Craig Somerton, mechanical engineering design program coordinator, said the program has been in existence for almost 20 years and has involved more than 400 students.

“It’s about the problem-solving process and ending up with some type of product,” Somerton said. “The focus is to have the students in class working toward a product that can be showcased on Design Day.”

Starting as an activity for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Design Day grew to be an activity for the whole College of Engineering.
The students come from multiple engineering fields, including applied engineering sciences, biosystems, civil, chemical, computer science, mechanical and electrical engineering.

Caroline Skuta, a mechanical engineering senior, said her ME 471 class had to design and build an apparatus that could vertically lift 22 pounds at least 75 centimeters off the ground. Skuta also said her professor gave the students a list of requirements, as if they were making it for a customer.

“We have to design and test it before we even start to build it,” Skuta said. “This class is a lot more design intensive than other mechanical engineering classes I’ve taken. It’s my first class where I design everything before I even get to the shop.”

Graduating seniors such as Skuta will present their work through exhibits, presentations and demonstrations. Skuta’s team worked for about 10 weeks designing and building its project, hoping for a chance to place.

Some teams were commissioned by companies such as Motorola, Meijer and General Electric Co. to design a solution to a problem or improve a system.

Each class had different requirements when designing and showing off its projects. Skuta said when showing the invented apparatus at Design Day, only one person from her group can power it.

Mechanical engineering senior Michael Thoel said his class was allowed to design anything it wanted as long as it incorporated at least one gear set, one linkage and one cam-follower combination. Thoel said the teams also had to make their design two feet by two feet by two feet in volume.

“We anticipate having a very successful project,” Thoel said. “We’ve worked for the last three weeks on this and it’s finally coming together.”
Thoel, whose team designed and built a hand-powered machine that could stamp out a refrigerator magnet in the shape of a Spartan ‘S,’ said he and his teammates have never been to Design Day.

“I think it would have been helpful to have gone to the event in the past,” Thoel said. “I would know what to expect and how everything comes together for the day.”