Piston
Course: MEAM 1010
Date: February 2025
MEAM 1010 Introduction to Mechanical Design is a hands-on, project-based course that covers the fundamentals of the modern mechanical design process.
Overview
For this assignment, I was provided with a video of a small wooden piston mechanism and tasked with recreating the entire assembly as accurately as possible using SOLIDWORKS. The challenge was to model each component and assemble them using appropriate mechanical mates that would replicate the motion seen in the original video.
This project simulated a real-world engineering scenario where only a visual representation of an item is available, with no provided dimensions or blueprints. I had to rely entirely on visual analysis, mechanical reasoning, and proportional estimation to reconstruct this system.
From this, I gained a deeper understanding of how to use mates effectively in assemblies, and more importantly, how to trust my intuition throughout the design process. I learned that engineering often involves trial and error—rather than trying to get everything perfect on the first attempt, I focused on making my best initial guess and then refining from there. Adjusting dimensions, tweaking values, and revisiting earlier steps became a key of the process.
