I get the same look from non-engineers when I say things like, "Fluids class" or "Vibration class." Yes, I spend WHOLE SEMESTERS on topics like that. And I LIKE it. And that's why I'm an engineer, people, because normal folks wouldn't scan through the class catalog and say - ooh! Statics! I should totally take that! The study of things that DON'T MOVE OR DO ANYTHING INTERESTING AT ALL.
Ahem. Moving on.
So the assembly class has a project - each team has to pick a product, and during the semester we will analyze this product and how it is assembled.
My team chose a tape measure. We mostly didn't want to choose anything with lots of electronics, because none of us are interested in analyzing a circuit board. And we also wanted something with a manageable number of parts, not a camera with 300 little screws... So a tape measure it is.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicm5lqskr91hTPMuoRceb3_7uiEdeQhNk7eKRHZ-P4nU3qHTLqbTrHdS1XGs_Hq5BMGljl2nt3A3oo1COjFMo7FgdDXmI1pX3acyEbrGACN2aRNLmURm4o1sr1V0iVEWIAlsnO5mjxxMU/s400/25_powerlock.jpg)
But I suggested that before we make a final decision, we might want to make sure we could take the tape measure apart and put it back together again - because if we can't do that, it's going to be very tough to analyze.
Really, of course, I just wanted to know what was inside a tape measure. And I think that a good study of assembly should start with disassembly - right? right? Of course I'm right.
So:
Now you know.
And that middle reel? The one marked "Do Not Open - Highly Stressed Spring"? (Not my hands in the next pictures, by the way - I got a considerably hairier labmate to hold the parts for me....)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyxFks5OYgbGt5qBiCQLSFBoHpSWsWMOhPhlasr_p2oTwoQH8i2ItDAxsiHknjXgyrccXJpq5CslTrn7ZBXOaVElpiw6nP6Vm2GpJzc3Ae-RzzKYzGYySEclKP64wdFrxP84CSVTj6xK4/s400/tape_closeup1.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjzKGgaOvRnrwgIXQoc2XBB9sbrcVzP_Hs9JSA3YqAa3yWzJL5LJ0JpRgij8lJe8_OD5yH43TA0nHxTU5uKWAsf5KJt_uUp9MWvENtYpXSi0vsEGcSDCom3TQ-vkhQEj9fEKkUQ2fbYU/s400/tape_closeup2.jpg)
I am particularly proud of the fact that although the middle reel also said in bold letters "Not Repairable," I did indeed re-wind the spring and reassemble the thing. And no, I didn't have any extra parts left over. :)
I think most of the engineers in my vibrations class have a hard time understanding why there's a vibrations class. But it's so handy! You can model pretty much everything as a mass-spring-damper system...
ReplyDeleteThat assemblies course looks like fun! It's ridiculous how much work goes into the design/production of something as seemingly simple as a tape measure!