Topics: Mechanism and Optimum Design (Spring 2010)

Course description:

Mechanism and optimum design play a key role in the design of mechanical products.  Regarding mechanisms, given prescribed motions of objects or paths associated with points, the design synthesis process is used to create a mechanism that can accomplish the task, at least approximately.  Focus is on 2D mechanism design (mostly 4-bar linkages) with exposure to 3D robot kinematic analysis.  Computer simulation software (e.g. MATLAB(tm) and SolidWorks(tm)) is used to create animations of various mechanisms to better facilitate understanding of their motion.  Famous historical collections, such as those by Franz Reuleaux and Leonardo Da Vinci, and others are also examined.  Optimum design theories such as unconstrained and constrained optimization and linear programming are introduced, along with their application. Team design projects (1 mechanism design, 1 optimum design) drawn from current application interests and industry are assigned.

Instructor Biography

Michael P. Hennessey (Mike) joined the full-time faculty as an Assistant Professor fall semester 2000.  He is an expert in machine design, computer-aided-engineering, and in the kinematics, dynamics, and control of mechanical systems, along with related areas of applied mathematics.  Presently, he has published 36 technical papers (published or accepted), in journals (8), conferences (27), or magazines (1).  In 2006 he was tenured and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor.  Mike gained 10 years of industrial and academic research lab experience at 3M, FMC, and the University of Minnesota prior to embarking on an academic career at Rochester Institute of Technology (3 years) and Minnesota State University, Mankato (2 years).  Mike holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Minnesota (with distinction), an MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.  He is also a member of ASME, SIAM, and ASEE.