Aluminum Extrusion Kit and Playbook for STEM Education 1

Overview

The Aluminum Extruders Council tasked our team with the creation of an aluminum extrusion kit for classroom use. The main purpose of this kit and playbook is to showcase the benefits of aluminum extrusion. In particular, our team was tasked with creating the advanced version of the kit, which targets college undergraduates. Along with the creation of a kit, the team was tasked with the design an accompanying playbook to guide students through the use of the kit.

Objectives

The tangible objectives of this project are the creation of the extrusion kit and the accompanying playbook. The purpose of these deliverables is to provide educational resources to undergraduate students and professors in order to learn more about the benefits of extruded aluminum. The kit and playbook place an emphasis on the versatility and strength of extruded aluminum as a material and as a manufacturing process.

Approach

– The team met with the representatives of the AEC, Craig Werner, and Nancy Klein, at the beginning of the semester to establish the objectives and deliverables related to the project.
– The team visited an aluminum extrusion company, Pennex, to better understand the manufacturing process.
– In the team’s statement of work, the team generated design concepts for challenges to include in the playbook. The team also analyzed existing products and patents relating to the project.
– Using a web-based software, tslots.com, which is produced by the donor of the aluminum parts included in the kit, Bonnell Aluminum, the team created models of different design challenge responses.
– The team went through alpha, beta, and final prototype phases that aided the development of the final product.
– To test the prototypes, the team hosted BUILD Nights at the Penn State Learning Factory. The first BUILD Night tested the Rube Goldberg design challenge, and the second BUILD Night tested the trebuchet design challenge. Feedback was gathered after each BUILD Night to aid in the development of future prototypes.
– The feedback surveys relayed positive results, which helped the team confirm its direction for the remaining design challenges in the playbook.
– Frequent meetings with the sponsor were arranged to ensure sponsor satisfaction.
– A finalized kit was constructed in a Pelican case with customizable foam. The final playbook was professionally printed at Staples.

Outcomes

The outcomes relating to the team’s design challenges were measured via feedback from two separate BUILD Nights. After each BUILD Night, participants filled out a survey where they ranked their feelings on statements from 1 to 5 (1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree). Participants expressed positive feelings about the two tested design challenges, with averages above 4 for the statements “the use of extruded aluminum parts in design is interesting,” and “I am interested in learning more about aluminum extrusion” in both design challenges.