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EG1311 Course Review

Introduction

  • Full name: EG1311 Design and Make
  • Target audience: NUS Year 1 Engineering Students
  • Purpose of the course: Students will learn design principles and tools through lectures and engage in experiential learning through group design projects
  • Notes Content: View the EG1311 Lecture Notes

I took this course in AY24/25 Sem 1 for my degree requirement.

Course Content

Overview of Topics Covered

  1. Arduino Basics: Physics and Programming fundamentals
  2. CAD Basics: CAD fundamentals and advanced techniques

Depth and Balance of Coverage

Theoretical Understanding

This course doesn't focus heavily on theoretical concepts. The Arduino material will be relatively easy for computing students, while the CAD Basics might be a bit more challenging. However, with effort, it's definitely manageable and quite interesting. Since it's a group project, it's not essential for every member to master every skill, as long as at least one person in the group can grasp the necessary concepts.

Application and real-world examples

The core of this course lies in applying what you've learned to real-world scenarios. During the first five weeks, you'll cover some theoretical topics, but the main goal is to work in groups to implement your knowledge. In this process, the most important takeaway, in my opinion, is learning to make out your design and optimize it using limited resources within a tight timeframe. This is very similar to the FIRST Robotics Competition I participated in during high school and is a crucial skill in real-world engineering projects.

Teaching Style and Materials

Teaching Style

Lecture

The lectures are recorded and taught by Prof. Jason. I find his teaching style to be very clear and easy to understand, making complex topics more approachable.

Tutorial

My tutorial is also taught by Prof. Jason. In my opinion, for this course, the tutorial tutor doesn't have as much of an impact.

Assessment

The quiz is the main differentiator in this course, but it's open-book. The last question of the CAD quiz, in particular, is quite tricky. It requires some spatial reasoning and techniques that weren't explicitly covered in the lectures. However, I've included an important technique in the notes that might help with this type of problem.

Course Book

Reference book: There is no textbook for this course. However, for the physics knowledge, like the working principle of the electric motors, if you want to gain a deeper understanding, a reference book is still needed. The quiz problems regarding the physics are quite straightforward. The reference book I use is: Physics for Scientists & Engineers by Douglas C. Giancoli.

EG1311 Reference Book

Learning Experience

Personal Insights

I feel incredibly fortunate to have had such amazing teammates and a wonderful professor in this course! I'll always remember the excitement during the test when our robot successfully completed all the tasks, and the fun we had trying to cut weight to reach the lighter point. Even though we didn't make it, I genuinely enjoyed the process of striving for perfection! Thank you all for making this course so enjoyable and rewarding for me!

Skills Developed

This course has taught me how to design and optimize solutions using limited resources within tight timeframes. The hands-on experience with Arduino and CAD tools, combined with the collaborative team environment, developed practical engineering skills that are directly applicable to real-world projects.

Workload and Time Management

  • Level of Difficulty:
    1. 5/10: For students with prior experience in robotics or CAD.
    2. 7/10: For students new to both Arduino and CAD concepts.
  • Tips for Future Students: Focus on team collaboration and distribute tasks based on each member's strengths. Start your design iterations early to allow time for testing and optimization. Don't be afraid to experiment and learn from failures during the design process.

Conclusion

Enjoy your time working with your teammates! The hands-on experience and collaborative nature of this course make it one of the most memorable and practical courses in the engineering curriculum. Jiayous!

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