Perspectives of an Engineering CAD and Visualization Sequence for Freshmen and Sophomores in ME

The Mechanical Engineering Department at Washington State University has recently completed 6 years of a CAD sequence for freshmen and sophomores beginning with fundamental CAD skills leading rapidly into more advanced topics and culminating in CAD applications for engineering design and analysis. The students learn how to follow an abbreviated set of written instructions; master advanced modeling techniques, model for analysis, use an assortment of computational CAD tools to analyze models, incorporate CAD analysis into the design process, and use CAD analysis to drive design optimization. This sequence has been instrumental in preparing students for the subsequent set of design classes at the junior and senior level. This paper will discuss some of the unique aspects of this instructional sequence and some of the best practices that were integrated into the curriculum.