Design for Scale: The Nuts and Bolts of Mass Manufacturing
IDEA 213
Fall 2026
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01
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This course builds on the design skills from IDEA170 to give students practice in building not just a prototype, but a repeatable and functional design. The increase in quantity between prototype and production forces us to prioritize reliability and repeatability in our designs, and adds design for assembly, design for manufacturing, and design for inspection considerations. With the increase in scale, communicating design intent precisely through engineering drawings becomes a critical skill. Students will explore these design principles through a semester-long hands-on project designing, manufacturing, and analyzing a multi-part mechanism (figurine, toy, tool, machine, etc) of their own design. Injection molding will be our primary manufacturing technique, with additional use of vacuum forming, 3D printing, waterjetting, and plastic shredding. In addition to the central project, there will be in-class activities and homework on analysis techniques for mass manufacturing and design best practices. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM IDEA |
| Course Format: Studio | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: IDEA170 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
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Examinations and Assignments:
There will be no examinations. The main focus of the course will be a semester-long project, with multiple assignments supporting this project. In addition, there will be other homework assignments related to course content.
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
For your POI request application to be considered:
1. Submit your POI request(s) through WesPortal for IDEA213
2. Submit a new/updated entry for the upcoming semester to the IDEA213 POI Response Form found at the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/eHAz801y2x
Prerequisites: IDEA-170 and high-school level understanding of probability
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| Instructor(s): Chang-Davidson,Elizabeth Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:40PM; Location: TBA |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 12 | Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through the Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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