We are finally sharing with our @UFLChE Unit Ops I students the distributed experiential learning kits we have been working on all summer! Students will conduct experiments in fluid mechanics and heat transfer at home using 3D printed modules and Arduino controllers. @UFWertheim

It has been a lot of fun to work on this with @FMerida_UF @SindiaSrj @LFunkenbusch and Spyros Svoronos since May.

The kits were inspired by Spyros's Arduino based process control lab kit, which he has been developing for several years and successfully used in the undergraduate control course.

Expecting that alternatives to on-campus experiential learning would be needed in Fall 2020, we decided to expand on this concept and develop these kits for our @UFLChE students. Eventually, we hope to share these with the ChE community. @ChEnected

We also wanted to use this as an opportunity for our @UFLChE undergraduates to learn about #3Dprinting, #Arduino controllers, and the #makermovement. The 3D printed components were designed using @Onshape and printed using @formlabs SLA printers.

I had a lot of fun re-learning #CAD using @Onshape and printing protoytpes using our two Form 3 @formlabs SLA printers with David Sante, our @UFLChE building manager. Spyros did a wonderful job selecting #Arduino compatible sensors and developing the control code.

Here is a snapshot of the fluid module designed using @Onshape. This is version 5. It took several tried to figure out all the thread dimensions. And of course, we had to add a @UF Gator!

And this is a picture of the fluid module, a coxial tube heat exchanger, and a shell-and-tube heat exchanger. Missing from the picture is a packed bed module.

We hope to share more about our experience and for others to adopt these soon!