E27

 

E27 is the last of the required E2* series, and I think the most rooted in the real world.  There is almost nothing abstract about this course.  The primary purpose of E27 is literally to teach students how to create a physical, tangible, accurate, and precise part.  No more schematic sketches and theoretical dimensions (E25), no more digital part models that only still exist as bits of data in a computer (E26), E27 makes it all materialize… sort of.  

I was not expecting much from this class.  I knew beforehand what this class was about, and was fully prepared for an underwhelming educational experience thanks to the pandemic.  Much would not be the same.  Tours of the lathe or CNC in the machine shop would be done over Zoom-shared videos that could have been learned with a quick Youtube search.  Labs that involved hands-on equipment were to be swapped with Zoom demos that left the students at home falling asleep as the GSI tried to display a tiny equipment readings over subpar video bandwidths.  Even the final project, which past semesters had used to create “something cool” limited only by ideas and willingness to try, was diluted to a simple report that ended up becoming a bunch of digital drawings and models again.  

This is not to say that I did not appreciate the effort on both the Professor and GSI’s parts.  They definitely tried their best to adapt to an environment that probably impacted their course infinitely harder than the typical college class.  Thanks Cody and Prof. McMains!

Now that my grievances are out of the way, here comes the positivity.  Firstly, the unit on geometric dimensioning and tolerancing was surprisingly well-suited to be remotely taught.  Much of the material ended up being analyzing drawings and determining whether the certain features such as a hole, peg, edge, or surface were within a tolerance range.  In other words, the class became a bit more theoretical.  Hilariously, I confess to not paying much attention during these units, and low and behold the final exam was open-internet!  I actually learned most of the material DURING the final (shoutout to gdandtbasics.com).  

Lastly, the final project proved more meaningful than expected.  Our idea, which was initially intended to be a joke, was to create a phone-holder that attaches to a restroom’s toilet paper mount.  The goal was to prevent the defecator from needing to hold his/her phone with their hands.  Ideation, collaboration, and design turned out to be quite fun, not to mention the practice we got in the GD&T field, helping us learn the material in an interactive and personalized way.  

Overall, though I cannot say I enjoyed this class as much as other classes I have taken, I acknowledge the pragmatism of the curriculum and respect the effort on part of the faculty to provide as much value to the students as the circumstances allowed.