Topics Covered

• Teamwork
• Brainstorming and Creativity
• Engineering Design
• Machining Processes
• Manufacturing Processes
• Project Management

General Information

This course provides students with the opportunity to work in an environment that closely simulates a real workplace. Students will collaborate in groups of two or three, bringing together diverse backgrounds, skills, and competencies. Each senior design group is required to elect a team leader, a treasurer, and a report coordinator. Projects are proposed by faculty or industry partners and assigned to students during the first week of the fall semester. Each faculty member will provide a project description and outline the main goals to be achieved. Over the course of the two Senior Design I and II classes, each group will complete a series of project phases, including brainstorming, product design, fabrication, and final testing.

Brainstorming Phase

Within the first few weeks of the fall semester, by a date specified by the faculty mentor (typically toward the end of September), each group must submit a proposal report on its assigned senior design project and deliver an internal oral presentation. The report and presentation should summarize the outcomes of the group’s brainstorming sessions during this period and clearly present the adopted project design concepts.

Preliminary Design Calculations and Drawings for Parts and Assemblies

Building on the design concept developed in the previous phase, each group is required to prepare a defined set of preliminary design calculations and drawings for the project’s parts and assemblies. By a date specified by the faculty mentor (typically mid-October), each group must submit a draft of these calculations and drawings and deliver an oral presentation to the faculty mentor.

Final Draft Proposal Report with Budget, Quotes, and Timeline

Toward the end of the semester, each group must submit a comprehensive draft proposal report that includes the final design, supporting calculations, drawings of parts and assemblies, budget, list of ordered and pending parts with quotes, project timeline, references, and appendices. The faculty mentor will review the draft, provide final recommendations, and return it to the students for revision. Groups are required to revise their report in accordance with the faculty mentor’s feedback. A general template for the proposal report will be made available on D2L and must be followed as the official guideline.

GUIDELINES FOR THE STUDENTS

1. Faculty Mentor and Student Conduct

The faculty mentor supervising the students and project progress is responsible for guidance, advice, and evaluation of student contributions. The mentor is not responsible for completing the students’ work. Students are expected to behave professionally and ethically throughout the project. Once class begins, the use of cellphones, laptops, or any other electronic devices is strictly prohibited unless authorized by the faculty mentor. Misbehavior such as the use of foul language among team members, unethical or derogatory remarks about a team member, faculty, or staff, private or disruptive conversations during class, working on unrelated tasks, playing or watching games or movies, eating, drinking, sleeping, or leaving the classroom without permission will result in significant penalties to the attitude grade. Additional penalties apply if a student intentionally delays project progress, fails to submit weekly reports and logbooks, disrespects teammates by dismissing their ideas, refuses to communicate, or does not attend group meetings. Repeated violations may result in removal from the course and labs for the remainder of the semester. Absenteeism or habitual tardiness to lectures, labs, and meetings with the group or faculty mentor may result in the loss of the entire attitude, attendance, contribution, and professional behavior grade, 20%.

2. Project Deliverables

Students are advised that deliverables announced at the beginning of the semester may be modified by the faculty mentor depending on project progress or unforeseen difficulties.

3. Presentations

All students are required to participate in every senior design presentation (internal, external, partial, and final).

4. Design Changes

Any changes to the project design or drawings discussed with faculty, industry engineers or technicians, the department machinist, or lab technicians must be reported immediately to the faculty mentor in charge, who will decide whether to approve the changes or not.

5. Final Drawings and Manufacturing

Every final drawing and manufacturing process for a machine part must be signed and approved by the faculty mentor.

6. Purchases

All part purchases must be approved and signed by the department chair, the faculty mentor, the machinist, and the purchaser. Purchase requests must include all required signatures as well as the current budget balance. All purchases must remain within the approved budget, $2,000/group.

STUDENT PERFORMANCES ASSESSMENT

Lecture and Labs, Written Exam

This course consists of one mandatory one-hour lecture and four mandatory laboratory design, manufacturing sessions per week. The lecture primarily consists of faculty mentor presentations, with occasional general discussions on project progression, weekly assignments, encountered challenges, and project needs. Laboratory sessions are dedicated to group project work, carried out independently and under the supervision of the faculty mentor, with assistance as needed from the machinist technician or external company engineers/technicians. During some lab sessions, the machinist will demonstrate key machining operations. Students are required to attend the full lab session every Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. and wait for their scheduled meeting with their faculty mentor. Students are reminded that the allotted lab time is not sufficient to complete all required weekly tasks; they must manage their schedules and arrange additional meetings to ensure timely completion of work.

The final written exam will be administered in person and will cover material studied in lectures as well as videos shown in class. The use of cell phones or electronic devices is strictly prohibited, except for a basic calculator. Only a one-page study formula sheet will be permitted. Each student must take the exam at the scheduled date and time; no make-up exam will be provided. The written exam counts for 15% of the total course grade.

Weekly Progress Reports and Logbook

Requirements

Each student must submit a weekly progress report along with a personal logbook (template available on D2L). The logbook must document all project-related activities and information received during the week.

The weekly progress report should be based on the logbook and must be uploaded as one unique PDF file along with the logbook to both the designated D2L Dropbox set up by the group’s faculty mentor, and the Dropbox set up by Dr. Azzouz. The weekly reports must be neatly written, organized, and clearly labeled according to the posted template. Each report should include: Technical specification sheets, hand-drawn sketches, SolidWorks drawings (Pack & Go files must be saved on a memory key and submitted to Dr. Azzouz by the end of the Fall 2025 semester), simulation results and graphics, schematic experimental setups, computer-designed circuits (e.g., PLCs, pneumatics, electronics), programming algorithms (MATLAB or other languages), experimental procedures and results, theoretical hand calculations, draft technical papers or reports, 2D/3D component drawings, and a copy of the latest weekly logbook. All critical documents (drawings, simulations, reports, etc.) must be organized in folders and saved on the memory key for final submission at the end of the semester.

Submission

Progress reports and logbooks are due at the beginning of each laboratory session. Late submissions will be accepted until the end of the semester but graded at a maximum of 50% of the total grade. Submitting identical material across two consecutive weeks will result in a failing grade (0%) for the second submission. It is strictly forbidden for students within the same group to submit identical reports or logbooks. Each group member is required to submit a unique, personal weekly progress report.

Grading

Weekly progress reports and logbooks are graded jointly by the faculty mentor (weekly progress report) and Dr. Azzouz (logbook). They account for 15% of the total course grade. The grading rubric is as follow:

Excellent (100%): Complete report and logbook with detailed documentation, sketches, SolidWorks drawings, simulation data, schematics, technical sheets, experimental procedures/results, and correct theoretical calculations. Demonstrates strong effort, clear explanations, and creativity in problem-solving.

Good (90%): Strong report and logbook with most required elements. Shows good effort, clear explanations, and sound problem-solving. May contain minor errors or omissions.

Satisfactory (80%): Report and logbook include some required elements but are missing key items. Demonstrates limited effort with occasional attempts at explanation and problem-solving. Contains noticeable errors and/or missing critical items.

Needs Improvement (70%): Weak report and logbook missing many elements. Minimal effort in documentation, explanation, or problem-solving. Contains numerous mistakes and omissions.

Poor (60%): Incomplete report and logbook missing most required elements. Little or no effort shown; major errors and omissions are present.

Failing (0%): No submission, or submission is plagiarized, identical to another student’s work, or entirely irrelevant to the project.

Peer Evaluation

The main course faculty mentor will conduct two peer evaluations during the semester: one at mid-semester and one at the end of the semester. Each group member will be required to honestly evaluate their peers based on performance, contribution, and commitment to group tasks and project goals. It is MANDATORY for students to provide a list of both PROS AND CONS for each group member as part of the evaluation, a penalty on the grade will be applied if this information is not provided. Peer evaluations will account for 10% of the total course grade and must be uploaded to the designated D2L Dropbox when requested by the faculty mentor. Failure to submit the peer evaluation on time will result in a grade of 0% for this component.

ATTITUDE & ABSENTEEISM & PROJECT CONTRIBUTION & SHARING KNOWLEDGE WITH TEAMMATES AND FACULTY MENTOR & ATTENDING GROUP MEETINGS & ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

This course component will be continuously assessed by the main senior design instructor and the group’s faculty mentor for each student throughout the fall semester. The final grade will be based primarily on peer evaluations, class behavior, attendance and punctuality, number of absences, time spent achieving weekly and project goals, use of appropriate or inappropriate language, willingness to collaborate and share knowledge with team members, evaluations of lab work by the faculty mentor and machinist technician, adherence to ethical standards, and other relevant criteria (as listed above under student guidelines) deemed appropriate by the main instructor and faculty mentor. This component accounts for 20% of the total course grade.

Public Presentations & Paper Publication & Poster

Students are expressly informed that each one of them is explicitly required to participate in the three following university activities over the course of the two senior design semesters: the University Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum (fall 2025 and spring 2026) and the North Texas Area Students Conference (NTASC, spring 2026). Additional activities and contributions may also be required at the discretion of the group faculty mentor, including: the participation in the Council on Undergraduate Research Conference (CUR, spring 2026), the IdeaMSU contest (spring 2026), writing journal or conference papers, preparing posters, and similar tasks. Students are expected to begin preparing for these activities during the fall semester (e.g., drafting posters, oral presentations, or journal/conference papers drafts). Participation in these activities will account for 10% of the student’s final grade.

Final Oral Exam

The group is required to deliver a ten-minute collective oral presentation before a panel consisting of the department faculty overseeing the senior design course and labs and invited guests. Following the presentation, the group members will have ten minutes to answer a series of questions prepared by the panel regarding the project’s materials and outcomes. The total duration of the presentation and Q&A session is strictly limited to twenty minutes. The oral presentation and exam are scheduled for Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 1:00 PM in MY 136. It is MANDATORY that all final presentations be prepared in Microsoft PowerPoint and saved to a memory key provided by the department lab technician, Mr. Jay Barnett.

Final Project Proposal Report

Toward the end of the semester, on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, each group must submit a final major draft proposal report containing the following mandatory components:

·        Detailed introduction and motivation for the project

·        Complete description of SolidWorks 2-D and 3-D drawings for parts and assemblies

·        Theoretical calculations and/or computer-based simulations of a machine or physical process

·        Schematic drawing of the measurement setup and experimental testing procedure

·        Preliminary results, graphs, and analysis

·        Current budget with attached quotes and purchase records

·        Gantt chart timeline

·        References for consulted technical papers, books, and websites

·        Acknowledgements of internal or external advisors and all helpers during the fall semester

·        Appendices (all drawings, results, technical specification sheets, quotes and purchase requests, etc.)

The faculty mentor will review the draft proposal report, provide written recommendations, and return it to the students. Students are required to revise the draft according to the mentor’s recommendations.

The final written proposal report, incorporating all the above requirements, must be submitted no later than Friday, December 5, 2025. It is MANDATORY that all final reports be prepared in Microsoft Word and saved to a memory key provided by the department lab technician, Mr. Jay Barnett.

While a working prototype of the design is due by the end of the academic year in May 2026, each group is required this fall semester to produce and present a computer-based animated design (2-D and 3-D drawings) and simulations addressing various aspects of the assigned project tasks (e.g., stress analysis, flow velocity field, hydraulic circuits animation, PLC, Arduino, Raspberry Pi programming, etc.). Note: Although multiple software tools may be used for simulations, the preferred ones are SolidWorks Simulation and ANSYS, as these are available on nearly every computer in the McCoy School of Engineering. Additionally, the final proposal report must meet all requirements specified in the individualized contract sheet distributed by the faculty mentor at the beginning of the semester. The proposal report counts for 15% of the total final grade.

Course Grades

Students are informed that each one of them will be graded individually. There is strictly no collective grade for any of the items listed in the table below. Course grades are based on the following items and their assigned weights, summarized in the grading table below:

Graded Items

Percentage Assigned to Items

Senior Design Written Exam

15%

Weekly Progress Report & Logbook

15%

Peer Evaluation

10%

Attitude & Absenteeism & Project Contribution & Sharing Knowledge with Teammates and Faculty Mentor & Attending Group Meetings & Ethical Behavior

20%

Public Presentations & Paper Publication & Poster

10%

Final Proposal Presentation & Oral Exam

15%

Final Proposal Report

15%

Total maximum Grade

100%

The below grade range scale will be used to assign the final course grade:

Value Range of X (in %)

Letter Grade

90 ≤ X ≤ 100

A

80 ≤ X < 90

B

70 ≤ X < 80

C

60 ≤ X < 70

D

< 60

F

The students are required to attend the whole lab session each Wednesday from 2:00 pm to 5:50 pm, and wait for their turn to meet with their instructor. It is brought to the attention of the students that the lab-time is not sufficient to complete all the required weekly tasks. The students have to manage their own study schedule and find time to complete all required tasks.

Weekly report should be uploaded to a D2L Dropbox weekly before the beginning of the lab session. The maximum grade for the submitted weekly report on the due date is 100%. Late weekly reports will still be accepted till the end of the semester and graded with a maximum grade of 50%.

The students must submit the final written proposal report with all the above-mentioned mandatory requirements no later than Friday December 3, 2025.

Note: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of me and the other instructor involved in advance.

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end and a listing in "Works Cited")-whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not.

Student Honor Creed

As an MSU Student, I pledge not to lie, cheat, steal, or help anyone else do so."

As students at MSU, we recognize that any great society must be composed of empowered, responsible citizens. We also recognize universities play an important role in helping mold these responsible citizens. We believe students themselves play an important part in developing responsible citizenship by maintaining a community where integrity and honorable character are the norm, not the exception.

Thus, We, the Students of Midwestern State University, resolve to uphold the honor of the University by affirming our commitment to complete academic honesty. We resolve not only to be honest but also to hold our peers accountable for complete honesty in all university matters.

We consider it dishonest to ask for, give, or receive help in examinations or quizzes, to use any unauthorized material in examinations, or to present, as one's own, work or ideas which are not entirely one's own. We recognize that any instructor has the right to expect that all student work is honest, original work. We accept and acknowledge that responsibility for lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty fundamentally rests within each individual student.

We expect of ourselves academic integrity, personal professionalism, and ethical character. We appreciate steps taken by University officials to protect the honor of the University against any who would disgrace the MSU student body by violating the spirit of this creed.

Written and adopted by the 2002-2003 MSU Student Senate.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Disability Support Services in Room 168 of the Clark Student Center, (940) 397-4140.

All instructors in the Department have voicemail in their offices and MSUTexas e-mail addresses. Make sure you add your instructor's phone number and e-mail address to both email and cell phone lists of contacts.

Obligation to Report Sex Discrimination under State and Federal Law

Midwestern State University is committed to providing and strengthening an educational, working, and living environment where students, faculty, staff, and visitors are free from sex discrimination of any kind. State and federal law require University employees to report sex discrimination and sexual misconduct to the University’s Office of Title IX. As a faculty member, I am required to report to the Title IX Coordinator any allegations, personally observed behavior, or other direct or indirect knowledge of conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination or sexual misconduct, which includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking, involving a student or employee. After a report is made, the office of Title IX will reach out to the affected student or employee in an effort to connect such person(s) with resources and options in addressing the allegations made in the report. You are also encouraged to report any incidents to the office of Title IX. You may do so by contacting:

Laura Hetrick

Title IX Coordinator
Sunwatcher Village Clubhouse
940-397-4213

laura.hetrick@msutexas.edu

You may also file an online report 24/7 at Maxient 

Should you wish to visit with someone about your experience in confidence, you may contact the MSU Counseling Center at 940-397-4618. For more information on the University’s policy on Title IX or sexual misconduct, please visit MSU Texas Title IX

Senate Bill 11 passed by the 84th Texas Legislature allows licensed handgun holders to carry concealed handguns on campus, effective August 1, 2016. Areas excluded from concealed carry are appropriately marked, in accordance with state law. For more information regarding campus carry, please refer to the University’s webpage at https://msutexas.edu/campus-carry/rules-policies.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact MSU Chief of Police at police@msutexas.edu.