Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Waterloo

ME 100 – Mechanical Engineering Communication and Professionalism

Course Outline Fall 2009

Course Objectives:

ME100 provides a basic introduction to mechanical engineering. At the end of the course,

students should have an appreciation of the roles and responsibilities of the professional

mechanical engineer in Canadian society. Students should be able to apply the

engineering method to problems they encounter in classes and on work terms, and to

communicate effectively, using the spoken and written word and various forms of

graphical communication. A key component of the program at Waterloo is the

requirement for co-op work term experience. At the end of the course, students will be

prepared to participate in the co-op system and to write a work term report.

Course Topics:

The following general topics will be covered in this course:

Introduction to the engineering profession, including professional societies,

engineering ethics and responsibilities

Mechanical engineering overview

Safety and risk management

The engineering method and problem solving

Introduction to engineering design

Introductory statistics including mean and standard deviation

Technical communications including oral, written, and graphical

Freehand sketching, orthographic projection, isometric projection, two- and three-

dimensional Computer Aided Design, technical drawing conventions, tolerances,

Course Schedule: ME100 is a 0.75 credit course and therefore has significantly more contact hours and

workload than regular 0.5 credit courses. There are several weekly components: three

hours of lectures, one 1-hour oral communications tutorial, one 2-hour written

communications lab, and one 3-hour graphics lecture. There are two classes or streams of

students in ME100: 8-stream (ME100-001) and 4-stream (ME100-002). Each stream has

a different schedule; they will have the same weekly assignments, but they will be

assigned on different days and turned in at different times. All course information will be

provided through UW-ACE (https://uwangel.uwaterloo.ca/uwangel/default.asp).

Lectures: Most regular lectures will be delivered by Professors Fraser and Lambert. They will

cover material on the engineering profession, mechanical engineering, engineering

design, statistics, and various technical topics as required to support the design project.

About one lecture per week will be delivered by representatives from co-operative

engineering and career services (CECS) or PDEng (Professional Development for

Engineers) and will provide background and support for the co-op system. These are

carefully scheduled to correspond to stages in finding a co-op job. Some of these lectures

will be provided to the 8-stream students in their 1B term instead of the present term.

Lectures on Engineering Graphics will be delivered by Professor Baleshta in the graphics

lab time slot, see below.

Oral Communications Tutorials:

The Oral Communications Tutorials will be run by the Teaching Assistants (TA’s). Each

stream has been divided into 4 sections for the Oral Communications Tutorials, and

assigned to a separate presentation room. Each student will be required to make a

minimum of two 4-5 minute oral presentations to the rest of their section throughout the

term, on topics to be assigned the week before. All students will be required to provide

constructive feedback to their colleagues, and are therefore expected to be present at all

tutorials. These individual presentations will commence in week 3. There will be no oral

communications tutorial in week 1. Common sessions will be held in weeks 2 and 12.

Written Communication Lab: The written communication lab will be coordinated by the TA’s and/or Professors Fraser

and Lambert, and will be directed at technical communication, including the use of

computer tools and graphical communication. Weekly assignments will cover a range of

topics including ethics, the engineering profession, and various topics in support of the

design project. Students will be required to complete some work individually before the

lab, and will be given an assignment each week to be completed in groups and handed in

before the end of the lab period. Separate assignments and quizzes will be completed

relating to the co-op fundamentals material. Marks for these will be included in the

written communications section of the course.

Computer Aided Design and Graphics Lab:

Students will be instructed on the proper use and techniques for freehand sketching,

drawing and computer aided drafting using AUTOCAD and Unigraphics NX by

Professor Baleshta, with the assistance of the TA’s. There will be a comprehensive set of

weekly assignments covering all aspects of graphical communication.

Design Projects:

Much of the course content will be structured around a major design project. This project

will stress engineering analysis and detailed design, and will be the basis for the major

report. Sections of this report will be assigned throughout the term as written

communication assignments, and then assembled into a final report near the end of term,

to provide experience in writing a work term report. A minor project at the end of term

will focus more on the creative aspects of design.

Mark Distribution:

The marks for this course will be based on a combination of quizzes, assignments, oral

presentations, and the final report.

Quizzes (3 at 5% each in weeks 4, 8 and 12, to be completed in class): 15%

Oral Communications Assignments

(Based on 2 presentations plus feedback to colleagues): 5%

Written Communications Lab Assignments (including co-op fundamentals): 20%

Graphics Lab Assignments (Freehand sketching, drawing and CAD): 35%

Final Design Project Report: 20%

Minor Design Project: 5%

Total: 100%

Note 1: This course carries a weight of 0.75, compared with 0.5 for most other

courses in Engineering. This means that you should expect to complete at least 50%

more work for this course as for any other course this term. You must also multiply

your ME100 course grade by 1.5 to properly calculate your term average.

Class Schedule:

Class Type 8-stream

(Section 001)

4-stream

(Section 002)

Lecture 1 8:30 Tuesday RCH 103 10:30 Tuesday

RCH 112

CECS/PDEng Lecture 8:30 Thursday RCH 103 9:30 Tuesday RCH 112

Lecture 2 9:30 Thursday RCH 103 10:30 Thursday RCH 112

Oral

Communications Lab*

2:30 Monday

DWE 1502

DWE 1515

DWE 3522A

RCH 206

3:30 Monday

DWE 1502

DWE 1515

DWE 3522A

RCH 206

Written

Communications Lab

12:30-2:30 Tuesday

E2-1310 (WEEF)

12:30-2:30 Wednesday

E2-1310 (WEEF)

Graphical

Communications Lab

2:30-5:30 Wednesday

CPH 1346 (MM Lab)

2:30-5:30 Tuesday

CPH 1346 (MM Lab)

Notes:

*Oral communication labs are divided up into four sections as per your individual

schedules. Please go to your assigned rooms. Note that there is no oral communication

lab in week 1, and that the oral communication labs for weeks 2 and 12 will be held in a

common room. The room for week 2 is MC4045.

Returning of Assignments:

Assignments will be handed in through UW-ACE and/or a physical drop box

outside the WEEF lab. They will be returned through UW-ACE and/or physical

return boxes, also located outside the WEEF lab. Any student who would prefer

that their assignments not be returned in a public place must contact Professor

Lambert and advise him of this fact so that alternate arrangements can be made.

Textbooks:

Two textbooks are required for this course:

Gordon C. Andrews, J. Dwight Andrews, Roydon A. Fraser, and Carolyn

MacGregor, “Introduction to Professional Engineering in Canada”, Third Edition,

Pearson Prentice-Hall, Toronto, 2009.

and

J. Baleshta, “ME/MTE 100 Engineering Graphics Course Notes”, available in the

Engineering Copy Centre, Campus Copy, EIT 2022 (~ $24)

The following textbook is recommended:

Jane E. Aaron and Murray McArthur, “The Little Brown Compact Handbook”,

Third Canadian Edition, Pearson Longman, 2006.

The main textbook outlines the engineering profession and provides background

information on engineering measurements, written and graphical communication. The

graphics notes provide text and figures for the graphics lectures and should be brought to

each graphics lecture, starting with the first one. The second provides a useful reference

for written communication, which should be useful throughout your career.

Professors:

R. Fraser, rafraser@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 84764/37200, CPH-3671/E2-2330

S. Lambert, steve@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 84728, E3X-3153

J. Baleshta, jrbalesh@uwaterloo.ca, ext. 36737, E3-3103

Teaching Assistants: There are 5 teaching assistants associated with this course:

Tim Bandura, tbandura@uwaterloo.ca

Derek Kursikowski, drkursik@uwaterloo.ca

Hamed Shateri, hshateri@uwaterloo.ca

Travis Ricard, tricard@uwaterloo.ca

Jeff Labahn, jwllabah@uwaterloo.ca

All teaching assistants have offices located next to the WEEF Lab.

UW-ACE Course Management System: All course materials will be made available through the UW-ACE course management

system, accessible from the link on the University main home page or directly from

https://uwangel.uwaterloo.ca/uwangel/default.asp. All students registered for this course

should have immediate access to the ME100 site. In addition to course handouts,

assignments, and supplementary material, a forum has been set up to ask questions. The

TA’s and professors will monitor this forum and answer these questions. However,

students are encouraged to answer one another’s questions as appropriate.

Students will access a separate UW-ACE course for the “Co-op Fundamentals for

Engineering” portion of the course.

Responsibility: Engineering is a professional program. A defining characteristic of a professional is

acting responsibly. A cornerstone of professionalism in an academic environment is

academic integrity. Students should ensure they understand their responsibilities. More

information can be obtained from the following first year engineering website:

http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~year1web/html/integrity.html. Any further questions can

be directed to the professors or teaching assistants.

Throughout this course, students will be encouraged to work together, especially during

the communications components of this course. However Engineering Design Graphics is

an exception. To improve your ability to visualise in 3D space, think laterally and to gain

competence and confidence in mechanical design graphics your thinking will get short-

circuited if you are directly shown a solution, or path to a solution by another classmate.

You are encouraged to work on your own to make these discoveries and earn the “ah-

hahs” that develop good design engineering skills. Does this mean that you should not

help your classmate? No, you are encouraged to lend a helping hand to a fellow student

in need through general discussions. However sharing electronic files or direct copying

is prohibited and will be penalised.

Note that the following statements are required on all course outlines, and are taken from:

http://www.uwaterloo.ca/accountability/documents/courseoutlinestmts.pdf:

Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the

University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness,

respect and responsibility. [Check www.uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/ for more

information.]

Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her

university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a

grievance. Read Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4,

http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm. When in doubt please be

certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further

assistance.

Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid

committing academic offenses and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student

who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning

how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group

work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or

the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offenses and types of

penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline,

http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm. For typical penalties check

Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties,

http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/guidelines/penaltyguidelines.htm.

Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and

Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if

there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer

to Policy 72, Student Appeals,

http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm.

Note for students with disabilities: The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD),

located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to

arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising

the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to

lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the beginning of each

academic term.