MIPRO 2019, May 20-24, 2019, Opatija Croatia
3D Virtual Learning and Measuring Environment
for Mechanical Engineering Education
G.I. Ivanova*, Al. Ivanov ** and M. Radkov*
* University of Ruse/Department of Computing, Ruse, Bulgaria
** University of Ruse/Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Ruse, Bulgaria
givanova@ecs.uni-ruse.bg
Abstract – Virtual learning and measuring laboratories
have significant impact on the engineering education.
Current trends and initiatives that engage digital
generations engineering students in interesting educational
experiences are discussed. The paper aims to provide some
advantages of 3D virtual learning and measuring
environments for mechanical engineering education. An
interactive 3D virtual learning environment for measuring
of constructive and geometrical Gear Hob parameters for
engineering students is presented. Software engineering
design process activity and class diagrams are described in
details. 3D virtual measuring simulations of Gear Hob tools
are tested with bachelor students in the Faculty of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering of University
of Ruse. An experimental study with mechanical
engineering students was performed to compare the
learning performance and experience of students in the 3D
virtual simulation environment vs that in the real laboratory
classroom. The experimental results are analyzed and
presented.
Keywords - engineering education, virtual learning
environment, virtual laboratory, virtual measuring,
mechanical engineering, 3D measuring simulation
I. INTRODUCTION
There have been numerous warnings over the recent
years that universities today face a shortage of
mechanical engineering students. In the 1970s and 1980s
becoming a mechanical engineer was tremendously
attractive, but today’s students are not motivated to study
mechanical engineering specialties because they prefer to
pursue modern degrees, such as computer science,
economics and etc. Mechanical engineering education
(MEE) needs contemporary learning technologies and up-
to-date curriculum reform to increase application rates for
engineering degrees. Today’s mechanical engineering
students, born in the computer age, are digital online
learners who expect modern digital technologies in the
mechanical engineering laboratories. The current rapid
rise of 3D technologies is transforming our education. A
modernization of our education is needed in mechanical
engineering degrees with innovative approaches to attract
new students and motivate them to study fundamental
mechanical engineering sciences [1, 2].
Laboratory experiments are an important component
of the training in engineering degrees [3] and at the same
time, we have to address the problem that mechanical
laboratories usually contain expensive, heavy and
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extremely dangerous equipment, so teaching the students
in advance how to use such equipment in advance is of
crucial importance. The other problem is that the number
of laboratories is limited and they are usually available
for students only during regular classes. An alternative to
physical laboratories are the 3D virtual laboratories which
are available 24 hours a day in the virtual space. Virtual
laboratories can provide 3D virtual simulation of real
laboratory equipment and students are able to perform
workshops at any time using virtual simulation of 3D
models of real laboratory equipment [4, 5].
The paper presents a 3D virtual learning environment
for the Cutting Tools course at the University of Ruse.
The course is essential for mechanical engineers, because
they learn to use specific measurement tools to determine
constructive and geometrical parameters of different
cutting tools. An experimental study with mechanical
engineering students was performed to determine the
effectiveness of virtual learning environment in providing
better instructions regarding basic mechanical
engineering concepts.
The virtual simulation of the measurement can not
give the students the same idea they would get when
using the measuring instruments in physical laboratories.
However, virtual measurement technologies provide the
opportunity to unify the way the instruments work and to
significantly increase the possibilities for mathematical
processing, analysis, storage and documentation of the
results. Students are provided with safe and time-
independent access to expensive and rare instruments,
tooling and technological equipment, such as a
toolmaker’s measuring microscope, a coordinate
measurement system, among others. Virtual 3D learning
and measuring environments allow students to learn in
advance what the equipment looks like and how it works.
This is very important for the effectiveness and safety of
students who work in the real laboratory. For engineering
courses, where practical exercises are related to
laboratory work and the use of a variety of technological
equipment as well as measuring tools, it is important to
develop such virtual learning environments with 3D
virtual simulations.
3D virtual learning environments (3D VLE) are used
in many universities to enhance teaching and learning
effectiveness [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Students in the 3D VLE
acquired a better understanding and developed new skills
faster than their peers in the real lab condition. Some The following technologies have been used to design
advantages of the 3D virtual learning and measuring and develop the software: C#; Windows Forms .Net
environments for mechanical engineering education can Framework; Microsoft Visual Studio; Adobe Flash
be summarized as follows: Professional with ActionScript.
 Measuring 3D mechanical engineering models in B. Software Class diagram
3D VLE allows to define parameters that are hard
A software class diagram is presented on Fig. 1.
to measure in real conditions. Both very small
and very large objects can be measured easily in a
3D environment. For example, in a real
laboratory, a microscope is needed to measure
tools with very small size;
 Safety of the measurement process in 3D
environment - no danger of injury with sharp
edged tools, heavy laboratory equipment and
high speed sharpening machines;
 Measurements with expensive 3D lab equipment-
some new advanced equipment can not be
purchased due to its high cost in the real lab, but
it is important for the students to learn up-to-date
tools and technologies, to be better prepared and
familiar with the engineering trends applied in
engineering companies;
 24 hours access - no access limits, which are
usually necessary in real laboratories due to the lack of
time and insufficient number of available laboratories.
A. Augmented Reality in MEE
Augmented reality is also an example for current
trend technology as virtual learning who have the
potential to attract digital students’ engagement in class
[11, 12]. A book with augmented reality 3D models has
been created for students in the Cutting tools course [13]. Figure 1. Class Diagram of 3D VLE for measuring of constructive
and geometrical Gear Hob parameters
The 3D models of cutting tools appear over 2D photos in
the book and students can manipulate and rotate them for C. Software Classes
more detailed information. The book has been used since
2015 with students finding it attractive and useful.  Program.cs – Class for the main program that
starts the application. The class creates a new
II. SOFTWARE DESIGN instance of WelcomeForm.cs and displays the
An original interactive 3D VLE for measuring of main menu.
constructive and geometrical Gear Hob parameters is  Session.cs – The class keeps the student's current
designed and developed. The developed software session containing their personal information that
provides its users with the following capabilities: he/she filled in the registration process, their test
 For students: Augmentation theoretical lecture results, and measurements. It contains methods
notes using visual learning materials (a gallery for generating a name for the final report by
containing images of different types of Gear student names and a method for constructing a
Hobs, video materials with how Gear Hobs work string which is used to store the session in the
in real conditions and 3D models of measuring database.
tools in a 3D environment with detailed  Forms.cs – This static class contains all the
simulation of their work); Test control before windows that are used in the application. Its
proceeding with the measuring process; Virtual methods and fields (attributes) are static as well.
measurements with 3D virtual tools are It contains a method that asks the user if they
performed according to a predetermined wants to exit the learning environment.
methodology for conducting the exercise; An
electronic final report with student’s results is  Utilities.cs – Static class containing strings with
compiled. the path to the program resources. The class
contains methods designed to work with the
 For lecturers: They are given access to an database, as well as copy and delete a files.
administrator environment, where they can add,
edit or delete test questions.

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 AboutBox.cs – The class contains information
about the software’s version and developer.
 CadForm.cs – The class contains the
AxEModelViewControl component, which
visualizes the 3D Gear Hub models. When the
window opens, it is positioned at a program-
specific location and loads a specific file. Later,
this component is used in the virtual
measurements. This method saves operational
memory.
 GalleryForm.cs – The class is responsible for the
Flash images gallery. The student can view a
Flash and ActionScript gallery of the images. The
gallery is in the AxShockwaveFlash instance and
loads photos using a .xml file that is located in
the program's resources.
 LectureForm.cs – The class contains an instance
of AxAcroPDF that loads a theoretical lecture
material on Gear Hobs.
 LoginForm.cs – The class is responsible for
users’ login process. Corresponding information
fields are displayed for each type of user –
student or a lecturer. In both cases, each field
checks whether correct information is entered.
The teachers’ data is checked in the database,
while the students’ is validated by regular
expressions. If there is no Internet connection or
the connection to the database is unsuccessful,
access as a teacher is impossible.
 MeasurementForm.cs – The class is responsible
for the measurement process. The virtual
measurements are made by the student, but only
if they have passed the test control. There are
three types of different measuring tools, which
are used to measure the constructive and
geometrical parameters of the Gear Hob. At
certain stages, the student has to select the right
measuring tool for the specific measurements.
The measurement stages are 21 and they are
represented in the class as TabPage objects that
have the appropriate components for the stage.
All stages are added to the TabControl and
following stages are unlocked only if the student
gave the correct answer in the previous one. In
this class there are several arrays that make the
checks easier and faster. One is an array of
integers that stores the amount of mistakes a
student has made for each measurement.
Checking is done by a method that compares the
contents of a corresponding input value with the
correct value, and if it is wrong, a certain index is
incremented in the error array. Correct values are
added to the student session. If the value has been
mistaken for more than three times, the correct
value is displayed as a hint and the error is
written in the student session. Three-dimensional
models are loaded at the AxEModelViewControl
instance in CadForm.cs. At the end of the
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measurements, the student session is complete
and if there is an active connection to the
database, it is stored there. Finally, the Final
Report section is unlocked.
 MenuForm.cs – The class is responsible for the
main menu that contains seven buttons leading to
different sections of the VLE, initially two of
them - "Virtual Measurements" and "Final Report
Generation" are locked. When the student tries to
select either of them, the corresponding window
is displayed and the menu window is hidden.
Initializing this window creates instances of the
rest of Forms.cs.
 ProtocolForm.cs – The class contains an instance
of AxAcroPDF that loads the generated final
report. The report is generated and locked with a
password to prevent the student from copying it
and filling out fabricated data. The report file is
generated in the app using a method that crawls
and replaces pre-written tags with student session
values. The report file is saved as a PDF
document.
 TeacherForm.cs – The class is responsible for
teachers’ activities in the app. If the user is a
teacher and has successfully logged in, the
program will direct them to the teacher
environment. The class consists of a TabControl
with two TabPages, one for managing the
questions and answers of the test control and the
other for the session review. Each of them has
one DataGridView that loads the information that
is fetched from the database.
 TestForm.cs – The class is responsible for the test
control. If the link to the database is non-existent,
pre-defined questions and answers are used.
Otherwise, the software connects to the database
and retrieves the identification numbers of the
questions and randomly chooses three of them.
However, if there are less than three questions in
the database, the previously defined test is used
again. Once the program has selected three
identifiers, it retrieves and loads the questions
and corresponding answers from the database. A
timer that counts down 3 minutes is also started.
Students can continue if there are at least two
correct answers. The program stops the timer and
loads the student's time and identifiers in the
student session. Finally, the "Virtual
Measurements" section is unlocked.
 VideoForm.cs – The class contains an instance of
the AxWindowsMediaPlayer component that
plays videos.
 WelcomeForm.cs – The class is responsible for
the initialization process. During initialization the
class attempts to connect to the database. If it is
unsuccessful, local queries will be used. There
are two options for logging in as a student and as
 a lecturer -, and, depending on the user type, the and the time result is included in the final report. The test
class sends the information to the LoginForm.cs. section is presented on Fig. 3
D. Software Resources
 “3D CAD” – contains twelve 3D files (created
and compiled with SolidWorks) that are loaded in
the AxEModelViewControl during the student
session.
 “Measurement Gallery” – gallery files used for
the measurement process.
 “Flash Gallery” – files for the Flash photo
gallery. The main file here is "gallery.swf",
which loads the photos.
 “Video” – contains the video clip that is played in
the video gallery.
 „Final Report“– the document, built with
students' results of the entire virtual learning and
measuring process.
 „Lecture Notes – theoretical lecture notes that are
visualized by the students. Figure 3. Test Section of VLE for learning and measuring Gear Hobs

E. Software User Interface G. Virtual Measuring Section

Mechanical engineering students who are meant to
use the software will have different computer skills and
different abilities to work independently. Each learning
software system has to be developed with an intuitive and
user-friendly interface. The interface should facilitate
students' work, focusing only on the functions, they need.
The proposed learning software has been divided into
separate sections, so students can be placed in a learning
sequence. The main interface menu is presented on Fig. 2
Once the student has successfully passed the test, the
virtual measurements section is unlocked. It contains 21
stages with different measurements and calculations.
Each subsequent stage is unlocked only if the previous
one has been completed with the correct measurement
result.
Gear cutting hobs are used to cut gear teeth (spur or
helical) on cylindrical gear wheels. The cutting process is
continuous and characterized by high output, and
precision of the gear teeth [14, 15].
In the Cutting Tools course, mechanical engineering
students learn how to measure the constructive and
geometrical parameters of Gear Hobs. Three types of
measuring instruments are used to determine the main
Gear Hob parameters: caliper, combined measuring tool
and gear caliper.
The second stage - using the caliper to measure the
diameter of the base bore hole - is shown on Fig. 4.

Figure 2. User interface of VLE for learning and measuring Gear Hobs

F. Test Control Section

In order to be able to start the measurement section
and generate a final report with results, the student is
required to pass a test control. The test contains three
questions, each with three possible choices. Only one of
the answers is fully correct. In order to pass the test, the
student must answer at least two questions correctly and
if he/she does not pass the test, the software advises them
Figure 4. Second stage - Measuring the diameter of the base bore hole
to read the theoretical materials again. The test has a
duration of three minutes for a purely statistical purpose,

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 The twelfth stage, the usage of a combined measuring III. STUDENTS SURVEY
tool to measure the relief angle, is shown on Fig. 5.
A survey approach is used to assess the effectiveness
of the 3D VLE for Gear Hobs on the students’
understanding and degree of acquired knowledge. The
idea is to survey the students’ opinion by seven
predefined questions using five dimension Likert scale
(strongly agree - 5, agree - 4, neutral – 3, disagree - 2,
strongly disagree - 1):
 Question 1: Were the lecture notes and all visual
materials (gallery photos, 3D models, and videos)
valuable to better learn and understand of the
topic?
 Question 2: Did the 3D simulation of measuring
tools help you understand and learn with better
details how they actually work?
 Question 3: Did the training you received in the
VLE prepare you to measure Gear Hobs in real
Figure 5. Twelfth stage – Coordinate measuring of the relief angle conditions?
For each measurement stage, the students have to  Question 4: Is the virtual measuring process
decide if they need a measuring instrument and need to logically well-structured and did it lead you to
select the correct one. In some stages, calculations are pass easily through all the measurement stages?
required, using formulas predefined in the theoretical  Question 5: Did the virtual learning environment
material. The process is explained using an activity provide you with useful, on-time feedback
diagram on Fig.6. messages on how to proceed?
 Question 6: Did you find the learning and
measuring process in the 3D VLE fun and more
Begin
Measuring exciting than the traditional one in the real lab?
 Question 7: How you are going to rate your
overall level of satisfaction with the 3D virtual
Do you need to use 3D learning environment - from (not satisfied) 1 to 5
measuring instrument?
Timer (very satisfied)?
Yes Start
Correct No
The survey results show that 100 % of the students
instrument?
either strongly agreed or agreed that the 3D VLE helped
them to better understand the topic for Gear Hobs. The
Increase No Yes Calculate and
Errors Enter Values Fig. 7 shows a summary of the results from the surveys in
No
the last three years with full-time and part-time bachelor
Next students enrolled in a Cutting Tools course at University
Stage
Is this the third
attempt for
of Ruse.
Suggest that value?
true value Yes
Are the
values
Increase correct?
Errors No
Yes
Is this the last No
measuring stage?

Yes

Unlock “Final
Report” Section

Figure 7. Students’ opinion survey results

. The survey results demonstrated that the 3D VLE had

Figure 6. Activity diagram of Measuring Process a positive influence in the students’ learning and
understanding. The overall results of the analysis of

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student performance in the past years show that the
students in the experimental group (54 students for 3
years), who used the 3D VLE as a learning augmentation
tool, performed better and faster, had higher test results
and finished all the 21 measurements of Gear Hobs with
less errors in the final report, while the students in the
control group (65 students for 3 years), who didn’t use
the VLE and follow-on the process only in real lab,
performed slower and have more measurements’ and
calculations’ errors in their final report results.
IV. SOFTWARE PERFORMANCE TEST
After the initial performance testing, it was found that
the program uses over 700MB of RAM, which is
unacceptable for this type of software. A problem has
since been identified with the e-Drawings component,
which occupied about 80MB of RAM for every single
open 3D file in the VLE, and deprived the rest of the
operating system of resources. The problem was resolved
by using only one instance of this component, and
depending on where the student is at the time of the
virtual measuring process, it moves and loads the
appropriate file. To some extent, this creates a certain
amount of delay when using the software, but takes up to
4 times less RAM.
On low tier computer configuration, there was a delay
when switching between different measuring sections.
The problem was remedied using the "Multiple document
interface" technique.
Some problems related to database connection were
also resolved. If the software does not establish a
connection to the database at the initial startup, it will try
again to connect at different stages and also at the end of
the student session.
V. CONCLUSIONS
Th paper introduces an interactive 3D virtual
learning environment for measuring constructive and
geometrical parameters of Gear Hobs, which is intended
to assist the education of mechanical engineering students
in the Cutting Tools course.
The presented software enables students to have free,
safe and remote access to the learning resources on the
topic. Students have ability to learn how to use different
type of 3D measuring tools in advance in the virtual
space and then to perform the same measurements in the
real lab using real instruments.
At this stage, according to student survey answers, it
can be concluded that the 3D VLE for Gear Hobs
measuring would satisfy the needs of the students.
Students find the virtual environment useful, fun and
attractive. They show better results in their final reports.
The following advantages of using virtual
measurement environments have been identified:
 3D VLE significantly increase the possibilities
for mathematical processing and analysis, storage
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and documentation of all student’s measuring
results.
 They also enable performing remote
measurements with the possibility of distributed
performance, preserving the passed
measurements and continuing with the next
stages in a time convenient for the students.
 The virtual learning environment is more
effective compared with the traditional lab
environment in helping students to understand
long measuring process with more than 20 stages,
too long even for the real lab conditions.
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