Individual reflection- Benjamin Hur

I was really looking forward to this class because it was the first time I could get a slight taste of what mechanical engineering is. Because I was expecting a lot to learn from this class, I did not know that I also had to lose a lot from gaining at the same time.

At first, I was also intimidated at the same time as I was excited to take the course. I did not have any knowledge in this field, and I did not even know what mechanical engineers really do. However, I learnt that engineering is not all about manufacturing. I realized that designing is as much as important as manufacturing. From this course, I learnt a lot about designing. This was the first time to actually design something that could be manufactured. So, I had to give a careful thought about creating a realistic design and creative design at the same time. I actually had hard time in designing because I am not an artistic person. But, this class helped me to be more artistic than past. The homework assignments and what the course teaches the students, push the students to think of elements in designing. This also includes using the solidworks program. Learning how to use the solidworks program was great. It helped me to get a better understanding of three dimensional spaces and in designing.

Moreover, I learnt a lot in manufacturing. The machine training at the beginning of the course did help but by the time when I first got on the machines, I mostly forgot how it functioned. However, from Bob and John’s help, I did manage to bring back my memories. And using the machines became one of my favorites. Learning how to use the lathe, mill, and other machines helped me to understand how all the manufacturing process works and how hard it is to manufacture.

From this project, I learnt a lot in working as a team and managing in time. I did not expect that this course would take a huge amount of time, and I found it hard to cope with that. However, I did try to manage the time by sacrificing free hours. Also, working as a team, I did learn when to take in action and when to cope with hard situations. Sometimes I found it hard to work as a team because there were few disagreements, but bringing up the best solution by reconciling helped a lot to the project itself.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class because this course helped me to become a mechanical engineer one step closer. From completing this course, I felt that we need more time in manufacturing our slotbots. Although all the theoretical background and knowledge is just as vital, I think students need more time in manufacturing. Not only our team, but also I saw many other teams struggling to fight over the time constraints. Due to the time constraints, many teams’ slotbot did not work properly. I understand that working in the time constraints is important in the future, but I also think that making the slotbot to work is even more important. This is vital because it is frustrating when your slotbot does not work when you gave that amount of time contribution. Our slotbot did not work properly and we did not even connect the wires into the power supply at the given time. We as a team should have been more careful and prepared in advance. I want to thank all my teammates for doing a great job this semester, and thanks to both the professors and Mark for teaching and helping alot!!