Engineers design the world around us. Create better ways of doing things. Save the planet. Invent new technology. And use math, science and logic to solve problems. Engineers create products used in our every-day lives, they make sure the water we drink is clean, our homes and cars are safe and that we can play games on our phones.
Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organizational, administrative, and planning abilities of management in order to oversee projects. The engineering design process helps engineers and other problem-solvers come up with creative solutions. The main steps are:
- Identify the Problem – Describe the challenge to be solved.
- Explore – Discover what materials are available. Define including limits and constraints.
- Design – Use your knowledge and creativity to come up with many solutions.
- Create – Build your solution.
- Test your solution.
- Make It Better – Evaluate how the solution worked and think of how to improve your design.
This activity will simulate the process and see if you can design and construct a cost effective structure that meets the specified criteria, on time and within budget. Get your friends involved, each make your own and compare or work together to make the best solution!
Background
You are an engineering manager at a shipping company. A client needs to ship individual eggs without breaking and your team has been asked to come up with the least cost, most effective solution to providing an egg protection device.
Materials
The numbers are for a single construction, you’ll need equal amounts for each person or build!
- Dixie cups (4 each)
- Straws (8 each)
- Cotton Balls (8 each)
- Paper Plates (1 each)
- Newspaper (1 sheet)
- Masking Tape (20 inches)
- Paperclips (10 each)
- Rubber Bands (5 each)
Each item will have a cost associated as indicated in the table below, keep track of what you use and how much your solution will cost in the end. Remember: the best solution will be the one that protects the egg AND costs the least to produce.
Procedure
Follow the flowchart below!
Design Worksheet
