"Industrial Designs," Feature Article, September 2003

industrial designs

Community colleges that teach CAD technicians would like to hear from the engineers they serve.

by Xin-Ran Duan

It has been 40 years since Ivan E. Sutherland discussed an interactive graphics system called Sketchpad in his 1963 Ph.D. thesis at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A U.S. Department of Education-funded research group, the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, estimated in 1983 that, at the end of the 1960s, 200 CAD workstations were operating at large aerospace and automotive companies, and at government laboratories in the United States. By 1983, 20 years after Sketchpad started it all, the number of workstations had grown to 25,000, the group said.

Today, millions of people are able to use computer-assisted design. They have easy access to software that allows them to draw and design anything they want on their personal computers. They can work in the office, in the classroom, at home, or almost anywhere.

Hundreds of two-year colleges offer associate degree CAD programs.

The development of high-technology programs has become a major concern for post-secondary colleges across the country since the early 1980s. The wide use of CAD and the rapid pace of technological change require innovative approaches by these institutions, which teach the skills needed in industry. The colleges need the help of engineers in industry to enhance their educational programs.

In technical programs, engineering graphics are a basic component of the curriculum. Representing the world graphically is a fundamental communication skill. Gary Bertoline, department head for technical graphics at Purdue University, has estimated that 92 percent of the design process is graphically based. That leaves 8 percent divided among mathematics, and written and verbal communications.

To respond to the needs of business and industry, hundreds of public two-year colleges offer associate degree CAD programs. The intent of the programs is to prepare students to become technicians in industry.

A graduate survey in 2000 at Ivy Tech State College in Columbus, Ind., indicated that 86 percent of the program graduates tracked were employed as technicians in a CAD-related career. In general, technicians are required to use mathematics, science, and technical skills to solve problems in the field. In particular, they are required to be competent with CAD systems.

Engineering graphics are a basic component of a technical curriculum.

For mechanical technician training, the typical required technical core courses include engineering graphics, descriptive geometry, mechanical drafting, manufacturing processes, applied statistics, strength of materials, and tool design projects. In addition to technical core courses, students have to take the related CAD courses.

Those CAD courses in the curriculum usually require three levels of training. The first level is 2-D CAD, a fundamental course, which introduces the concepts, skills, and software applications in computer-aided drafting and design. The second level is 3-D modeling for design, including concepts of extrusion, wire frame, surface, and solids construction. The third level is CAD programming and customizing, and special CAD design projects.

An investigation of CAD programs at public two-year colleges was conducted recently by the Department of Design Technology at Ivy Tech. It polled faculty at 32 collegesÑa mix of community and technical colleges, and two-year divisions of state universities in 23 states. Respondents were CAD professors with an average of 17.5 years teaching experience and 8.9 years experience in industry.

The survey found that all the colleges offer CAD courses. A CAD mechanical specialty is the most frequent, offered by 84.4 percent of the colleges. A CAD architectural specialty is offered by 59.4 percent of the colleges, and a CAD civil specialty by 40.6 percent.

Working with industry was important for many of the colleges. The survey found that 75 percent had internships in industry, 65 percent recruited qualified adjunct faculty from industry, and 37 percent conducted projects with industry.

Which CAD software packages are taught at community colleges? It was found that a variety of CAD software is available, but AutoCAD is the most popular one. The survey showed that all of the colleges use AutoCAD.

A survey found that colleges teach a variety of CAD systems, but only AutoCAD, shown here, is taught at every one of the 32 schools.

In addition to AutoCAD, Solid Works is used by 37.5 percent of colleges, Pro/Engineer by 21.9 percent, CADKey by 18.8 percent, and Microstation by 12.5 percent. More than a third of the colleges use many other packages, such as AutoCAD Light, Architectural Desktop, SolidWorks, and Catia.

The study also discovered that educators want to hear more feedback from industrial professionals, such as: How well are the schools serving the industry? Do CAD courses meet industry needs? As a panel member wrote, "New software packages appear frequently. It is very difficult to determine which new CAD software should be taught."

Cummins engineers recommended that Ivy Tech add Pro/Engineer.

Engineers can help educators. The Design Technology department at Ivy Tech benefits because Columbus is also home to one of the world's top engine manufacturing companies, Cummins Inc.

Several engineers from Cummins, teaching classes at Ivy Tech as part-time adjunct faculty, suggested the adoption of Pro/Engineer software into the college. Cummins has used Pro/Engineer as its major CAD program for about two decades.

The department purchased and loaded Pro/Engineer in addition to AutoCAD to meet industry needs. With two software systems, CAD classes have become more popular at the college.

Educators are challenged to upgrade course curricula, training programs, and software packages to meet industry needs. One of the answers to our survey put it well: "We never stop changing and upgrading."

The input of engineers would give significant guidance to educators. And, as a result, industry will have a better-trained corps of technicians to support engineering and societal endeavors.

Xin-Ran Duan is a professor and chair of the Design Technology department at Ivy Tech State College in Columbus, Ind.