Project Report Guidelines - WPI Stinger Labs

PROJECT REPORT SPECIFICATIONS
ME/RBE 4815 – Industrial Robotics
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
The purpose of this document is to clarify what I expect from you in your class project reports.
The principal purpose of the project report is to communicate to me and anyone "skilled in the art" what,
why, and how you did what you did. Many students ask, "What do you want written in the 'design
description' part of the report?" Your design description should tell me what your design is, and most
importantly, how you arrived at it. The process used to go from problem statement to design solution is
not an obvious one. It is not possible for me to look at your solution and judge your depth of understanding
of the problem unless you tell me about the steps you took to arrive at the solution.
Thus, I want you, in your design description, to "show and tell" me what you did, and how you did it, such
that I can follow your thinking during the design process and solution. I should not have any questions
regarding your work after reading your report. This is your chance to show me all of the work that you put
into your project.
Before starting your report, reread your progress reports. Having the progress reports reminds you of what
you did at the beginning of your project. Therefore, you should now be to break up the information in your
progress reports and expand on them for the final report.
The report format is rigidly constrained and must exactly follow these specifications, so be sure to read
them. Reports not meeting those specifications will be downgraded.
Font: The body text must be in Times or Times New Roman 12 point with 1.5 line spacing. Headings may
be in a sans serif font such as Helvetica bold, MS sans serif bold, Arial bold, etc and should be no more
than 14 point but can be 12 point.
Length: The body of the report, defined as sections 1 to 7 in the below table of contents, must be 15 pages
or less. This requirement is in place to help you distill the important information from your project and
carefully consider how to present that information. I recommend using tables to present large amounts of
data and compare designs as appropriate. Lengthy hand calculations, computer code, and detailed part
drawings can be included in the appendix. Anything in the appendix must be discussed in the body of the
text.
Figures and Equations: Short mathematical exercises may be included in your report, but lengthy
derivations or exercises should be placed in the appendix. Note that all figures, sketches, and tables
included in the report must be labeled with a title and "Figure #" or "Table #", and must be placed near
where they are described, discussed, and explained in the text. Illustrations and computer printouts are not
to be used as filler or window dressing! They are only to be included if they convey information and are
discussed in the text. Unreferenced illustrations will be ignored!

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2. ORDER OF CONTENTS IN THE REPORT
The contents must be as follows, in the order listed.
A. Title Page: There must be a title page, as the first page, containing the title of project, your
name(s) listed alphabetically, group number, and the date submitted. The title block information
may not exceed 4" wide by 2" high centered in the upper third of the title page. The rest of the
page must be blank.
B. Executive Summary: (See below for description)
C. Table of Contents:
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... #
2. Goal Statement ..................................................................................................... #
3. Task Specifications .............................................................................................. #
4. Workspace Setup.................................................................................................. #
5. Gripper Design ..................................................................................................... #
6. Programming ........................................................................................................ #
7. Results and Discussion ......................................................................................... #
8. Conclusions .......................................................................................................... #
9. Bibliography......................................................................................................... #
10. Appendices ........................................................................................................... #
11. CD/DVD .................................................................................... inside front cover
D. Introduction: This serves to define the original problem statement as given and sets the scene for
what follows.
E. Goal Statement: This is a clear, concise restatement describing what you set out to do in your
project.
F. Task Specifications: This is a clearly stated list of performance specifications, which, in your
judgment, are both necessary and possible in order to achieve the stated goal.
G. Workspace Setup: This section should describe the workspace of your workcell. Subsections
should include a discussion on design, fabrication, and assembly of your fixtures, and your
workspace layout including where you placed your fixtures and why. What parts do you have?
H. Gripper Design: This section should describe your gripper and include discussion on the design,
fabrication, and use. Were their multiple iterations in your design? Did you perform any necessary
calculations? How does your gripper interact with the parts/fixtures in the workspace?
I. Programming: This section should describe the programming aspect of your project. Did you use
on-line programming, off-line programming, or both and why? Provide a flow chart of your
program layout.
J. Results and Discussion: This section clearly describes your final results, design, or other
accomplishments.
K. Conclusions: This section is important from an academic standpoint, though it probably would
not appear in a professional report in industry. Here you describe what you learned in this project,
what pitfalls you encountered, and what gains or insights you made. This is a valuable aid to us in

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planning future projects to improve the educational experience. Tell us if this exercise was of
value to you or not, and how it could be improved. This is required!
L. Bibliography: contains all references used in report listed by author, title, and publisher.
M. Appendices: An appendix means an "add-on". This is the repository for all data or information
that are useful but would otherwise interrupt the flow of the report if included in its body.
Examples of items belonging in the appendix are: computer programs or extensive printouts,
catalog information, mathematical proofs or derivations, extensive test data, etc. Do not put
individual illustrations that are germane to the design discussion in the appendix! They
should be in the body of the report and be discussed there. Reference must also be made in the
report to all material that is in the appendices. If it is not referenced or discussed, it should not be
there! It is then just filler!
N. CD/DVD/USB Flash Memory: If required, must be securely protected in an appropriate case,
jacket, or sleeve, which is attached to the inside front cover.
O. Executive Summary: Though this appears first in the report, it must actually be written last,
because an executive summary is intended to summarize the results of the project. It must
clearly and concisely (in 1/2 to 1 page maximum) describe what you set out to do and what you
did. It is not just a restatement of the problem. It is a summary of your results and
accomplishments. Thus, it cannot be written until the report is finished.
3. REPORT COVER
The report cover must contain mechanical fasteners through punched holes. It may not be a 3-ring binder,
or pinch binder of either metal or plastic. If transparent, the title page should be visible through it. If not
transparent, it must have a stick-on label with your name, project title, date, and course number. This type
of project report cover is available in the WPI Bookstore at low cost. Any color is acceptable.
4. PAPER
Paper used in the report must meet the following specifications:
A. All hand written formulae, mathematical derivations, etc. must be on unlined white paper 8-1/2" x
11"
B. Hand drawn diagrams, plots, and sketches can be on heavyweight quadrille pad lined paper or on
“green” graph paper, 8-1/2" x 11" (available at WPI Bookstore).
C. All mechanical drawings must be on white bond paper or plotter paper of either 8-1/2" x 11" or
11" x 17" size Z-folded to 8-1/2" x 11" [see Z-folding]. (available at WPI bookstore).
D. All computer printouts may be on standard line-printer paper or on "thesis" computer paper, and
pages must be 8-1/2" x 11" (see Z-folding).
5. ARRANGING OF SHEETS IN REPORT
A. All pages must be inserted to be read from either the bottom of the report or the right side!
Illustrations reading from the left side will be ignored.
B. All sheets must be provided with a blank left margin of sufficient width to prevent any written
information from being captured (hidden) in the binding.
C. No sheet may protrude beyond the report cover, and all sheets must be trimmed or Z-folded to 8-
1/2" x 11" and be uniformly bound.
D. "Z-folding": All sheets larger than 8-1/2 x 11" must be Z-folded to allow easy unfolding. See a
sample report for an example of a proper Z-fold. A proper Z-fold will expose the right 11" edge of

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the paper to allow its legend or title block to be seen. Thus, the identification of that sheet must be
in the lower right quarter of the sheet.
6. GENERAL COMMENTS
A properly executed engineering report should be neat, orderly, logically arranged, and aesthetic. It should
be a professional document that you would be proud to show anyone - recruiter, boss, pawnshop broker,
or even some professor! It takes effort and time to put the report together properly, so do not leave that
task until it is too late. The write-up and assembly of this type of report can easily take two (2) days of
work.