Precision Machine Design
MIT's projects-based course on designing precision mechanical systems, from consumer products to machine tools. Covers the economics, project management, and design philosophy behind precision engineering, along with accuracy, repeatability, and resolution principles, error budgeting, sensors and sensor mounting, bearings, actuators and transmissions, and systems integration driven by functional requirements. Students work in design teams and present their projects in class, with the whole group critiquing and helping refine each design, so the course doubles as a shared workshop rather than a lecture series. Emphasis falls on creative design solutions optimized through analytical techniques applied in spreadsheets. Materials on MIT OpenCourseWare include the syllabus, project assignments, and design team presentations, offered free with no certificate.