ME 314 COURSE ORGANIZATION

Fall '10

Instructor

(please follow this link for my contact information)

Schedule

M W F 12:00-12:50; Room 208 (ME Bldg) - Students are highly encouraged to participate and interact during regular lectures. However, it is understood that some students prefer individual (or small-group) interactions with their instructor. For this reason, an attempt will be made to dedicate the last 10 minutes (approximately) of the lectures to individual (or small-group) exchanges to go over questions, concerns, issues, etc.

Office Hours

MWF 1-2 (these are walk-in; i.e., no appointment is necessary)

Appointments are available upon request.

[Off-campus "Consulting Days:" one day per week during the semester (Tues. or Thurs.); on these days, I may be contacted by e-mail and scheduled, phone conferences only.]

Announcements

Course updates, announcements, etc. will be sent to you via your UNM e-mail account. If you prefer to receive e-mail through other accounts (addresses), you would need to forward your UNM e-mail to your preferred address. Instructions are available at "How to forward your electronic mail?"

Assignments

Homeworks will be given regularly; each set of assignments will be due one week from the date it is assigned, unless otherwise specified. No late homework will be accepted under any circumstances. Important note: Homeworks are inspected (and “graded”) for the level of effort exhibited by the student, not for the correctness of work and answers. Working diligently on assignments constitutes the best path toward doing well in exams (and, therefore, receiving a good grade in the course). It is the responsibility of the students to make sure that they gain a high level of competency with the subject through homeworks.

Optional Problems

The assigned homeworks are a minimum necessary set for grasping the subject. For interested students, Optional Problems are available.

Exams Dates

All "semester” exams will be taken during the class time (subject to change with advance notice by your instructor):

Exam I: Fri., Oct. 1, '10

Exam II: Fri., Nov. 5, '10

Exam III: Fri., Dec. 8, '10

Note: To accommodate exam preparation by students, every effort will be made to avoid introducing new subjects during the last week of classes (approximately three class sessions before Exam III). The available class time during this particular period will be spent on activities such as resolving homeworks, one-on-one (or small-group) discussions of course topics, etc.

Exams Logistics

· Non cumulative

· Quantitative as well as concept type

· Range of coverage: all home works (and their supporting material) that are due before the day of exam

· One sheet of notes (8.5 × 11.0 in., only one side) and calculators are allowed

· Cell phones and Laptops are not allowed

Point Accumulation

15%: Home-works

85%: Three (3) Semester Exams (equally weighted)

Note: Lively class participation (including appropriate humor that is shared by all) is strongly encouraged and (indirectly) rewarded (e.g., citations in letters of recommendation, etc.).

Grades (“Curve”)

Grades (based on total numerical score) will be assigned as follows:

If your numerical score is equal to100, your Course Grade will be A+

If your numerical score is equal to or larger than …	but smaller than …	your Course Grade will be …
95	100	A
90	95	A-
85	90	B+
80	85	B
75	80	B-
70	75	C+
65	70	C
60	65	C-
55	60	D+
50	55	D
45	50	D-

If your numerical score is smaller than 45, your Course Grade will be F

Textbook

Your textbook will be available at the UNM Bookstore as well as online booksellers, such as Amazon (usually at a reduced price). You will also be provided with a workbook. This workbook contains supplemental course material including example and homework sheets.

Required Textbook: J. J. Uicker, Jr., et al, Theory of Machines and Mechanisms, Oxford University Press (OUP), 4th ed. (Note: OUP is a non-profit book publisher; therefore, their textbooks are more affordable.)

Recommended Additional Reference: R. L. Norton, Design of Machinery, McGraw-Hill. (An earlier edition may be purchased at a nominal cost through on-line book sellers, such as Amazon.)

Drawing Equipment

You will need the usual drawing equipment, such as pencils, pencil sharpener, eraser, triangles, protractor, compass, rulers (mm and in.-based) etc.

Web-based Instructional Support

ME 314 Not-for-Public Web directory: This directory is available only to registered students; access will be provided at the beginning of the semester (see your UNM e-mail “Inbox” when the semester starts). In this directory, you are provided with course e-handouts as well as supplemental material (such as Answers, Exam Keys, etc.).

Outline of Contents

Note: Numbers in parentheses represent textbook section numbers designated as reading assignments.

Introduction to Mechanisms and Synthesis of Linkages. (1.1 thru 1.10)
Velocity Difference Equation; Velocity Polygons; Velocity Images. (3.1 thru 3.4, 3.7)
Introduction to Instant Centers; Kennedy's Theorem; Use of Instant Centers of Velocity. (3.13 thru 3.17)
Acceleration Difference Equation; Acceleration Polygons; Acceleration Images. (4.1 thru 4.4)
Introduction to Force Analysis; Static Forces in Machines; Force Polygons; Friction Forces in Machines. (13.1 thru 13.10)
Dynamic Force Analysis. (14.1 thru 14.7) (It is expected that students have familiarized themselves with the fundamentals of plane kinetics in ME 306, including inertial properties. For those students who need a review of the concept of mass moment of inertia, a document is provided in the ME 314 Not-for-Public Web Directory.)
Cam Design. (6.1 thru 6.3, 6.5 thru 6.10)
Introduction to Gearing. (7.1 thru 7.9)

Time-permitting, the following topic will be covered at the end of the semester:

Kinematical Analysis by Complex Numbers. (2.6, 2.10; 3.10; 4.10)

Additional Comments

Use of cell phones (voice, text, games, etc.) is not allowed in the classroom. Turn off and conceal your cell phone before entering the classroom.

Last Modified: Nov. 11, '10