As with most engineering schools, the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston, has a final year capstone design course. Since 1998, capstone projects have involved teams of students working on industry-based problems. This paper summarizes the experience of current and past course coordinators with the university-industry component, comments on how the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) elements of the design cycle are handled, and discusses the implications of the two term structure of the course. The first term course MECH 460 Team Project – Conceive and Design is mandatory for all students. The second term course MECH 462 Team Project – Implement and Operate is optional. This paper was presented at the CDIO Annual Conference, 06-09 June 2005, Kingston, Ontario. They are posted here by permission of the author(s).
Capstone Design - Experience with Industry Based Projects
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Conceive
Defining customer needs; considering technology, enterprise strategy, and regulations; developing concepts, techniques and business plans.
Design
Creating the design; the plans, drawings, and algorithms that describe what will be implemented.
Implement
The transformation of the design into the product, including manufacturing, coding, testing and validation.
Operate
Using the implemented product to deliver the intended value, including maintaining, evolving and retiring the system.
