part and the assembly, and then 3D print your part to see if it performs the desired function.

When you’re done with this unit, you’ll have new tools for creating precise drawings, and for modeling moving parts in Autodesk. You will also have put those ideas together in the design, development, and creation of a product enhancement of your own!

Part 1: Drawing & Dimensioning

Dimensioning Standards

Good diagrams and drawing help the communication of engineering ideas significantly.  To complete our list of tools for creating precise diagrams and drawings, we will take the first part of the unit to look at more dimensioning rules.  In addition to this, we’ll also look at sectional views and how they can help show more views of a complex part. We will also get to look at how tolerances are notated as well as the types of holes that might be drilled in a part.

GRADING & PROCESS

 Watch the videos on dimensioning, section views, and tolerances and take 2 full pages of careful notes including example sketches.

 Complete the Advanced Sketching assignment by sketching the Advanced Part Cube, modeling it in Autodesk Inventor, and then creating an Autodesk diagram that is properly dimensioned.

 Have Mr. Benshoof confirm your notes, sketch, and Autodesk diagram with dimensions

Holes

Section Views

Tolerances

Last semester we learned about various stationary assembly constraints.  When we assembled our Automoblox cars we did so in such a way that everything was stuck together.  In this part of the unit, we’ll learn the basics of translational constraints that allow surfaces to move and slide in relation to each other.  As our course continues, this will allow us to model motion right in Autodesk!

GRADING & PROCESS

 Watch the video on advanced assembly constraints and take a page of careful notes

 Complete the Cam Assembly Tutorial that walks through how to use translational constraints

 Watch the short “Engineering Documentation” video and add to your notes from this unit on diagrams and documentation

 Have Mr. Benshoof confirm your notes, and Cam Assembly tutorial

Basic Assemblies

Documentation & Drawings

Cam Assembly Tutorial

Part 3: Product Enhancement

Automoblox Enhancement Overview

The last part of our unit lets you design and create your own enhancement for the Automoblox car.  In doing so, you’ll use the ideas of reverse engineering to analyze the Automoblox car, then you’ll use the engineering design process to design, develop, and model an improvement for the toy car.  Finally, when your Autodesk model is complete we’ll print 3D models of your enhancements to see if they work properly.

GRADING & PROCESS

 Complete a reverse engineering report of your Automoblox car that includes a design, functional, and structural analysis in your engineering notebook.

 Brainstorm, concept sketch, and model your Automoblox enhancement.  Then create a fully dimensioned Autodesk diagram of your enhancement.

 3D print your Automoblox enhancement and evaluate how successful it is.

 Take the Unit 8 Quiz!

 Have Mr. Benshoof confirm your product enhancement documentation and 3D model.

IED Unit 8 Map
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