For assignments 2 and 3 student reports must include samples of appropriate design calculations, including the assumptions these were based on, references to British Standards and other sources of information and data that have been used. You should note that some of the design work involves repetitive work / complex analysis and extra marks will be gained for appropriate use of spreadsheets, finite element analysis and other modeling software, eg. Matlab Simulink.

Any drawings you submit to describe parts should be good quality, i.e. carefully labeled (isometric) sketches (or CAD drawings if you prefer - BUT they must be fully labeled). Do NOT use valuable time doing formal drawings where they are not called for. There will be no formal teaching of how to use the CAD system.

Good written submissions will be a key to achieving high marks, but this does not mean long reports. I would expect a good report to contain perhaps 3000 to 6000 words plus extensive well labeled diagrams and calculations with careful explanations and appendices. Report text must be word processed, a basic word processor (where equations and diagrams are added by hand) will be quite satisfactory. Report pages must be numbered, but this can be done by hand. Carefully labeled sketches must be used to assist in the explanation of calculations. We are looking for evidence that you have a good understanding of the work that you have carried out. For this reason, if you are designing a sub-assembly containing several components, rather than do superficial analysis of all the components, you will get better marks by providing a detailed analysis of perhaps only one or two components together with full information about the materials selection, processing and cost estimates. An example of good and bad descriptions of materials processing is given below:

If local loading could cause indentation, you might previously have said the component was to be made from 'case hardened steel'. This design / manufacturing / materials specification is worth about 5 % !

To gain a full mark you need to specify the steel, BS or ASM etc. number, the depth of case (total and possibly the fully hard depth) and core hardness / tensile strength, how the part is to be carburised and how it is to be hardened, eg austenitising times and temperatures, method of quenching (oil, polymer solution or water) temper time and temperature. This degree of detail is NOT required for every component, but is essential for safety critical parts and for parts that are critical to the performance of the product.

Do NOT make the mistake of writing a miniature text book on materials or manufacturing. You must explain why you have selected the materials and manufacturing processes that you have chosen for YOUR proposed design.

Normally all design calculations should be carried out in SI units and have:

• an introduction, including the assumptions and simplifications you have made, design factor(s) chosen
• labeled sketches to clarify the context, layout diagram(s) which include X, Y, Z axis directions.
• labeled free body diagrams of every component including X, Y, Z axes to correspond to those above.
• equations describing the equilibrium or the motion of each component
• the calculations, with units and explanations
• conclusions, eg what is the 'next' preferred size, might a further iteration be sensible

You should keep in mind that some of the components may be:

Additional Information About Assignments / Reports.
In the second and subsequent reports that you hand in, you do not need to repeat work included in the first / previous report(s). You should hand back the appropriate report and reference the page(s) where the discussion / calculation(s) appears. You must join the reports together.

NB It is acceptable for you to include copied diagrams and tables in your reports, but you MUST include full reference to the original. In the case of a web address include the date and time it was accessed. Failure to do this may well be considered to be plagiarism, which attracts heavy penalties, see the University Regulations.

5 Notes on Assessment
Marking scheme will be: 10% presentation, 30% analytical, 20 % for materials / manufacture, 40% quality of design(s), conclusions / discussion. However you should note that if the presentation is so poor that I am not able to understand some of your design or calculations, then more than 10% of marks may be lost. You should note that 1 mistake does NOT equate to 1 mark lost. A minor mistake may well not result in any marks lost, however 1 major mistake which shows serious lack of understanding, gross carelessness, eg absurd values being proposed, may result in the loss of several marks.

One of the aims of this module is to provide you with an introduction to design as an open ended subject. There is almost never single 'correct' solution - two very different designs might be equally good. Consequently it is not possible at the outset to give a simple marking scheme, the assessor must use his / her professional judgement when assessing your work.

In many cases you will have to make assumptions, using your judgement, because other aspects of the design have not yet been completed. Provided you give some good reasons why you made such assumptions, you will be given credit if you later in the year report that on the basis of more recent work, an earlier assumption was not correct.

As there is group work in this module, inevitably not all tasks are equally difficult. Students who have a simple piece of work will have to complete it rigorously and with few mistakes to get as good a mark as a student who makes a reasonable job of a much more complicated part of an assignment.