MEG 100 Homepage

ME 100

Introduction to Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Spring Semester 2009

Instructor: Prof. G. F. Mauer

Announcements

Date Posted: January 9, 2009

Course Registration: Both ME 100 and ME100L (Lab) are required courses. The lab and the couse complement each other. So please sign up for both. The 1-credit ME 100 Lab meets weekly, starting in the second week of class. The lab assignments are posted below in Section II.

Computer Software: Engineering software is an essential for every engineering professional. Good software makes you work faster and helps you avoid errors. Part of the course will be an introduction to the widely used Mathcad software. Every student enrolled in ME 100 thi semester can pick up a free copy of Mathcad for home use on Windows computers in the Mechanical Engineering office (Room TBE-A 211)

Robot Competition. Mark your calendar for the robot competition at the end of the semester, when all robots will compete against each other. See below some pictures and movies from the Robot Competition held on December 1, 2008 in the new Science and Engineering Building. Congratulations to the winners: Louis Rotea ,Steven Araneta, Robert Wingate, and Albert Wohletz from Clark High School! The winning Team Click on Thumbnails to enlarge.

The movie file is a bit long, so I divided it into three shorter segments, each between 33 and 44 MB in length. Right click to download.

MEG100Competititon Fall08-1.wmv

MEG100Competititon Fall08-2.wmv

MEG100Competititon Fall08-3.wmv

MathCAD Software: If you use Windows Vista and have not been able to install your copy, try the following: Install program from CD-ROM. If program does not open, RIGHT click on mouse and select "Run as Administrator". The software should now function normally.

The MEG 100 Lab is housed in Room FDH 141.

Part I: Lecture

MEG 100 Syllabus (click on image at right): Schedule, Policies, Homework. The syllabus will be updated frequently during the semester.
Guidelines for Homework Submission: Distance Ed. Students (Clark County High Schools) Please submit your homework via WEBCT. on the date due before class. (Login to *https://webcampus.nevada.edu/webct/entryPage.dowebct* and follow instructions) You MUST follow the WEBCT submission guidelines for every homework submission.	Guidelines for Homework Submission: UNLV Students Students attending class at UNLV must submit their assignments on paper in the classroom every Monday before class. See guidelines for Homework submission
Class notes: Notes from recent lectures will be posted here, usually weekly. Click image at right.
Course Objectives: What you will learn. Click image at right.

Part II: Design project (ME 100L)

ME 100L is integrated with the lecture ME 100.

Design Assignment: The Sumo Robot. Definitions and rules for the competition at the end of the semester. Click image at right.
Design Project Schedule: Weekly project assignments. Click image at right.
Cover page format for ME 100 Lab reports and Homework
ME 100 Lab Schedule and Opening Times	Click here scroll to bottom of page
Permissible Robot parts. Only Original Lego NXT parts and the parts from the earlier Lego Mindstorms set are allowed. The Mindstorms 'brick' (Programmable microcomputer) may not be used. Parts must not be altered in any way. Click on the Figure at left to see the permitted Mindstorm Lego parts. Click here for the Lego NXT manual.

Movies from the Spring 2005 Sumo Robot Competition

Two robots are facing each other. The winning robot pushes its opponent off the platform. All robots are autonomous and no human intervention is allowed.

A few movie clips in wmv Version 9 format are posted below: To download a movie clip to your PC: Right click on hyperlink, select Save target as.., and save file to disk.

1. Cliffhanger (26 MB) A robot holding out on the edge, without falling off. Despite its precarious situation here, the Team 14 robot hung on successfully until the last round.

2. Flip_it (2.7MB) A robot is toppled.

3. Straight-pushout (1.87 MB) This round was over in seconds.

Three robots made it into the final round. Each robot in the final round competed against every other robot. The robot of Team 1 (Ryan B. Milliron, Warren S. Havens, Timothy A. Smith, and Daniel J. Skoblar) won twice and is the winner of the competition. View the winning round below:

4. Team1_Final2 (5.3 MB)

Movies from SPRING 2004 Semester Robot Competition (Egg Hunting Robots)

Two robots are collecting white eggs that are randomly dispersed over the platform. The robots must avoid black eggs that the . The winning robot has the most white eggs, and no black ones, by the end of the three-minute heat.. All robots are autonomous and no human intervention is allowed.

The Spring 2004 Robot Competition was held on May 3. 10 teams (6 teams from the Advanced technologies Academy), (4 teams from UNLV) competed.

Click below to see movies from the Spring 2004 egg hunting competition:

1. Egghunting Robot

2. Oops-I lost the eggs

Part III - LEGO References and Literature

Paul Oh's Introduction to Lego NXT

Parts and Design Instructions for NXT Robots. From: SERVO Magazine, pp. 18-20, Oct. 2006