Course Overview
The material in this course builds on the abilities from CAD 1 in many ways, as well as in brand-new areas that weren't covered in CAD 1 which I took in the Fall of my sophomore year. Using drafting instruments and new and old methods, this course expands on CAD 2 mechanical drawing topics. Additionally, it expands on using AutoCAD and Onshape to create new designs and new drawings. lastly, we'll examine a variety of drafting techniques and put a lot of emphasis on 3D parametric modeling and also 3D printing.
Mechanical Drawings
We began the course by producing mechanical drawings. During the mechanical drawing part, you improve on your traditional drafting abilities from CAD 1 while also learning new approaches and drawings that will help you finish the more complicated drawings in CAD 2. Later in this area, you'll also perform some amazing orthographic drawings that force you to think about what lines you're drawing for certain parts, as well as isometric drawings. Finally, you will begin to utilize other tools, such as ellipse templates, as well as various paper sizes to accommodate larger designs.
AutoCAD Drawings
After finalizing the mechanical drawings, we moved on to AutoCAD. In AutoCAD, we started with single view drawings and progressed to orthographic projection views and section drawings. These drawings eventually became more challenging, requiring me to reflect and use my problems solving skills by thinking outside the box, asking my peers about their opinions and also asking the teacher for help at times.
Manufacturing/Materials Presentation
During CAD 2, we were also asked to make a presentation on a certain manufacturing material or method of our choice. I ended up doing a google slide show on Alloys. In my slideshow, I talked about what Alloys are, what the different types of alloys are, the methods of how alloys are made, and lastly the benefits and future of the product and how it may have a impact. After we presented our projects to the class, we ended up having a quiz on all the other different materials that my classmates had done presentations on.
OnShape Drawings
The last type of drawings we performed in this class was on Onshape. We had to learn how to precisely sketch a part in 3D and then learning to use the tools available in Onshape to make designs. We developed orthographic projection views, section drawings, auxiliary drawings, and assembly drawings using this software package. Overall this was my favorite software package we used.
OnShape Section View |
OnShape Auxiliary View |
Conclusion
Overall, this was a very enjoyable and engaging class. It forced me to think outside the box and use a number of concepts from CAD 1 as well as new ones presented in CAD 2. I also had to use my problem thinking skills a lot during this class and rely on my peers to help me when J was stuck on something. Overall I think I did really well in this class and I am happy with the grade that I finished with. Lastly I really enjoyed working with my other classmates and and making new friends in this class.