Module overview
Conventional laboratory experiments are useful mainly to assist understanding or analysis. Because they are of necessity stereotyped, they are of limited usefulness when a circuit or system must be designed to meet a given specification. The majority of engineering tasks fall into this latter category, and therefore require design or synthesis skills, in addition to the understanding of underlying engineering principles.
This module includes individual and team design exercises devised to provide a bridge between 'conventional' experiments and the project work in the third and fourth years, (which in turn provide a bridge to 'real' projects in industry). The exercise has real deadlines and concrete deliverables and students are encouraged to be creative, develop imaginative solutions and to make mistakes.
Exercises share common characteristics:
• Customer orientated rather than proscriptive specifications are given
• Design work carried out, bringing academic knowledge to bear on practical problems
• Laboratory sessions are used for development/ construction/ verification of designs
• Allow students to demonstrate their communication skills in writing individual and group reports/presentations.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Analyse technologies and solutions considering technical aspects, commercial realities, social, ethical and legal obligations.
- Demonstrate continual recording and development of self-study and learning across a complex set of both general professional matters and specific technical information.
- Write formal reports in a clear, technical style.
- Present and explain both professional and technical work.
- Demonstrate an awareness of team structure and dynamics, together with an appreciation of individual roles and responsibilities working in different team sizes and structures.
- Address problems associated with personal and group time management in a problem-solving environment.
- Apply appropriate professional, ethical and legal practices to your work.
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Defining the specification of an artefact that needs to be designed, tested and commissioned.
- General design approaches and the processes involved in project management.
- The problems associated with designing practical systems.
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Understand and interpret technical literature and data sheets.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the advanced use of test and measurement equipment.
- Undertake small-scale mechanical, electrical and/or electronic construction.
- Design integrated systems, combining both hardware and software systems, and appreciate problems that occur when hardware/software domains are combined.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Undertake an evaluation of the complete design and prepare a critical analysis.
- Appreciate the problems in dealing with uncertain and possibly ambiguous specifications.
- Develop a plan for the implementation of the design and the undertake those activities.
- Analyse the design as it evolves, and deduce problems with the subsequent rectification.
Syllabus
• Professionalism
• Project management
• Principles of design
• The development of individual practical skills through completion of a simple build and test exercise, incorporating the production of a system.
• Groups of students are required to undertake a design, build and test project against a predefined specification. The project assessment includes individual log books, group reports and quality assessment of the designed system.
• Effective use of laboratory equipment and test and measurement equipment..
• Introduction to 3D printing is provided as part of the module
• Synthesis vs analysis.
• Effective use of design software including CAD and simulation.
• Designs optimised to meet multiple criteria.
The type of design is varied to suit the programme but includes common design principles and is divided into three components.
Aerospace Electronic Engineering: design, build and test of an autonomous or remote-controlled drone.
Electrical Engineering: Smart meter design
Electronic Engineering: Integrated circuit design; Analogue circuit design; System design
Mechatronic Engineering: Autonomous vehicle design
Electrical & Electronic Engineering (UoS): Choice of one of the three design streams above (excludes Aerospace)*
Electrical & Electronic Engineering (UoSM): ?
* EEE students will be asked to submit a ranked list of preferred design streams, and we will endeavour to meet their first choice subject to capacity constraints.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching will comprise laboratory sessions, which will introduce components that the students may elect to use in their group design exercise. Throughout the academic year, construction clinics will be provided for students to gain feedback and advice for debugging their group design exercise build, as well as for testing.
At the conclusion of the group design exercise, a demonstration event will enable judges selected from industry to evaluate the construction, functionality and capability of the designs. The students will give a presentation to detail the process of design, construction and testing of the build, as well as to explore the potential for its commercialisation.
Besides attendance at the above listed events, the students will work in teams to design, build and test their systems. They will be able to attend the laboratories in between lectures and other scheduled activities. They will also produce team reports, individual technical reports, individual reflections and group presentations.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Specialist Laboratory | 30 |
| Completion of assessment task | 50 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 20 |
| Wider reading or practice | 26 |
| Lecture | 24 |
| Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
Online documents. Lecture notes and details of assignments and assessment schemes will be provided on line.
Laboratory space and equipment required. IC fabrication facilities
Software requirements. The student version of Orcad/PSpice and LTSpice
Textbooks
Sedra A S & Smith K C (2004). Microelectronic Circuits. OUP.
Williams T (2005). The Circuit Designer's Companion. Newnes,.
Lidwell W, Holden K and Butler J (2010). Universal Principles of Design. Rockport Publishers Inc.
Spencer R R & Ghausi M S (2003). Introduction to Electronic Circuit Design. Prentice Hall.
Assessment
Assessment strategy
This module is assessed entirely by a combination of coursework exercises, presentations and reports, along with demonstrations. There is no referral opportunity for this module. There is no external repeat opportunity for this module.Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Design | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal