Laptop Riser, a Useful PBL Project for Diploma Students in Engineering Design

Abstract

A useful project is identified for the semester-four diploma students in their final workshop of mechanical engineering program in the school of engineering at Australian college of Kuwait (ACK). ACK is putting significant emphasis in project based learning (PBL) and is developing new courses for both diploma and degree programs according to PBL style. In the final workshop project, it is required that the students design and manufacture a foldable laptop riser during fourteen weeks of their works. This project uses welding, cutting, drilling, and bending processes. It is expected that the deliverable product of this workshop is to be used in offices of ACK faculties and staff to raise the laptop height to provide an ergonomic and healthy office use. Students gain experiences in developing their own ideas, acquainted with preliminary design calculations, make sketches and drawings, build their laptop risers, and report their learning outcomes.  The students are allowed to work individually or in a team of two to three students. The students are asked to satisfy specific requirements and fulfill certain restrictions such as pre known available materials, sizes and dimensions, and quality of finished product. We found that students are satisfied with their learning and developed skills and also enjoyed to see their end products are utilized in the ACK offices.