Abstract:

At Universitat Jaume I, the objective of the first laboratory session in the subject of Theory of Machines and Mechanisms is to analyze the mobility of a variety of real mechanisms and to obtain their simplified kinematic diagrams. Six mechanisms are analyzed: three functional transparencies of a Scotch Yoke mechanism, a quick return mechanism and a vertical slider mechanism, and three different commercial engines (diesel, gasoline, and an outboard motor). Face-to-face laboratories allow students to manipulate the mechanisms to observe their movement. In order to adapt the laboratory to remote learning, several videos were recorded with the mechanisms being actuated by the teacher. However, we realized how difficult it was to show the different components of the real engines in a simple video recorded in the laboratory. Consequently, some motion simulations of equivalent CAD (computer-aided design) models, obtained from the GrabCAD web repository, were added to support the teacher’s explanations. Also, the students were provided with PDF 3D files generated with Solidworks from the same models. When returning to face-to-face sessions, these materials have allowed teachers to perform the explanations keeping the interpersonal distance. Moreover, having this material available for the students, in addition to the on-site explanation with the real mechanism, has facilitated the understanding of the subject.

Keywords:

Mechanisms, CAD, mobility, kinematics.