The Law of Ukraine №1556-VII “On Higher Education”, approved in 2014, broadened academic liberties of the higher educational establishments in terms of defining the contents and forms of training of the students. According to the Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine №266 of 29.04.2015, a new list of scientific branches and specializations, according to which the students are trained, was approved. Guided by these law and the order, the Department of Integrated Mechanical Engineering (ITMMMI) at MMI developed and in 2016, within the specialty 133 Applied Mechanics introduced an educational master's program “Tool Systems of Engineering Design”. This program has two directions: “Tool Systems and Technologies of Forming Parts”, which is associated with the development of the scientific school of mechanics, and “Engineering Design”, which has an innovative character and implements modern model of training design engineers.
A design engineer is a specialist who can come up with an idea of a view that could be attractive to a consumer, use it in a three-dimensional computer model, perform the necessary engineering calculations and develop production technologies. In a large-scale production, such a specialist collaborates with an industrial designer and a design specialist, while at small companies he is a designer-constructor.
The main courses of professional training of such specialists are “Component Sciences”, “Artistic Design and Presentations”, “Computer-aided Design Technologies”, “Additive Production”, “Conventional Technologies”, “Modeling of Technical Objects and Systems”.
The master's degree program mostly has a practical profile, while the master's thesis itself consists of the following four obligatory parts.
Part 1. The analysis of the market features and the search for ideas for a design. The result of this analysis should be the understanding of what design may be of potential interest to the market, who are the competitors, and what strengths and weaknesses the design presents, what opportunities it provides and what threats exist on the way of it’s implementation.
Part 2. Modelling and construction. In order to provide high operational parameters of design at this stage, a conceptual solution is thoroughly worked out using modern analytical methods of engineering calculations and computer simulation of the construction. Patenting of inventions, trademarks, industrial prototypes, etc. are also envisaged.
Part 3. Technological support of production. At this stage, modern technologies are studied and modelled, which are critical in terms of manufacturing a prototype or a model. The main emphasis is on the use of modern additive technologies, laser cutting, processing with help of CNC machines. An obligatory point for the master's thesis is the creation of a prototype or of an existing model. Models and prototypes can be implemented in the FabLabKPI laboratory, which is located at our department and is equipped with 3D printers, devices for working with microelectronics and processing with help of CNC machines.
Part 4. A start-up project. The final analysis of the market is carried out, and on the basis of diploma design, the start-up project is being prepared.
Now, almost all topics of master's thesis works of our department are proposed by the students themselves and those works have the features of start-up projects. Due to the complexity of the projects, we often create teams in which members work together on one task.
Here are some examples of projects developed by our students.
CangUA – module camper van for automobile trips. The main idea of the project is to combine a comfortable rest in a camper van with the possibility to travel near the campsite. To achieve this aim, the authors of the project – the students Volodymyr Baginskyi, Viyacheslav Mikhalevych, Andriy Galavin, – proposed to use the Smart ForTwo Electric electromobile as a camper cab. Apart from general design issues, they solved the engineering problems of power plant design, of control and loading and unloading systems, and of fixing the “cab” of the camper, during the process of modelling.
FLIbot – robotictractorforsprayinginurbanagriculture. This project of students Andriy Vartsaba, Robert Milayev, Kateryna Khachaturova is aimed to be used in “smart agricultural engineering”. It involves the use of a technical vision system to spray only weeds with herbicides.
Ashowcaseformechanicaltransformationof 3D objects. The main advantage of the proposed system is the ability to scale and transform three-dimensional design objects without the use of equipment with numerical program control. Due to a purely mechanical construction, it is possible to reproduce a copy with scaling. This principle is especially important in design practice, when it is necessary to make several copies of one original. For instance, the author's figurines. The author of the project is Yevhen Kostyshche.
ZEUS – supereconomiccityelectromobile.The aim of the project by the students Vasyl Kutuza and Pavel Kryvych is to create an extremely economical two-seater city automobile, which meets the requirements of the international competition “Shell Eco Marathon”. Vasyl Kutuza was the captain of the “Formula Student of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” team during 2017-2018 season, where he gained vast experience in implementing engineering projects. Unfortunately, investors could not be found, and the automobile was not designed. Probably, someone of the new students of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute would have a wish to join the project and to implement it.
Now, the students who study master's program “Engineering Design”, are working on such projects as: “ODI - an Electric Platform for Autonomous Movement of Disabled People” (Vitaliy Bielykh, Sava Petelko, Denis Finogeyev), “CarWind - Highway Wind Generator with the Elements of Passive Safety” (Anton Geiko and Oleksandr Dudar), “Duplicarver with Scaling Function” (Tetyana Protsenko), “Warehouse System for Providing Tools with Interactive Functions” (Ruslan Konarivskyi). Two students are working on projects for the needs of the “Formula Student of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” team in 2018/19 season, namely: “Design and Technological Support of an Improved Frame for a Racing Car” (Dmytro Nahornyi) and “Design and Modeling of Aerodynamic Elements for a Racing Car “Formula Student of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”” (Serhiy Pelikhov).
We plan to submit some of these projects to the annual Festival of Start-ups “Sikorsky Challenge”, while the design of the race car of “Formula Student of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” is to be implemented this summer. Our students’ projects have become multiple winners of Sikorsky Challenge start-up contest.
Finally, I would like to note that according to modern legislation, not only graduates of our department can study master's program “Engineering Design”. If you are an artistic and creative person, if you have a bachelor’s degree in engineering (mechanics, electricity, electronics, computer science, telecommunications, etc.) and you dream of implementing your ideas or joining a team working on a promising project, you can join us. And together with you we will make dreams come true.
More detailed information can be found on the website of the Department of Integrated Mechanical Engineering (itm.kpi.ua).