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Student portfolio
ENG2513 Multidisciplinary Engineering Design

Phang Yi Khai (0318295)

Mentor: Ms. Nurhazwani Ismail
B.Eng. (Hons.) Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Semester 3 ( 28 March to 15 July 2016)
About Me
1) Education Prior to Taylor's:
a) SJK (C) Damansara [UPSR]

b) SMK Bandar Utama Damansara (2) [PMR & SPM]

c) Taylor’s University [Foundation in Engineering]

2) Current course:

a) B. Eng. (Hons.) Electrical and Electronic

Engineering

3) Reason to take this course:

a) To equip myself with technical knowledge and skills in the field so that I am able to
run my mother’s company (Neuropower) smoother in the future.

4) Personal Mission:

My personal mission is to be successful (Realistic) in building my mother’s company

(Specific) into a multinational listed company (Measureble) in the period of 5 years (Timely)
from the day I take over her company (Attainable).
Personal S.W.O.T
Useful Harmful
Internal Strengths Weaknesses
 Independent  Hot tempered
 Learn from mistake  Not good at teamwork
 Strong  Sarcastic
 Confident
 Creative with solution
External Opportunities Threats
 Request help from my mentors  Not passionate when it comes
and lecturers to group project
 Mix around with more people to  High chance in offending
gain more experience in others when speaking
communicating  Ambiguous factors that would
 Work part time in companies delay the time
related to my field of studies
Module Learning Outcomes (LO)
1) Learning Outcome 1:Apply techniques, such as Trimming, Random Entry and Systems
Thinking to Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate a system which solves a complex
engineering challenge. (CDIO).

When building the ChemE Car, we used system thinking to conceive ideas for our project.
We chose system thinking because we had multiple members of the same discipline in our group.
Everyone will understand what is the goal they need to achieve and hence generate ideas after
doing their individual research. For example, Khai Jiet and Sze Hui who are from Chemical
Engineering will have to generate ideas on how to stop the car at specific time using iodine clock.
Wai Loon from Electrical Engineering and Artyom from Mechanical Engineering will have to
generate idea on the propulsion system of the car using chemicals and motors. As for Derek and
I who are both from Electrical Engineering as well, had to generate ideas on how to make the
iodine clock stop the motor automatically without using the Arduino Board. Appendix 1.1 shows
the system thinking charts done by Sze Hui, Khai Jiet, Derek and I respectively on how to stop
the car using the iodine clock in terms of chemical and electrical. Appendix 1.2 shows the
system thinking charts done by Wai Loon and Artyom on the propulsion system of the car.
Appendix 1.3 shows the final system thinking generated by all of us for our ChemE Car. Finally,
we chose system thinking to conceive ideas for our project is because system thinking allows us
to have multiple legit solutions in tackling a challenge. If one fails, there is always another that
works. All we need was to choose the best and most convenient idea to us.

2) Learning Outcome 2:Evaluate the manufacturability (in terms of production

effectiveness) and sustainability of an engineering system. (I & O).

To reduce the cost of our project when manufacturing it, we used SolidWorks to help us
draw out the design of the chassis including its dimensions as shown in Appendix 2.1 so that we
can prevent cutting the materials used (Perspex, aluminium metal bar and insulation foam)
wrongly. Besides that, precise procedure with precise type and amount of chemicals for each
reaction was clearly listed out as shown in Appendix 2.2 to reduce the time of manufacturing
the iodine clock and to prevent chemicals wastage. On top of that, a time against concentration
of starch graph as shown in Appendix 2.4 was plotted so that we can find out the exact
concentration of starch required for a certain time needed for the iodine clock reaction to
complete without going through multiple tests again. Furthermore, the circuit connecting the
thermoelectric generators, motor and light sensing circuit was draw and simulated in Multisim
as shown in Appendix 2.4 to ensure the circuit is workable so that cost of components and time
on building the circuit can be reduced.

In terms of sustainability, out project is fairly efficient as shown in Appendix 2.5. By

using Perspex for the body of the car and aluminium metal bars for the reaction tank, the
project is easy to disassemble which increase the materials to be reused and recycled. As
 for the iodine clock, we chose chemicals which are easy to handle such as vitamin c,
iodine and starch to substitute complicated and hazardous chemicals. When thinking
about the lifecycle of the materials of the car and how to cascade them, we used materials
that are easy to dispose of as well as have many cycles of use such as Perspex and
aluminium. Nevertheless, the Perspex is very durable for it can withstand weight and it is
water proof. Since the whole car is made up of mainly Perspex and aluminium, the whole
car can be recycled.

Besides that, our project uses motors, electrical components and chemicals that are in
scale and suffices the car. The motors used are two 3V motor for we do not need motors
with too much power for a small car. The electrical circuit was designed for a 5-6V input
only to prevent wastage of components because the thermoelectric generators can only
generate approximately 5-6V as shown in Appendix 2.6. As for the amount of chemicals
used, we only use approximately 125ml of chemicals in total for each iodine chemical
reaction and 100ml of ethanol for each run of the car as shown in Appendix 2.7 and
Appendix 2.8 respectively. In short, no chemicals or electrical components were wasted
for everything was used based on the amount needed. The car is not over powered as well
because the motors are not overly powerful.

3) Learning Outcome 3:Explain the role of ethics in engineering design (CDIO).

According to Board of Engineers Malaysia, the five codes of ethics are:

1. A registered engineer shall at all time hold paramount the safety, health and welfare
of the public.
2. A registered engineer shall undertake assignments only if he is qualified by education
and experience in the specific technical fields which he is involved.
3. A registered engineer shall issue public statements only in a objective and truthful
manner.
4. A registered engineer shall act for each employer or clients as faithful agent or trustee.
5. A registered engineer shall conduct himself honourably, responsibly, ethically and
lawfully so as to enhance the honour, reputation and usefulness of the profession.

Based on the first code of ethics, our project took the safety, health and welfare of the
public into consideration. We chose chemical reactions that do not emit harmful gas to
the environment when the public uses it as well as not too hazardous chemicals so it will
not harm the users even there is contact. For example, despite hydrogen peroxide is a
good catalyst for the iodine clock, we chose to use 15ml 3% hydrogen peroxide instead of
higher concentrations .

In accordance to the second code, this project is multidisciplinary project. Hence,

each sub-system were handled by the respective members of the field. The iodine clock
and reaction tank were handled by the chemical engineering students as shown in
Appendix 3.1, while the electrical circuits and components were handled by the
electrical engineering students Appendix 3.2, the chassis and the movement of the car
were handled by our mechanical engineering student as well.
Codes three and four, focuses on the candor of the engineers. When manufacturing
the project, we has to collect and show the results to our supervisor during the artifact
assessment. Surely we can alter our obtained results to be almost perfect to obtain good
marks and impression. However, following code three and four we have to be honest and
truthful, and hence we provided ample evidence on why our project failed as shown in
Appendix 3.3 even though it would cost us our marks but at least we were faithful agents.

Finally, our group members all conducted ourselves responsibly, ethically and
lawfully to obey code five. We will be responsible of our actions when conducting
engineering projects and also obey the rules of Taylor’s University Lab’s Rules and
Regulations as well as The School of Engineering ethics to enhance the honor, reputation
and usefulness of the profession in Taylor’s University
 Reflection
In this module, the most important thing that I have learnt is that when doing a project time
management and equalized priorities is most important. During this semester, I was packed with
many due dates and assignments thus I was unable to fully lead the team into completing the task.
We procrastinated for almost two weeks after the submission of the proposal as I was busy with
other modules’ submissions and I was unable to gather my teammates to start the project.
Procrastination had cost me the operation of the project for it was not able to move during the
artifact presentation. This reminded me that proper time management and prioritizing all
assignments equally are truly important to someone as busy as us engineers. We have to make sure
that all assignments were given ample time and focus to be completed so that we do not sway off
track when nearing the due dates.
Besides that, this semesters group mates were mostly chosen by our own. I
thought by choosing trustable friends who can communicate easily would smoothen the
project but I was very wrong. Only truly trustworthy friends will enhance the smoothness of
the project progress for they are the ones who are truly efficient. Friends who can
communicate well but are not efficient when it comes to work are harder to work with
compared to new fresh people. They are the ones who are always the free loaders of the
group and requires extra attention and effort to get time going. Nevertheless, I had an
international student in my group this semester. This is the first time working with a foreign
student so it was not easy as we have language barriers. I learnt from this semester that I will
need to spend more time communicating with foreign students to have them understand the
project, their role and to keep them constantly involved. Foreign students have very unique
ideas as compared to ours because of their background but they are unable to convey it well
because of the language barrier. Patience when communicating with them, will make them
very productive and efficient.
Furthermore, my group found many online complete reports and journals
regarding our project. We were confident that as long we modified and rescale some of their
designs to suite our requirements, we would be able to succeed the project easily because
every details needed is found in the report. This is also one of the reason that everyone
decided to neglect the project and focus on other modules’ assignments. But the cold harsh
truth is that it is never that easy. We then slowly found out that although many details were
found, we were not able to produce the exact same results. We panicked and rush as we draw
near to the artifact assessment dateline but we were not able to make it work in the end. I
learnt that we should not take things for granted when it comes to engineering based projects
for anything can go wrong. Therefore, despite having online reports and journals, it is always
better to start our own works and tests to ensure the project succeeds
 Acknowledgements
There are few lecturers which I would like to thank them for helping me in project. Without
them, the project’s sub-systems might not even run individually. I would like to thank Dr.
Chew Wei Jen and Mr. Mohammad Taghi for helping me out with my light sensing circuit.
They provided me with recommendations for sample circuits to refer to and different
electrical components for different outcomes. On top of that, I would like to thank Mr. Ng
Kun Yong for helping me decide the material that is most suitable as the chassis of the car.
He provided me many information from his past work experiences with different type of
materials. He recommended thin Perspex as the chassis and Aluminum metal for the reaction
tank. He even provided me with links to search for materials with complete data sheet. These
lecturers have spent time out of their work time and work compound to help me with my
project. Thus for that I am truly grateful to them. Finally, I would like to thank Ms.
Nurhazwani Ismail and Ms. Fadilah as well as Ms. Lithnes for helping me purchase and store
the chemicals that I need for my project.
 Appendix
Appendix 1.1 System thinking on stopping system by Sze Hui, Khai Jiet, Derek and I

Appendix 1.2 System thinking on propulsion system by Wai Loon and Artyom

Appendix 1.3 Final system done by all members

Appendix 2.1 Solidworks drawing including dimensions for chassis and reaction tank design

Appendix 2.2 Precise procedure with precise type and amount of chemicals for iodine clock

Appendix 2.3 Graph of time against mass of starch

Appendix 2.4 Circuit of ChemE Car simulated in Multisim

Appendix 2.5 Overall view of the car

Aluminium
Perspex
Metal

Appendix 2.6 Circuit designed for 5-6V input

Appendix 2.7 Approximately 125ml of chemicals for iodine clock

Appendix 2.8 Approximately 100ml of ethanol for each run of the car

100ml of ethanol

Appendix 3.1 Chemical students handling iodine clock

Appendix 3.2 Electrical Engineering students working with circuit and Multisim

Appendix 3.3 Honesty about the failures of the car

Critical Assessment of the Portfolio
To be completed at the end of the semester
Tick as appropriate. 0= Strongly Disagree. 4= Strongly Agree

0 1 2 3 4
The portfolio is a very useful tool to track my learning progress. X
The portfolio is an easy to use document &updating it was easy. X
Updating the portfolio was time consuming. X
The time spent on updating the portfolio was a wise investment. X
I received adequate support from my lecturers and mentor. X
If given the choice, I shall opt for having a portfolio next semester. X
I regularly updated my portfolio. X
I regularly attended meetings with my mentor. X
Overall, having a portfolio was a great experience. X