Augmenting high school student interest in STEM education using advanced manufacturing technology

Abstract

Engineering effective education is gaining a huge interest for harvesting and improving higher education on a global basis for increasing student engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). As a part of this effort, this paper is based on introducing high school students towards Additive Manufacturing technologies for improving their interest in Science, Technology, and Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The instructional set up involved using of Solid Works® software by high school students to develop computer aided design models which were then visualized and printed using 3D Printers. Design of Experiments (DOE) based statistical techniques were then used to identify the best-built conditions for the parts developed by the students. The approach for creating an effective learning environment for high school students in a university setting along with the course structure used and project findings are presented in this paper. It is found that the students involved showed a basic level of understanding on how engineering problems are tackled using the tools available at their disposal at the concluding phases of this project. Keywords: Additive Manufacturing; CAD; Design of Experiments; STEM.