Engineering Graphics and Drawing 10

[seyozen]

I need "Mechanical Engineering- Graphics and Drawing(or equivalent courses) Syllabii of the following universities. I need especially course objectives. Anyone help me plz.? (I couldn't find it from web sites)

1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2 Stanford University
3 University of California, Berkeley
4 University of Cambridge
5 California Institute of Technology

 

[dhengr]

Alternatively, when you bring an engineer to the table with all these perspectives and abilities, you actually have a real engineer, someone who can communicate his design intentions and actually come up with something that can be manufactured or built. He doesn’t just produce thousands of pages of FEA printouts, not knowing if they are right or wrong, not really having any sense that a computed result just doesn’t make any sense in the real, built, world. After all, the computer says so..., don’t ask me to explain why. Then you have a CAD’er who knows nothing about the engineering, and the two don’t communicate, and the calculator guy can’t read drawings. If you don’t call engineering “design” and you didn’t take or can’t do drafting and sketching, how do you communicate your calculated thingy to the CAD’er? I feel sorry for you and your company. I do a lot of sketching and drawing, sometimes to scale; do the proportions look right, do things fit together or do they clear each other; during my design process on some details, and these go to the CAD guy or draftsperson. Some significant share of the OP’s on these forums show that people who call themselves or think of themselves as engineers can’t express a technical thought or question in enough detail for it to be meaningfully discussed. You have to guess at what they mean or what they want. Maybe we should change the titles we have been giving these persons to: calculating guy, computing and sciencing specialist, CAD’ers.,operators and manipulators of lines and shapes and general screwer-uppers, because the first guy couldn’t communicate his thingy to the second guy, and industrial beatifications specialists. If they continue to break this process down further we will soon have CAD’ers. who specialize in straight lines and we’ll have to call in another for the round holes; we’ll have beatificationers who specialize in the darker colors and those who take care of no pour spouts in tea pots, too ugly; and we won’t have any real engineers left. Ron’s comments about teaching this to engineering students is sad but true, and you be the judge of what we are getting out of that educational system.

 

[SteveMartin]

When I went through my degree program in the late 90's there was one elective course in 2D drafting, and one elective in 3D modelling. The 3D course didn't teach anything about drawings, and neither taught anything about any sort of drafting standards. I never even heard of GD&T or ASME drawing standards until after I graduated.

Maybe engineers shouldn't have to know how to prepare a drawing to ASME (or ISO, depending on location) specs, but they should damn well know how to read/interpret one. Unfortunately, many that I've met do not know either.

 

[GregLocock]

gadkinskj - actually the Aztek was styled by stylists, not engineers. They take degree courses in Industrial Design, and the like, not engineering. Typically they are balding, with a ponytail, and wear all black, and/or polonecks.

Hopefully that was not the cornerstone of your argument.



Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[chicopee]

Actually, the courses that engineering colleges used to offer were mechanical drawing and descriptive geometry which I took back in 1961. The only computer course offered during that period was FORTRAN which we used in our surveying courses. There was no CAD.
What I see now with people using this forum is the inability to properly hand sketch which is a shame.

 

[GMIracing]

Out of curiosity's sake I looked at the current course catalog from my old Uni:

MECH-100 Engineering Graphical Communication

This computer aided design and drafting course is an introduction to
engineering graphics and visualization with topics to include sketching, line
drawing, wire-frame section development and elements of solid modeling.
Also, this course will include the development and interpretation of drawings
and specifications for product realization. CAD, office, and web-based
software will be used in student presentations and analysis.

MECH-300 Computer Aided Engineering

This is a threaded continuation of MECH-100, Engineering Graphical
Communication using computer graphics and computer aided design
techniques. These advanced techniques use graphics primitives, construction
functions, transformations, image control, dimensioning and layers. Both
two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional wireframe, surface
modeling, and simulation modeling such as FEA and kinematic motion are
covered.

Mech-100 is required for most technical disciplines offered, and both are required courses for ME.

 

[aafuni]

RIT has as a required course in the ME department the following:

Engineering Design Graphics: This course is an introduction to graphical communication as a tool in documenting the results of an engineering design. Emphasis is placed on the use of Computer Aided Drafting and 3-D Solid Modeling systems to prepare working drawings packages of basic components and assemblies. Students combine the practice of sketching along with computer-based solid modeling to produce a parametric design. At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to prepare working drawings, with appropriate views, title blocks, and bill of materials. Lab 4, Credit 2

I didn't end up needing to take this as I learned both solid modeling and 2d drafting through courses I took while still in high school, so I can't speak to its contents. By description it seems to emphasize the use of software to communicate, not just as raw 3D design.

 

[aafuni]

I was just thinking, what is the intent of your search seyozen? Why do you want this specific course? Are you planning to decide on which institute to attend based on this one course?

Also,
gadkinsj, what is so amazing about the engineering in a Pontiac Aztec? Along the lines of what Greg said, I am pretty sure the Aztec was just some marketing guys idea. They just designed a hideous body for the car, then gave it to engineers to plop in what I am sure is the same crap as what is in every other Pontiac of that time period to make it drivable.

 

[vpl]

aafuni -- Same question I posted some 18 posts ago. From seyozen's response, it appears more a research project, though he didn't explain why he wanted those specific universities.

Patricia Lougheed

******

Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.

 

[aafuni]

Oh sorry I forgot about your post.

I think the original post should probably be flagged, however it has resulted in some productive discussion on the education system.

 

[tr1ntx]

In high school, we had 2 years (Jr & Sr) of "Mechanical Drawing". The name may not be exactly accurate, one whole semester, I think Spring of Sr. year, was all Architectural Drawing, and we spent some amount of time on Electrical diagrams. I guess the name was because we were "drawing mechanically" i.e. on a board with the ortho arm, and not because we would be strictly drawing mechanical things. I was amazed when I got to college from my little podunk country high school and most of the other kids didn't have a clue.

 

[dhengr]

I’ve worked in both the building structures and the mech./equipment/product areas..., High School or early college, makes no difference, but you need a means of communicating your engineering designs (thingies) and thoughts to others, and as we have seen here, all to often, words sure as hell don’t do the trick. Hand sketches and the drafting board, to scale, work fine for me during my design process, the old goat that I am, then red-lining the drawings. CAD is wonderfully efficient and accurate in the right hands and with the right engineering guidance, but I have to relearn to use it every time I try to use it, because I don’t use it enough and it is so complex to manipulate. And, it can also produce drawings, of thingies, with infinite views, which can’t be built, all because the CAD’er. doesn’t know the error of his ways, and has no guidance, and that’s meaningless drawing, not design or real drafting. The CAD screen doesn’t give me the same, a real, sense of proportions, fit-up, clearances, spacial relationships, when I have to scroll all over the screen to see the parts that relate, but I can’t see them on the same screen at a scale I can see, nor is that any good out in the shop. It’s kinda a wiz-bang, look what I can produce or do, without any real understanding of the facts of the matter, which blows my mind, and produces little of real value, at that stage. I understand, that in the right hands, it does ultimately produce production drawings. But, it can also produce a sketch of a structure which the CAD’er. has no idea of how it really works, or if it can really even be built; which leads to many unrealistic questions, showing complete lack of understanding of the problem, but a sketch of that nonetheless. The best draftsman I ever worked with, never finished high school, but somehow got through a vo.tech. school, and had an incredible mechanical intuition, I never had to tell him anything twice, he wasn’t afraid to ask a question if he didn’t understand, that’s the mentoring thing and the trust that develops in that relationship. And, CAD however it advances, will never replace that native ability. Fact is, he was my age, just never had the same college opportunities that my parents provided for and instilled in me. Finally, I trusted him with engineering for us that I would not have trusted other (real?) engineers to do, who worked around or for us. He never had CAD, but he had an innate ability, understanding, intuition, which CAD will never replace. He could make our designs come to life before they were built, so they could be built.

 

[PeterCharles]

I started "Engineering Drawing" at the age of 13 at Secondary School. At 15 I took an "O" Level in Engineering Drawing (and passed ).
There followed 2 years part time for a Ordinary National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering which included Engineering Drawing in the first year, but this was really for students who hadn't got their "O" Level.
Finally, there was 3 years part time for a Higher National Diploma which included Engineering Drawing in the first year for those who joined the course with "A" Levels. (Those of us with an ONC did Physics rather than Engineering Drawing)

There were no computers and certainly no CAD!

 

[cloa]

Engineering Drawing at university was mostly drawing of nature, buildings. The specified textbook on technical drawing was not used at all.

 

[seyozen]

The reason of choosing these spesific universities is

http://www.webometrics.info/top12000.asp

 

[tommac]

When I was in school, long before CAD, we used this book:Manual of Engineering Drawing for Students and Draftsmen by Thomas E. French, Charles John Vierck. It is available for sale by the usual web book sellers.

 

[KENAT]

Not so much to the OP as the side track but similar has come up before, most lately.

thread730-282775

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[lasimo]

Well, after reading all these posts, I will say that, all depends on your position in the company and if the company really use to work a lot with drawings, modifications, new projects, plant changes etc etc.. If the case is that you do not produce much drawings, do not worry and try to get a contractor to work for you when ever you need him. If you really do a lot of drawings work, and you are the boss, you only need to know what you want and ask for it. Now if you are the engineeer incharged of the drawing office, them you have to know very well what you are doing. You have to interprete what the others want and transfer that information to your CAd people, who really are CAD specialists. You learn all CAD features only when you use it frequently if not you will forget it. It is difficult to do everything by yourself, you need delegate and everyone should know what is his responsability.

 

[ScottyUK]

seyozen,

Off-topic a little but I'm wondering about that ranking list and just how valid the criteria are for a meaningful ranking? Cambridge university at 22nd and Oxford University at 41st position caught my eye, so I looked a bit more deeply. I'm not sure that quality of education is one of the criteria used in this ranking, visibility on the web and availability of internet documents seemingly being more important. A strange list.

http://www.webometrics.info/about_rank.html

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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[BluSTi]

As taken from Montana State Univ Catalog:

ME 117 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN GRAPHICS
F,S 1 cr. LEC 1
PREREQUISITE: ME and MET majors only, or consent of instructor.
-- Introductory course developing freehand sketching and computer aided modeling techniques for mechanical engineering design graphics. Skills will be developed for sketching and interpreting dimensioned multi-view drawings, tolerancing, specifications, pictorials, and assemblies for mechanical designs.

ME 118 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN GRAPHICS LABORATORY
F,S 1 cr. LAB 1
PREREQUISITE: ME and MET majors only, or consent of instructor.
COREQUISITE: ME 117, or ME 115 or consent of instructor.
-- Hands-on laboratory experience in three-dimensional and parametric constraint-based modeling for mechanical engineering design.

In HS, in the 90's, I took drafting, with actual pencils and vellum. Now, I'm enrolled here at MSU and essentially this is the extent of the technical drawing, with an additional CAM course later in the curriculum.

 

[jadams67]

I went to a Technical school for drafting in the mid 80's and had 4 years in high school. We leanred pencil drafting and CAD. My first three jobs were about 60/40 pencil/CAD.

After I spent a few years in the Navy and was taking clases ar Bradley in Peoria, I was shocked that none of the graduating engineering students had ever taken a drafting class.

More recently a recent grad from GaTech told me he only had a couple basic drafting clases prior to college.