Category: Enterprise

How does doing Enterprise for senior design work?

If you are involved in Enterprise, you may use an Enterprise project as your capstone design project, pending departmental approval. You need to be taking an Enterprise project work course (ENT 2950, 2960, 3950, 3960, or 3980) during the Spring semester before your senior classes to qualify for this.

Students choosing this option will take the following design classes senior year.

Fall Semester

CM 4855 Process Analysis and Design I. 3 credits. All ChE students take this course.

ENT 4950 Enterprise Project Work V Capstone. 2 credits. You will need departmental permission to enroll in this class. This class can count towards your technical or free electives.

Spring Semester

CM 4860 Process Analysis and Design II. 2 credits. All ChE students take this course.

ENT 4960 Enterprise Project Work VI Capstone. 2 credits. This course will substitute for CM 4861 Capstone Design Project (1 credit) on your online degree audit. The additional credit can count towards your technical or free electives.

Which Enterprise team should I join?

You should join whichever one you like best. We’ve had students join many different teams, but those listed below have been the most popular so far:

  • Consumer Product Manufacturing (CPM)
  • Alternative Energy Enterprise (AEE)
  • Green Campus
  • HOTFOREST
  • Multiplanetary Innovation Enterprise (MInE)
  • Aerospace

Take a look at the Enterprise teams webpages to get more information about their projects.

What needs to be in my senior design abstract for Enterprise?

Go to the Enterprise Student Resources page, Project Template section, and download the Enterprise Project Summary (all other majors). If there are other ChE students on your team who are also using the project for senior design then you should be submitting the same abstract.

There is a nice description of what to include in each section in the template. Use that as your guide. We will also be looking for additional information in the following sections based on our general abstract guidelines:

Anticipated Outcomes of the Student Team

In this section include an economic analysis as part of your project deliverables. This analysis should addresses economic factors from both customer and sponsor perspectives where possible. Give a brief description of your intended analysis and indicate the types of economic factors that will be considered.

Special Notes

In this section include a description of the realistic constraints. At a minimum specifically address each of the following, using the same subheadings:

  • Engineering Codes and Standards. Codes are legally enforceable, such as ASME BPV, OSHA, 1990 Clean Air Act, RCRA, CERCLA (Superfund), etc. Standards are best practices, such as TEMA, ASTM, etc.
  • Economic Factors. Examples are process or product cost, market pricing, market opportunities, target markets, pricing, minimum selling price, availability of raw materials, etc.
  • Physical Limitations. Examples are size, weight, ergonomics, user interface, service life, ability to operate in a hazardous environment, etc.
  • Health and Safety Issues. Examples are laboratory practices, OSHA regulations, operator exposure to toxic chemicals, mechanical guarding, hot surfaces, fire and explosion situations, fail-safe mode, handling spills, etc.
  • Environmental Concerns. Examples are EPA regulations, identifying and handling air emissions and liquid/solid wastes, etc.
  • Ethical Conduct. Examples are adherence to codes of ethics from organizations like AIChE or the Order of the Engineer, responsible conduct of research, etc.
  • Additional realistic constraints should also be addressed where applicable. This may include: sustainability, manufacturability, constructability, social ramification, political factors, legal issues, etc.

Michigan Tech to Provide

In this section include a description of your team make-up including team member names, their major, and their year in school.

How do I register for ENT 4950?

ENT 4950 and ENT 4960 are for students using Enterprise for their senior capstone design experience.  

You need permission to enroll in ENT 4950 and your project will need to be approved. We will allow you to enroll in ENT 4950 prior to having your project approved so that you can get your schedule and financial aid settled before the semester starts.

You must be senior design ready and currently enrolled in Enterprise in order to take ENT 4950.  You are senior design ready when you are able to enroll in CM 4855 Process Analysis and Design I. You’ll need to be enrolled in both CM 4855 and ENT 4950 next semester.

For permission to enroll in ENT 4950 go to the Enterprise Student Resources page, go to the Forms section, and complete the ENT 4950 Registration Form (ALL Majors).

This approval/registration process is paperless and uses a series of Google forms and system-generated emails sent from enterprisereg@mtu.edu. Watch for these emails and save them because they contain the link you need to submit your project for approval.

See related:  How do I get a project approved for senior design?

How do I get a project approved for senior design?

You will submit an abstract describing your project. To be approved the project must:

  • require the use of knowledge and skills acquired in your earlier engineering course work;
  • utilize appropriate engineering standards;
  • incorporate multiple realistic constraints;
  • and include economic considerations, which is typically an economic analysis discriminating between design options.

If your project is through Enterprise then you will submit your abstract using a link you received via email when enrolling in ENT 4950. The email was from enterprisereg@mtu.edu, titled “Part A Approved”.

Your project will be reviewed by the ABET committee chair, Dr. Caneba. You should review your abstract with Dr. Caneba before submitting it because revisions are often necessary. Abstracts are due by week 5 of the semester.

See related:  What needs to be in my senior design abstract for Enterprise? and How do I register for ENT 4950?

Which Enterprise project work course should I take?

If you are a first-year chemical engineering student, you may take ENT 1960.

If you are a second-year student, you should take one or both of these classes:

  • ENT 2950 – Enterprise Project Work I, 1 cr (not open to freshmen)
  • ENT 2960 – Enterprise Project Work II, same as above

If you are junior, you should take one or both of these classes:

  • ENT 3950 – Enterprise Project Work III, 1 cr, must be junior or senior
  • ENT 3960 – Enterprise Project Work IV, same as above

If you are a junior who has taken both ENT 3950 and ENT 3960 and are not senior-design ready, but still want to do Enterprise, take this class:

  • ENT 3980 – Pre-Capstone Enterprise Project Work, 1 cr, repeatable up to 2cr (not open to freshmen, sophomores), Pre-Requisite(s): ENT 3950 and ENT 3960. You’ll need permission from your academic advisor to enroll in this class.

If you are a senior doing Enterprise for senior design, you should take both of these classes:

  • ENT 4950 – Enterprise Project Work V Capstone, 2cr, must be engineering senior design ready
  • ENT 4960 – Enterprise Project Work VI Capstone, 2cr, must be senior, pre-requisite ENT 4950

If you complete ENT 4950 and ENT4960 and wish to take another Enterprise project class, you may take this one:

  • ENT 4961 – Enterprise Project Work VII, 1cr, pre-requisites: ENT 3950, 3960, 4950, 4960

There are two other Enterprise project classes, but no chemical engineering major can take these courses; they are for non-engineers:

  • ENT 4900 – Senior Enterprise Project Work V Non-Capstone, 2cr, must be senior, must NOT be College of Engineering
  • ENT 4910 – Senior Enterprise Project Work VI Non-Capstone, same as above

I am a freshman. Can I join an Enterprise team?

Freshman may join an enterprise, however we generally do not recommend it.

During the spring semester you may enroll in ENT 1960. Be aware that this class does *not* count towards your technical electives like the other enterprise project-work classes do.  ENT 1960 only counts as a free elective. Our chemical engineering degree requires only three credits of free electives and many students will have their free elective requirement met with other classes or a minor.

We do not recommend that you join an Enterprise team in your first year since most students usually have a pretty heavy credit load and are still adjusting to college life. Also involvement in an Enterprise team can take up a lot of time.  We want you to have a good start to your college career so that you have the ability to participate in things like Enterprise or AIChE later on.

If you are interested in a particular Enterprise team, ask if you may attend their weekly team meetings.  That will give you an opportunity to learn more about the Enterprise team, how it functions and about their current projects.  You may then join the Enterprise and begin participating during your second year by signing up for ENT 2950 in the fall.  Unlike ENT 1960, ENT 2950 will count towards your technical electives.  ENT 2950 is on the engineering list.