The freshman tennis ball launcher is a project that is required for all freshmen taking ENGR101. The students are all given the same pneumatic piston and air compressor with a specified power and capacity. After given this equipment, it is up to each small team to design and fabricate a working tennis ball launcher.

The goal of the project is to have the most accurate and most efficient working launcher. At the end of the semester, there is a competition that includes all the freshmen mechanical engineering students. Each team is graded on their design, efficiency, and accuracy.

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The Formula Car Competition, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a great hands-on experience for engineering students. Most people are fascinated by formula race cars but never have a chance to experience the real thing. The engineering students here at the University of Evansville, however, have the chance to design, fabricate, and compete with small formula-style racing cars. The SAE competition includes over 140 universities participating, with teams from all over the globe.

In May 2009, the UE SAE Formula Car Team placed an impressive 16th out of 119 teams at the Michigan International Speedway.
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Go to Formula Team Website

Students in the Mechanical Engineering program are designing and building a high power rocket that will reach a one mile high altitude. A scientific payload will be onboard the rocket that will collect experimental data during the flight. It is also required for the rocket to be recovered safely within a 1 square mile zone. This project is part of a national competition sponsored by NASA.

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go to team website

Every year the mechanical engineering students from the University of Evansville compete in NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race, which is sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The Moonbuggy must be human powered and also must carry two students, one female and one male, over a half-mile simulated lunar terrain course including "craters", rocks, "lava" ridges, inclines and "lunar" soil. The mechanical design and fabrication of the vehicle are key for a successful race.

The 2007-08 Moonbuggy Team placed 1st in the NASA competition.
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A self propelled, axial flow harvester can be easily fabricated and replicated for production when broken down into several key sections: cutting, conveying, threshing, separation, collection, and drive. This project focuses on designing and fabricating the threshing section of a harvester; as it is the most critical and difficult section to design. The remaining sections of the harvester can be designed and fabricated upon the perfection of the threshing system.

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As part of the 2007/2008 senior project, a group of mechanical and civil engineering students have come together to form a Green Technologies team. This interdisciplinary project consists of two parts: (1) retrofitting a local business to be more energy efficient and (2) competing in a nationwide competition to share innovative ideas as well as a collection of green technologies that could be applied to an existing commercial building. All aspects of part one of the project will be considered when preparing the competition model.

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The SAE Baja is a competition that simulates real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students are tasked to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain while competing against 115 teams from around the world. The object of the competition is to provide universities with a challenging project that involves the planning and manufacturing tasks found when introducing a new product to the consumer industrial market.

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Projects for the Mechanical Engineers at the University of Evansville are considered very important and taken very seriously by faculty and students. Students engaging in this degree are required to participate in a project every year. Below is a project schedule for a typical mechanical engineering student.