Teaching Design and Strength of Materials via Additive Manufacturing Project-Based Learning - Volume 10 - Issue 3

Oct 15, 2026

Engineering education aims to prepare students to solve problems through analysis and design, yet many curricula emphasize analysis while relegating substantive design to cornerstone and capstone courses. This study integrates a scaffolded design-analyze-build-test sequence into a second-year Strength of Materials course, where 33 students formed 11 teams to design and additively manufacture 3D-printed PLA beams and compete via three-point loading. Surveys assessed motivation, self-efficacy, and learning outcomes, showing strong engagement and improved understanding of open-ended design and strength of materials despite limited additive manufacturing experience.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Design in Engineering Education

Design Thinking and Pedagogy

(Subsequent sections not fully shown)

| | Ad | vances in Engineering Edu | cation | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2022: VOLUME 10 ISSUE 3 DOI: 10.18260/3-1-1153-36032 Teaching Design and Strength of Materials via Additive Manufacturing Project-Based Learning BRETT D. ELLIS University of Maine Orono, ME AND JEFF GRAVESON Pratt & Whitney North Berwick, ME ABSTRACT Graduating approximately 150,000 engineering and engineering technology students per year, the engineering education system seeks to teach students to solve problems via analysis and design. Unfortunately, many curricula emphasize analysis at the expense of design, often relegating design activities to cornerstone and capstone design courses and leaving students ill-prepared for substantive capstone projects and post-baccalaureate practice. This work seeks to address this problem by introducing an appropriately-scaffolded design-analyze-build-test spine within an existing Mechanical Engineering Technology second-year Strength of Materials course. The 33-student cohort self-selected into 11 teams of 3 students per team to design, analyze, and additively manufacture 6-inch-long by 1-inch-maximum-width by 1-inch-maximum-height 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) beams weighing ≤ 45 grams. Beams were then three-point loaded during a culminating competition. The project intentionally rewarded multiple, competing objectives, including beam mass, maximum force at a 0. 050-inch deflection, accuracy of analysis, and creativity. Over 29 calendar days, the project consumed approximately 1.5 in-class hours and was completed using only commonly-available university hardware, e.g., 3D printers and a load frame. Formative and summative surveys were administered to assess student task value, self-efficacy, and opinions. Results indicated that students were primarily motivated by utility and intrinsic task value. Despite 74% of the students having minimal experience with additive manufacturing, 75% of students felt their team had appropriate skills to complete the project. In addition to 84% of students stating the project reinforced their understanding of strength of materials, 95% of students stated that the project increased their understanding of open-ended design and the interconnection between 2022: VOLUME 10 ISSUE 3 19 ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION Teaching Design and Strength of Materials via Additive Manufacturing Project-Based Learning material properties, materials processing, and strength of materials. This work is important in that it demonstrates a case study on how to incorporate design concepts within an engineering analysis course and that analysis and design concepts may coexist within a course. Key words: Rapid prototyping, sophomore, design INTRODUCTION Design is a fundamental engineering activity in which engineers create new processes and products to satisfy one or more than one performance requirement. Satisfying performance requirements requires three sets of skills: soft skills (e.g., problem definition, communication, teamwork, project management) (Atman et al. 2007; Atman et al. 2008); deductive engineering analyses (Carroll 1997); and inductive reasoning to identify feasible domains and preferred regions within feasible domains (Olson 1997) . The three sets of skills vary in utilization of discipline-specific knowledge and in the uniqueness of solutions. For example, whereas soft skills and inductive reasoning apply to all engineering disciplines, engineering analysis is discipline specific. As another example, although soft skills and inductive reasoning rarely result in unique solutions, engineering analysis seeks to accurately predict a unique solution given a set of assumptions. Undergraduate engineering education often focuses on analytical solutions to well-posed problems, meaning design is a relatively minor component of most engineering programs (Duderstadt 2010) . Typically, design is associated with th

FAQs

How does the project integrate design into a Strength of Materials course?

It introduces a scaffolded design-analyze-build-test sequence within an existing second-year Strength of Materials course, guiding teams from design through analysis and additive manufacturing to testing.

What was the structure of the student teams and what did they build?

Thirty-three students self-selected into 11 teams of three to design and additively manufacture 6-inch-long 3D-printed PLA beams within specified dimensional and mass limits, then tested them using three-point loading.

What outcomes did the surveys evaluate and what did they show?

The surveys measured student task value and self-efficacy plus opinions about the project; results indicated strong intrinsic and utility motivation and that most students felt their teams had sufficient skills, alongside reported gains in understanding strength of materials and open-ended design.

Oct 15, 2026

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