Our Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Sequence spans three quarters from September to May (Figure 1). A team of 4 students works on a project for 3 quarters, with each quarter lasting 10 weeks. A dedicated capstone faculty member oversees students' work for the full 30 weeks. We require our students to spend approximately 12 hours per week on their capstone project, similar to an internship or job, to simulate real-world experience.
Figure 1. Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Sequence
Description of Design Clinic
The main idea of the Design Clinic is to revamp the student experience in the Capstone Design Sequence with the new funding model. Figure 2 shows what we are offering our clients to fund a capstone project at a set rate of $10,000 per project. Up to $5,000 of the funded amount is allocated to direct project costs. The remaining amount covers the costs shown in Figure 3. The project team presents a total expected budget when finalizing the design solution. Clients approve of the design solution and the total budget, so there should be no surprises for them. For example, if the project's total expenses end up being $12,000, we will use the $ 5,000 from the client's initial funding and then send an additional invoice for $7,000. Our goal is to enable our students to deliver a professional design solution to our clients. The Design Clinics are not structured to generate revenue for the institute; they cover only project and operational costs.
The list shows what we are offering our clients to fund a capstone project at a set rate of $10,000 per project
- A team of four top-tier students is assigned to your project
- Dedicated faculty member to oversees the student team
- Our hands-on engineering students will create a prototype for you
- We provide state-of-the-art prototyping facilities w/ dedicated staff support
- Access to professional equipment for data collection and testing
- The company retains ownership of the intellectual property
- Students deliver design reviews, technical report, & testing results
- We utilize our relationships with Subject Matter Experts to expand expertise
Up to $5,000
- Project-specific raw material
- Instrumentation for the prototype
- Custom off-the-shelf components
- Site visit student travel
- Outsourced Machining
Any additional costs above $5,000 will be billed to the client
Rose-Hulman Covers
- Capstone Faculty time
- Shop Technicians and Staff support
- Software (MATLAB, SolidWorks)
- Capital Equipment in Shops
- Capital Building – Workspaces
- Engineering Codes and standards
- Innovation Centers for students
Funding Allocation
Remaining amount
- Subject Matter Experts
- 3D printing facilities
- Resin prints, laser cuts, water jet
- Tooling for shop equipment
- Shop Tools
- Machining (by students w/ supervision)
- Basic prototyping materials
- Machine shop consumables
- Measurement tools and sensors
- Capstone coordinator support
- Dedicated staff support
Figure 3. Funding Allocation for supporting an ME Capstone project for $10,000
Subject Matter Experts
One of our goals with the Design Clinic is to offer a broader range of projects beyond the core faculty's areas of expertise in ME. We hope to resolve this challenge by adding Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to the Design Clinic. The role of the Capstone Design Faculty will remain that of the project advisor, overseeing course learning outcomes and teaching the design process to our students. Additionally, students have access to all Rose Human faculty office hours. We plan to recruit Subject Matter Experts to expand our expertise by tapping into our network of Rose-Hulman faculty, alumni, and industry professionals. Subject Matter Experts will spend approximately 50 hours with the student team on technical assistance, meetings, presentations, and technical reports.
Design Clinic’s Impact on Stakeholders’ Experience
Student experience: students will get a wider variety of projects than what we currently offer. Dedicated staff support and extended hours will ease some bottlenecks. Student experiences will also improve because we can simulate real-world industry experiences where their time is valued and, sometimes, overnight shipping costs are worth for avoiding any project delays. We can offer a cash award to the top-performing team as an incentive and bonus. This award will be based on a 360-degree review conducted for each team, which will include their interactions not only with clients but also with technicians, support staff, subject-matter experts, and peers. We will allocate a small amount to encourage team-bonding activities early in the course. This high-support environment will also be complemented by a high-expectations model, where a student can be fired from a project for misusing the system or consistently underperforming. They will not fail the course if they are fired, but they will be assigned to an internal project.
Client experience: In the Design Clinic, we also plan to simplify the client's experience. They will make a one-time payment, and we will handle the rest. The clients will also provide a company representative to clarify the project's expected outcomes and approve the proposed design solutions through design reviews.
Capstone Faculty experience will be simplified because we plan to have a dedicated capstone coordinator who will recruit projects and have funding conversations while the faculty focuses on training students. The coordinator will receive summer support and course release for their time and effort.
Timeline for Invoicing
The invoicing timeline is explained below. Clients are welcome to send us specialized equipment, tools, and parts to support the projects.
