Mechanical Engineering Design Report
8 weeks · 0 milestones
Produce a complete mechanical engineering design report for a real engineering design problem, integrating requirements, design alternatives, analysis, and final design into a single coherent document. The report must include: a problem statement with quantified design requirements and constraints, at least 3 design alternatives with documented screening criteria, the selected design with justification referencing analysis results (structural, kinematic, or materials — from earlier outcomes or conducted for this report), a risk assessment identifying the top 3 technical risks with proposed mitigations, and an implementation recommendation. Preferred proof: a real design project report (academic, personal, or professional). Accessible alternative: a design report for a well-specified open engineering challenge (bridge design challenge, FIRST Robotics design brief, or equivalent publicly available problem specification). Proof artifacts: the design alternatives comparison (design artifact), the analysis summary referenced within the report (analysis artifact), and the complete report document (documentation artifact). Verification: a mechanical engineer reviews the design justification — 'your analysis shows margin of X; would you accept this in a real production context?' and 'what is the first thing that will fail in service?' — requiring specific answers from your own design.
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Identify the mechanical design challenge: a component, assembly, or system that needs to be designed or re-designed. Write a functional specification covering the required performance (loads, operating conditions, life expectancy, safety factors), design constraints (envelope, weight, cost), and regulatory or standard requirements (e.g. relevant ISO, BS, or ASME standards). A complete functional specification defines what 'good enough' means before any design work begins.
Proof required
Submit your functional specification (≥600 words): the design problem, required performance parameters with values and units, design constraints, applicable standards, and success criteria.
What gets checked
- Performance parameters are quantitative — loads in N or kPa, temperatures in °C, life expectancy in hours or cycles
- At least one applicable standard or regulatory requirement is named and its relevance explained
- Success criteria are stated such that a third party could evaluate whether the design meets them