Modern Manufacturing Capability for the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program

社区服务工程项目（EPICS）是一个学生团队通过为当地社区服务组织解决工程问题的长期项目获得学分的项目。EPICS课程与许多传统的工程设计课程有几个重要的区别：1。这是一个大型团队体验（通常每个团队有10-12名学生）。2. 它是跨学科的：一个团队可以包括来自最多三个工程学科的学生，在目前的两个团队中，还可以包括社会学学生。3. 它是多层次的：团队由二年级学生、三年级学生和四年级学生组成，并计划从1999年春季学期开始包括一年级学生。4. 这是一个长期的设计经验：一个学生参与几个学期，所以重大范围的问题可以解决。5. 它将每个团队与当地社区机构配对，作为真正的客户。6. 它让学生获得真正的定义-设计-构建-测试-部署-支持体验。EPICS项目涉及多种技术，包括数字电子、机电系统、计算机辅助设计和制造、制造过程、复合材料、快速原型技术、能源管理系统、人机界面、计算机网络和无线通信。该提案要求国家科学基金会提供55,000美元（普渡大学提供55,000美元的配套资金），以帮助为EPICS项目开发现代化制造设施。目标是使学生团队能够完全实现和测试他们的设计。建议的计算机数控车床和数控铣床将使学生学习现代计算机控制的制造技术，并提供最先进的制造设备的实践经验。现代制造能力的增加对于EPICS作为一个多学科项目的持续发展至关重要。它将进一步使该项目成为如何向工程本科生教授社区和客户意识以及沟通团队合作、领导能力、项目管理和系统设计技能的全国模式。

Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) is a program in which teams of students earn academic credit for long-term projects that solve engineering problems for local community service organizations. The EPICS program is distinguished from many traditional engineering design courses in several important ways: 1. It is a large team experience (typically 10-12 students per team). 2. It is cross-disciplinary: a single team may include students from up to three engineering disciplines as well as, in the case of two current teams, Sociology students. 3. It is multilevel: teams are a mix sophomores, juniors and seniors, with plans to include freshmen starting in the Spring 199~ semester. 4. It is a long-term design experience: a student participates for several semesters, so problems of significant scope can be tackled. 5. It pairs each team with a local community agency as a real customer. 6. It involves students in a true define-design-build-test-deploy-support experience. EPICS projects involve diverse technologies including digital electronics, electromechanical systems, computer aided design and manufacturing, manufacturing processes, composites, rapid prototyping technologies, energy management systems, human-computer interfaces, computer networks, and wireless communication. This proposal requests $55,000 from NSF (with $55,000 in matching funds from Purdue) to help develop a modern manufacturing facility for the EPICS program. The goal is to enable student teams to fully implement and test their designs. The proposed computer numerical controlled (CNC) lathe and CNC mill would allow students to learn modern computer controlled manufacturing techniques and provide hands-on experience with state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. The addition of a modern manufacturing capability is essential to the continued development of EPICS as a multidisciplinary program. It will further enable the program to become a national model of how community and customer awareness an d skills in communication teamwork, leadership, project management, and system design can be taught to engineering undergraduates.