Capstone Design Projects

Capstone Design Projects also known as "Senior design projects" are the centerpiece of the mechanical and mechatronics engineering curricula's professional component, allowing students to be involved in interesting, real-world activities. Each senior is required to complete this course. Capstone projects are each advised by a faculty member who supervises the capstone project teams. 

The objective of the capstone design course is to provide students with a realistic independent design and development experience that allows them to integrate and apply the basic disciplinary material they have learned during their engineering program to solve practical design problems by synthesizing a new product, device or process within multiple realistic constraints. 

Projects are implemented conforming to relevant standards, ethical issues and environmental policies. Research topics, may be principally experimental, theoretical, applied or simulation, will be chosen in consultation with a project supervisor.

Capstone 1: During the first semester of the Capstone cycle (MENG410/MECT410) the student teams gain understanding of the project scope, formulate engineering specifications, develop conceptual solutions and designs, go through a concept analysis and selection process, carry out the necessary engineering analyses and arrive at a final proposed prototype design complete with engineering manufacturing drawings. This proposed prototype design is presented to a panel of expert professionals who provide assessment and critique, and the student team submits a final report at the close of the semester.

• Course Outline -MENG410/MECT410 - Introduction to Capstone Design     MS Teams link for Capstone 1       
  

Capstone 2: In the second semester of the cycle (MENG410/MECT410) the student teams proceed with physical realization and testing of their designs and at the end they deliver an engineered, tested and validated product, which they defend in front of the same panel of expert professionals. A final comprehensive report is then submitted by each team documenting their built and tested prototype along with the associated design, realization and testing processes. Failure to deliver a finished prototype adhering to specifications by the end of the cycle may result in failing the course. In order to avoid this, any non-compliance with specifications must be explained and viable solutions to address its root causes must be proposed.

• Course Outline - MENG411/MECT411 - Capstone Team Project                  MS Teams link for Capstone 2

In their journey through this two-course program and in addition to the conceptual and technical issues in design, the students have to deal with the challenges of teamwork, leadership, project and budget management, estimation, procurement, redesigns, as well as hands-on manufacturing and communications of all forms with their supervisor, technical support staff, and vendors. Capstone design projects allow the students to experience the rigor and structure of a full-cycle design, including: Problem definition, Benchmark studies, Concept generation, Concept evaluation, Concept selection and feasibility studies, Engineering design analyses, Prototype fabrication and testing.

Note: Please submit your reports to your respective Supervisors for approval one week before the final submission deadline. Please upload your report in MS Teams in your respective Project Group after approval of your respective Supervisors. Late submissions will be penalized with reduction in overall grades. Please upload your Project reports, Drawings, CAD Models, Presentation, Poster, Video, Animations etc in your respective MS Team. Thank you.

Capstone Projects Committee:

Research Assistants