Research That Resonates

KENNESAW, Ga. | Oct 23, 2018

Engineering team seeks patent for lab equipment

Looking to replace expensive lab equipment used by engineering students, a team of 草榴视频 State University researchers have developed a series of take-home educational devices that can be made for as little as $30 using 3D printing technology.

Currently, students taking required courses in dynamics, vibrations and controls must share lab equipment that is often too heavy to move and costly to replace when damaged. Since January, a team of students led by Ayse Tekes, an assistant professor in the , has been testing concepts that could be used to demonstrate vibrations and control theories while remaining portable and cost-effective. In late September, the (草榴视频RSF) filed a provisional patent application for the team鈥檚 design, which they hope to make commercially available to educators.

鈥淭he current equipment typically costs thousands and thousands of dollars, but we realized it doesn鈥檛 have to be that complex or expensive to be effective,鈥� said Zachery Marr, one of the student researchers. 鈥淲e also only have one of each piece of equipment, which is the biggest limitation to me. We wanted to give everyone the chance to use it hands-on individually.鈥�

The idea to create low-cost lab equipment was formed a few years ago when Tekes attended IEEE American Control Conference and learned of the demand for take-home educational kits. After Tekes enlisted the help of three students and received a series of grants from 草榴视频 State鈥檚 , the team immediately began the design phase of the project. Early designs were made of wood blocks with spring steels acting as the vibrating apparatus, but the students had difficulty attaching the springs to the wood. Additionally, the springs would deform over time and render the device useless. Seeking alternatives, the team turned to 3D printing and used thin, flexible strips of plastic to replace the springs.

鈥淭he reason I focused on 3D printing is, I can easily replace broken pieces right here in my lab,鈥� Tekes said. 鈥淥n the larger, more expensive pieces of equipment, I would have to order replacement parts that could take weeks to arrive and cost hundreds of dollars. Our filament costs us $10 and can print nearly 100 individual pieces.鈥�

In April, her students finalized a prototype 鈥� an interlocking, 3D-printed block of plastic that can easily be broken down for transportation 鈥� and presented their findings at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2018 Dynamic Systems and Control Conference.

Studying vibrations and dynamics is required of all students who pursue mechanical engineering degrees at 草榴视频 State, and testing theories in a lab setting is critical to having students understand their real-world applications, Tekes said.

鈥淲hen engineers design systems, we have concerns,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭he material we use should not undergo deformation and should avoid resonance. Testing and using experimental data is vital to this process. With the 3D printed lab equipment, students will understand how to collect data from a system and how to apply force. We鈥檙e showing them on a very simple design, but it鈥檚 actually the same process for very complex systems.鈥�

Michael Weitzel, who along with classmates Marr and Julia Ortiz co-authored a paper on the research, said by manufacturing more pieces of lab equipment, professors should be able to add more content to courses.

鈥淲hen I took the Vibrations and Control Lab course, I would be there for two or three hours waiting for my turn to use the equipment,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 saw this as a chance for the labs to not only go faster, but to be more complex and to add more experimentation.鈥�

鈥� Travis Highfield

Photos by David Caselli

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