Product Centric CAD Education

Mechanical engineering graduates are expected to possess a working knowledge of modern Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing/Computer Aided Engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) tools. The instructional challenge is to balance fundamentals with applications, and theory with practice. Many courses teach CAD from a mathematical base. This approach emphasizes “what do you know” evaluation without addressing “what can you do” expectations of both students and employers. This paper approaches instruction from a product centric perspective that, with each step, progressively builds skills and knowledge from mechanical dissection and solid modeling fundamentals towards original product design, prototyping, and testing. In first year, student teams dissect a product and produce solid model parts and assemblies. The upper year courses require product design to the prototype stage, with consideration of optimization and manufacturing issues. Incorporated subject material includes organizational behavior and team building, solid modeling theory, finite element analysis, CNC machining, rapid prototyping, and moldable part design. Implementation experiences in actual courses are described and discussed. Suggestions are provided for others contemplating similar initiatives.