A Question of Balance

Student Worksheet: You are the Engineer!

You are a team of manufacturing engineers who have been given the challenge of designing and then building a manufacturing system to deliver a consistent weight or count of marbles or other items to a series of four boxes or jars.  

 Research/Preparation Phase

1. Review the Student Reference Sheet. If possible visit some of the virtual manufacturing websites.  

 Planning as a Team

2. Your team has been provided with some materials by your teacher including wooden dowels, plastic bowls or paper cups, wire, tape, string, four canning jars or small empty boxes.  You also have a large quantity of a "product" which may be marbles, paperclips, or other items your teacher has selected. Your job is to design a manufacturing system that will weigh a set amount of the product and deliver it to four jars or boxes.  You need to make sure the weight or count is on target, and that it is consistent between those four packages.

3. Start by meeting with your team and agreeing on a system design. Be creative and enjoy the process!

4. Estimate the count variance you expect will result between the four jars/boxes using your manufacturing system.  What is the allowable or expected difference in weight or count between those four packages?

5. Write or draw your plan in the box below (or on a separate piece of paper). 

	
      A Question of Balance

Student Worksheet: Evaluation

 Construction Phase

5. Construct your manufacturing system.

6. Take a look at the systems created by other class teams.

7. Run your system and "package" four products.  Your teacher will weigh each package for your team so you can see how well your system worked.

8. Evaluate your teams' results, complete the evaluation worksheet, and present your findings to the class.

 Use this worksheet to evaluate your team's results in the Build a Big Wheel lesson:

1. Did you succeed in creating a manufacturing system?  If not, why did it fail?

2. Did you have to make changes from your written design when you were actually building the system?  If so, what part of the system required the most changes in the construction phase?

3. Do you think that working engineers have to adapt their original plans during the manufacturing process?  Why might they?

4. How did the actual weight or count between the four "packages" vary?  How did this result compare to your preproduction estimate?  

Student Worksheet: Evaluation (continued)

5.  What part of this process did you enjoy the most?  Why?

6.  What idea that you saw implemented in another team's work did you find most inventive?  Why?

7.  Did you find that there were many designs in your classroom that met the project goal?  What does this tell you about engineering plans?

8.  Did you find that working as a team made this project more successful?  If not, why not?  If so, explain.

9.  In a real manufacturing environment, do you think the design of the "package" -- the box, jar, or bag -- is developed before, after, or at the same time that the product is developed?  What would make most sense to you?  Why?